Mommy Octopus

So the other day, I told you all about how we decided to get our almost 11 year old daughter a cell phone.  She got back from the middle school youth retreat today and now I know why she didn’t answer any of my texts the past 24 hours.

Did I mention they were going to go to the lake and to a river?  Does this look familiar to anyone?

Yep.  Her new phone took a little swim.  In her defense, a friend of hers slipped and fell into the river and she fell in trying to get her friend out.  One of the chaperones ended up in the water as well and also soaked their phone.  Things happen.  I’m just very glad no one was hurt.  This is exactly why we went with an inexpensive phone for our daughter.  Now we just have to wait and see if the rice does it’s trick. If not, then we will see what our options are for replacing the phone.

Here’s another bonus to add to the fantastic Amazon Prime membership!   Prime members now get unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs and hundreds of playlists for free.

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Deciding what to listen to is as simple as playing any of the hundreds of Prime Playlists they’ve created.

Not a Prime member?  Read my post for reasons that Amazon Prime is worth buying!

I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited about this!  I’m already downloading my favorites!  What are your thoughts?

I forgot to post this picture yesterday, but we had a nice Father’s Day.  We made steaks, asparagus, summer squash, and apple cobbler.  Nice relaxing day, perfect in all aspects.  Happy Father’s Day all!

I never thought I’d be the one to get a kid so young a cell phone.  Ever.  But it has happened.  Over the weekend we bought our almost 11 year old daughter a cell phone.

No, she wasn’t begging for one.  She never even asked.  It just seemed necessary.  She goes to camp, retreats, playdates, youth group, and homeschool classes where she may need to get ahold of us.  With pay phones being hard to find and everyone else having a cell phone, she wouldn’t be able to reach us without borrowing someone else’s phone.  If there is an emergency, I want her to be able to get ahold of me and vice versa without having to hunt for someone to borrow a phone.

I was talking to a friend at church yesterday and she told me the reasons she bought her daughter a cell phone.  Her daughter is a popular babysitter and sometimes when she would go to babysit, the family wouldn’t have a house phone.  They would obviously take their cell phones with them and she would be left with nothing.  No way to get ahold of them in case of emergency or even a way to call 911.  I strongly believe in still having a working home phone in case of emergencies, but that is a story for a different day.  Cell phones won’t always work.

With that being said, we opted for a TracFone for our daughter.  We went with the basic Alcatel 392G “The Big Easy Flip” Prepaid Phone With Double Minutes.  I didn’t want her to have internet and all the apps on her phone.  I also didn’t want to put her on our plan since it is only going to be used in emergencies or when she’s away from us.

We opted for this option because the minutes automatically double on that phone, so if you purchase 60 minutes, the phone will load 120 minutes.  It also gives you 90 days to use up the minutes, where many other brands only gave you 30 days.  The 60 minute, 90 day card we bought (which doubled to 120) was only $19.99.  That works out to be about $7 a month for 3 months.  Cheaper than adding her to our plan.  There was no activation fees at all and if we decide to not purchase more minutes, that’s fine, too.

Before we gave it to her, we went over phone safety.  We went over who to call in case of emergency.  If there was a car wreck or other urgent emergency to call 911 before calling parents.  If she can’t get ahold of us, to call Grandma.  If someone was bleeding (minor), to call Uncle Chip for first aid instructions or to send him a photo.  My brother is an EMT 🙂

This was not an easy decision, but I think it’s right for us for the time being.  It was well worth it when I got her text last night saying they made it to the retreat and she was having fun.  And another one saying she loved me.  Oh and that she forgot her tooth brush 😉

What are your thoughts on kids and cell phones?  

Have a great Wednesday 🙂

I hear a lot from other parents about children feeling entitled.  Entitled to treats, toys, and my least favorite, an allowance.  Around our house, we have never given an allowance.  First off, I have the memory of a rock and I would never remember to hand out an allowance.  Second, I don’t feel that my children should be paid for simply existing or for making their bed.  Making a bed and picking up after themselves should be a matter of respect, not something you get paid for doing.  Of course every family is different, but this is what we have chosen to do for our children.

We have 4 kids from age 3-10.  What we have come up with is a piece of paper on our fridge that I print each week that says “Jobs for Hire“.  I stick it up  fresh every Monday and the kids can put their name by it to let everyone know that they finished an item on the list.  Then I simply just go through the list, verify that the job was done, and pay the worker.

If you’re interested in making your own “Jobs for Hire” sheet for your family, CLICK HERE to download a copy of ours.  

Here are some examples from this week:

• Brush Dog: $1 per dog
• Wash sheets and remake beds $2 per bed
• Weed Gardens $2 per full bag of weeds
• Mop Kitchen $2
• Clean off porch $2
• Clean bathroom $3
• Clean and reorganize shed that holds outside toys $10

Am I overpaying on some of it?  Perhaps.  However keep in mind that this is the only chance they have to make some money and they have to get to them before a sibling does, it works for us.

And I have a clean house.  With freshly washed sheets.  And the kids are happy and proud of their hard work.  They have money in their piggie banks and I won’t have to deal with the “I wants” in the store.  They will have to check and see if they have the money for whatever their heart desires.  Most of the items on the list are already done today, the first day of our new job list!  Yes.  This works for us.

How do you handle your kids earning money?