Can you limit minutes and text messages on basic phones?

[bestrlhi]

I would like to get our 10 year old a basic phone for calling her mom and friends, but I don't want her to get carried away and be on it all the time.

Can we have a preset limit for number of minutes and text messages she can send/receive each month?

[SuzyQ · Accepted solution]

What plan are you on?  Will this phone be part of a family plan?  All current plans have unlimited texting and calling; I don't know if Family Base ($5/month)can limit calls and text on an unlimited type plan...

A couple of alternatives - she's 10 - having a cell phone is a privilege, and you, as a parent, have the right to monitor her usage.  Give her the allowance, check her usage every few days, and take the phone away if she's using it too much.  She'll quickly learn how to manage her usage.

Another way is to go with a pre-paid device.  You put the money on the phone and when it's gone, the phone stops working until you refill it.  Again, she'll quickly learn to manage her usage so she doesn't run out of funds before the end of the month.

[bestrlhi]

We are on a family plan with unlimited text/calling.

She currently uses a prepaid flip phone, but I wanted to see if we could do the same thing on our existing plan.

All the reviews of family base that I've seen say it doesn't really work well, and my understanding is that it only works on a certain version of android. (So not basic phones..) I want her to have a basic phone for calls and texting, not an Internet/gaming device in her pocket. if I ever do get her a smart phone it will be an iPhone because we're all on iPhones and they have decent parental controls built in.

[vzw_customer_support]

bestrlhi I definitely understand your concern with regards to the available Internet usage to your daughter. I have two boys and must constantly monitor their phone useage. Thank you for providing the information requested by SuzyQ. You can definitely add her to your family plan and use the current pre-paid phone she has. The only requirement is that the phone is active as pre-paid for a minimum of 6 months. Another option is to purchase a new basic phone and add it to your account. http://vz.to/1hXWSlK Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.DeloresK_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

[SuzyQ]

bestrlhi wrote:

She currently uses a prepaid flip phone, but I wanted to see if we could do the same thing on our existing plan.

You can look at the cost of adding her to your current plan, likely it would be $20, which is probably less than what you are paying for her prepaid plan.  And with a basic phone, you won't be able to add Family base, you are correct. that it is an app that works on smartphones.

Put her on the family plan, monitor her usage, and take the phone away if she can't keep her limits.

[bestrlhi]

So it sounds like there is no way to do this other than manually checking up on her and physically taking the phone away.

The technology exists! I wish the verizon account controls would allow for this.

[SuzyQ]

How does she manage on the pre-paid plan?  That just quits working when she reaches her limit, correct?  If she's learned to manage on that, then moving to unlimited texts and calls with a self-imposed (or parentally imposed) limit shouldn't be much different.  You can  see online how she's doing, and the phone can just disappear if she goes overboard.

Or keep her on the prepaid if that works better for you.