What do you do with a teen who had destroyed 4 cellphones?

[Laylas_Mom]

Assuming you can even find a payphone anymore.

+1 I live in Orlando, Florida and I cant find a payphone ANYWHERE!

My 12yr old has a cell phone. She has activities 6 days a week.

 

[Rev. 6:5]

1) Make him wait one month to replace it, EVEN though he's still paying.
2) Definitley make him pay for any replacement, EVEN if you have a no charge replacement program.
3) Make him get a protective case for it to eliminate catastrophic damage from simple drops.
4) If you pay the monthly bill, inform him that after the next loss, he will have to get his own account and phone.
5) As a last resort, for "emergency" purposes, only allow him to replace it with a "child" phone. My 14 year old God daughter would be mortified if this penatly was imposed.

If after all that, he still can't take care of his phone, so be it. As long as he must face the consequences of his actions (be sure not to enable him by "loaning" him another family memebers phone, buying him a replacement that he can "work" off or pay for in installments, etc.), at some point it simply becomes his choice.

Best of luck!

The last time he hosed one we made him wait a month before replacing it. Well, that was because it took him a month to raise the funds. We don't pay for the replacement, but we do pay the $7 a month for the replacement program.

The problem is that he has to ride 5 miles on his bicycle to the city pool where he volunteers as a "volunteen", assisting with teaching little kids how to swim. He has to cross two 6-lane major thoroughfares to get there. That makes us very antsy.....even though it's highly unlikely he'd be able to call if he got squished while playing real-life Frogger. It's a comfort issue for his mom and I, so we prefer he has a phone. I'm determined, however, that his next phone will be one of the freebies Sprint gives you for having an account.

 

[head east busa]

good call

 

[fishhook]

I told my son when I gave him his first two years ago at age 16, if ya break it that is it. He still has it! Worked for him!

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

The last time he hosed one we made him wait a month before replacing it. Well, that was because it took him a month to raise the funds. We don't pay for the replacement, but we do pay the $7 a month for the replacement program.

The problem is that he has to ride 5 miles on his bicycle to the city pool where he volunteers as a "volunteen", assisting with teaching little kids how to swim. He has to cross two 6-lane major thoroughfares to get there. That makes us very antsy.....even though it's highly unlikely he'd be able to call if he got squished while playing real-life Frogger. It's a comfort issue for his mom and I, so we prefer he has a phone. I'm determined, however, that his next phone will be one of the freebies Sprint gives you for having an account.

Ahhh...

Well, in that case I would go ahead and get him a replacement, have him pay for it financially, inform him that if this one winds up needing replacing due to abuse, neglect or loss that he'll be getting a "child" phone next time and that he'll still be paying for it and he'll also lose some privelege (pick something he really digs) for one month as well.

That should give him some incentive to better care of his phone.

Best of luck!

 

[skydivr]

I know I"m going to be facing this in a few years, my daughter is 8.

I know this is not logically supportable, but I'd be much harder on a son than I could be on my daughter about it. Kids of both sexes get taken, but I keep thinking the boy would be smarter and fight his way out of it.

Daughter - yes, no matter what. Son, 3 strikes.

 

[kairles]

see if you can find one of these.

 

[HT_USMC]

"What do you do with a teen who had destroyed 4 cellphones?"

First, laugh at him and make fun of him day and night.

Second, guard my own phone from his little irresponsible rat claws.

Seriously though, he's paying his way so he'll learn. In all honesty, it's nice to hear about a kid who isn't so preoccupied with the darn phone that he always knows where it is.