my land line phones went dead, so we are considering not replacing them. DD, hubby,and I all have cell phones. DS, 10, is just starting to stay home alone for a few minutes at a time, but the deal was he doesn't get a cell phone til 6th grade graduation (he just started 5th). Really don't want him to have a cell at his age. But, he needs a way to call in an emergency. so, what do you recommend-and why?:
additional cell line for him, but it stays on the counter 24/7
tract phone (don't know much about these)
disposable cell
replace the land line phones and keep them for awhile yet
Really, all it needs to be able to do is call me or 911 in an emergency at this point. Thanks mamas!
to clarify...you can still call my house and it rings on your end, but the actual phones don't work, for whatever reason. We have verizon ( no iphone) and can't switch for a variety of reasons. Hope that helps!
I would say a pre paid phone for him that stays on the counter or what ever place is logical and ditch the house line. Saves tons of money in my opinion
We got my son last year (hes almost 11) a cell phone. just a basic one and it was 10 bucks to add him. we blocked so he can only call the 5 numbers we wanted him to be able to call (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and his uncle) he cant text either.
maybe try that.
I vote for the landline. My 10 & 13 year old have cell phones, but they NEVER KNOW where they are. I would worry too much that when they needed to get to a phone they couldn't. Plus, 911 can't track a cell phone. I don't like the idea that they would have to provide their address and rely on reception in a time of crisis.
A real cell phone does not have an address attached to it when calling 911. Using a VOIP system such as Vonage also does not have an address attached to it, although, they say you can fill out a 'form' that will assign an address to the line - not a chance I am willing to take with my kids lives.
A bare bones landline is only about 20 bucks - I look at it like insurance - you pay a price for ease of mind.
We got rid of our house phone years ago - at least it feels that way. I LOVE not having a home phone. My 8 year old daughter has a phone, but none of my kids are home alone ever. So as long as one parent or the sitter is there, it's no worries. I'd recommend to get rid of it and get a cell phone for the house. If he is home alone and needs it, it is there, but only for emegencies.
I wouldn't get rid of my land line - but that is ME! The land line gives a PHYSICAL address - so if something catastrophic happens - and he can't say anything - they will have his address...a cell phone will not.
That the land line went dead - that would bother me - that means the line is disrupted - does this mean pests in the walls ??? does this mean a short and now there is a wire that could possibly catch fire and bring down my home?
I love the portability of cells phones. I like that some now have new features but I don't know how many emergency areas have the capability to do a locate if it was bad...
lots of decisions to make!
GOOD LUCK!!
**Part** of the reason my son has HAD a cell phone since he was 5ish is that we don't have a landline.
The bill for all 3 of our phones is less that half of what a landline would run us.
I wouldn't get a "burner" phone, though, unless I was going all 007. They're impossible to trace. A real cell has your address attached to it for 911 to grab, and most have GPS that can be tracked with the click of a button.
An iphone 3gs also works as an ipod, though. So you could make that your "house phone" always plugged into your speakers. In case of emergency ... voila... and music the rest of the time. $50. And the monthly bill is super cheap if you don't have data streaming.
I might be in the minority here, but I vote get a new landline. I like having one; our cell phones aren't reliable in our little spot in the country. Plus, it works better for school people and friends around town to have our landline/house phone number. Also, the deal was, no phone til 6th grade graduation. If it were my kids, they'd find way to finagle it for more use than just an "emergency" phone.
We use Vonage, which connects over the internet through cable. When the cable is down, the calls are automatically directed to my cell phone.
Worth checking out.
I have a home phone through the cable company. It's just like a land line, but is connected to your internet cable modem. I do not have cable TV, just internet and phone.
That's why our 9 year-old daughter has a cell phone. We don't have a land line.
We got the Verison FIOS deal where you get all 3 for the same price: home phone, internet and cable tv. So we have the "landline" phone hanging on the wall, but I believe it goes via the internet so if the FIOS is down (it is fiber optic and under ground so probably rarely, although in some places they may span larger distance via satelite I don't know). My husband was always so amused that the local cable company in their ads against the DishNetwork would say that their lines are real lines and don't go down with weather, but if you go to the local cable company's office, they have these HUGE satelite dishes receiving their programs.
So, definition is important and in this case that of a "land line" has changed a bit.
Since your child is learning to be responsible and having home alone time you need to keep the home phone. He may need to call 9-1-1 and not have a way to do that, even if he has a cell it could be somewhere else, like the charger, or on his desk and he's in the bathroom and smells smoke.
Buy some inexpensive land line phones that are hard lined and then maybe have a couple of ones that are wireless so he can take one with him in the house. If there is a fire and the electric is out the cordless ones don't work or if there is a power outage for any reason.
I'd go with the additional cell line. We got rid of our landline about a year ago and no complaints. We added a third line (we were able to transfer the landline number to the cell) and that is our "home" phone. DS is 8 and DD is 3.5 so we have some time to wait on cell phone, LOL!
You could do something similar - add another line as the "house" phone (maybe not include texting, etc. if an option for you) and have it stay at the house (but don't give out the number) then give it to him when you're ready (could add texting, etc.). Or go ahead and give it to him with very strict limitations. (I like the idea of it staying at home though with mom or dad able to make sure it's fully charged)
Good Luck!
We just reinstalled a land line phone. I didn't like not having it, as the reception in our house can be spotty, and we always had to leave behind one of our cell phones if the kids were her alone (mine are older than yours and our teen babysits for us regularly, none have their own cell phones) but we got rid of it to save $. I signed up for faster internet (7-15mbp) and a regional plan (no long distance, but calls within our extensive LATA) with Verizon for $45/mo. If you get the local plan, it's even cheaper.
You can replace your land line phones for as low as $10/each at Radioshack.
I would keep the land line. If your children had to call 911, the emergency responders would know where to go.
Aren't land line phones super cheap? I swear I got a corded one from Target for like $5. If you're not canceling the service, you might as well get a new phone.
Are land line phones died we purchased new batteries on eBay for a couple bucks and they work great now. We live in a crappy cell phone service area though so we have to have a land line.
My 4 th grader has a trac phone to take to his dads house so that he can call me if he needs to bc dad won't let him use the phone.
We haven't had a land line for a few years now. We use our cell phones but we also have the majic jack. It's $40.00 for the unit and then $20.00 per year and that's it, no monthly charge. Local and long distance and then you can buy international minutes. You do need to have your majic jack plugged into the computer and the computer turned on and high speed internet to use it and it does call 911, although we haven't had to. You also hook it up to regular phones so I guess you'd have to a new phone but it'll save you money by not having to pay for the land line.
maybe just get one of those pay as you go phones for emergencies only when he is home alone. We don't have a home line and only use our cells. It's great!
I'd get a new land line. If your son would only be able to use it for 911 & to call you, it would stink if he wanted to call a friend to come to play (or a friend wanted to call him).
We just got rid of our land line, and it was the best decision we've made! We save about $60 a month, and we realize the only people who called our home phone were telemarketers and wrong numbers. They make cell phones for kids where your child can only dial certain numbers that you program in ahead of time. A tract phone would be more expensive than just adding a line to your current plan. As long as you have decent reception at your house, I don't think you'll miss having a land line!
Also, one argument a friend of mine had for not getting rid of her land line was "what happens when you lose your cell phone and don't have your other phone to call & make it ring?" Here's the solution: http://wheresmycellphone.com/
