The Best Cell Phone Plan for a Preteen

Selecting a cell phone plan for a preteen can be a challenge, as the talkative nature of preteen boys and girls does not mesh with the pay-per-minute services offered by most cell phone carriers. As high texting and data fees are added into the equation, the challenge of selecting an affordable cell phone plan increases. With some knowledge of plan options and an understanding of your preteen’s needs, it is possible to find a suitable plan.

Talk time

As preteens improve their socialization skills and expand their social circles, cell phone talk time can quickly amount to thousands of minutes. Because many cell phone carriers base their rates on per-minute usage, it may be necessary for you to curb cell phone usage, at least until the evening hours when traditional plans may offer unlimited calling (a preteen who talks just 60 minutes a day can exhaust a 1,000-minute plan in just 16 days, accumulating an additional $200 in monthly overage charges if additional minutes are billed at 25 cents per minute). Although “add on” packages for voice usage are not available, some carriers like Sprint, MetroPCS and T-Mobile offer all-inclusive plans that provide for unlimited talk time regardless of the time of day. Since parents cannot always monitor their preteen’s usage, one of these unlimited plans may be ideal.

Data usage

As preteens become increasingly tech savvy, their desire for mobile Internet access continues to grow. With mobile broadband data, preteens have a plethora of important school information (not to mention social networking and other popular websites popular with preteens) at their fingertips 24 hours per day. Some cell phone carriers charge for data usage by the megabyte (or even kilobyte), providing a small monthly allowance that can be easily burned through with a single session on a video sharing site. To avoid unexpected data overage fees (which can amount to hundreds of dollars each month for even a moderate data user) while still providing the Internet access that preteens deem essential, consider one of the all-inclusive plans that provide unlimited talk and data (an unlimited data “add on” may be available on some plans, but the high additional price, around $50 per month, can raise the monthly fee to more than a standard unlimited package).

Texting

Because this medium allows users to quickly (and almost silently) express their feelings in a convenient, asynchronous manner, texting was quickly adopted as the communication method of choice for many preteens. Most cell phone carriers offer a small allotment of text messages included in the monthly fee, but some preteens can use this allotment in a single afternoon. (Some preteens and teenagers send and receive more than 5,000 text messages per month.) Most cell phone carriers offer a package of additional text messages for around $5 or $10 per month or an “add-on” that allows unlimited texting for around $20 per month. Because preteens can send and receive hundreds of text messages each day, plans without unlimited texting can quickly accumulate hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars in monthly text usage. For the best value, however, the ability to send and receive unlimited text messages is usually wrapped into the all-inclusive unlimited plans offered by carriers like MetroPCS, Sprint, and T-Mobile.