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Give a teen their first cell phone, and you’ll instantly see that look of joy spread over their face. They’ll love it. They’ll probably be telling you that they love you for, well, at least a few days. However, as you are likely aware, cell phones can cause issues. If used incorrectly, they can be dangerous or highly distracting. This is why many parents have taken to creating responsible usage cell phone contracts for teens.
On this page, we’re going to look what what one of these contracts is, as well as give you an idea of some of the things that should be included in the contract.
Importance of Cell Phone Contracts
Having a cell phone is a step towards independence for a teen. It is a big deal. However, as we said, having a cell phone isn’t something that should be taken lightly. Cell phones are the source of a ton of problems, including:
- Overuse by teens – using apps, sending messages, etc. when they should be doing something more productive.
- Cyberbullying
- Talking to and messaging unknown people.
Obviously, you want to give your teen a cell phone (there are advantages to it), but you don’t want them to fall victim to the dangers of having a cell phone. So, you draw up a usage contract for their cell phone. You’ll tell your teen exactly what you expect them to do with the device (and what they can’t do), and have them sign it.
This contract will stipulate that you are monitoring them, as well as the consequences of them breaching the contract (e.g. having the phone taken away). If everybody is clear about the usage of the cell phone, then it ends up being used in a better way.
Download a teen contract from this link.
Defining Usage Guidelines
The key element of the responsible usage contract is telling your teen exactly what you expect of them. For example:
- What apps they can use
- When they can use their phone
- When they can use certain apps
- Who they can contact
- What they can take pics/videos of
You’ll also need to let them know you are monitoring them. The amount of freedom that you give your teen will be highly dependent on how much you trust them.
Monitoring App Installations
We recommend that you keep an eye on what apps your teen is using, especially social media apps. This will give you more of an overview of what your teen is doing with their cell phone.
If you use an app like Family Orbit, you can also pay attention to some of the other things that they are doing with their device e.g. phone calls, messages, etc.
Setting Screen Time Limits
We highly suggest that you set screen time limits for your teen’s phone. This way, your teen is not going to be constantly distracted by their phone e.g. when they need to sleep, when they are supposed to be doing homework, etc.
You’ll need to read through a guide for your teen’s phone to know exactly how to set screen time limits on it. You can also set limits for the use of certain apps, etc.
Educating about Digital Etiquette
Make sure that your child knows about digital etiquette. For example, how they speak to people online or via messages (you can monitor some of this using apps like Family Orbit).
Also, let your child know when they should be putting their phone down. For example, a family dinner probably isn’t the best time for them to be pulling their phone out to dabble in a bit of social media.
Basically, as a parent, you should be thinking about when the right/wrong time to use a phone is. You should be passing these guidelines on to your teen so that they can learn.
Rewarding Responsible Usage
Always reward your teen when they fulfill their side of the contract. How you reward them will be dependent on you and the teen. You may want to give them more freedom to use their device (i.e. you monitor less), or you may wish to bump up their daily screen time a little bit.
Just give your teen some sort of incentive to stick to the contract and show responsible behavior.
Conclusion
If you are giving a teen a cell phone for the first time, we suggest that you give them boundaries on their cell phone usage. This will help to protect them, while also ensuring that they get the most out of their cell phone. We suggest that you put together a responsible usage cell phone contract for them. Let your teen know your expectations, and reward them if they meet those expectations.