Anybody have experience with locking down a phone for a teenager? She’s in several different school and church activities and I’d like a way to communicate with her. There’s been a few times where she’s gotten done early or something has been cancelled and she wasn’t able to let us know.

I know on iPhones we can lock down her Apple ID so she can’t download apps (social media is an absolute no-go). My worry is text messaging and general internet access. We’ve looked at some apps for parental control but what we’ve found is that they don’t work well on iPhones. I’m not opposed to getting an android if needed.

Any help would be appreciated.

We used Gabb for a while. The parent app [GPS tracking] started acting up & they weren't much help. Otherwise, it was a good starter phone. Their base model is like an older phone. Calls, text, camera & FM radio IIRC. No web browser or apps. They have an upgrade model that has some more features, but we opted to move her into our ATT plan instead.

Ours is 13 & got an iPhone for her birthday. I'm an android user, so my wife manages the parental controls on it.

Why not a cheapo flip phone? No apps and just a phone. That's all a kid needs IMO (if that) and giving them a computer in their pocket is just asking for trouble.

Parental controls on Apple devices works very well. Adult site limits are pretty solid. You can limit calls and texts to only people you permit. Just don't forget you parental controls password.

Problem is, YOU may do this, but some of your child's friends parents will not and thus some friends will have unlimited access to the internet.

A) Apple Watch might be a better idea.

B) Sunbeam Wireless is a Mennonite flip phone maker, but I’m sure a teen can figure out how to add apps if they want - but at least, it wouldn’t be forced on them.

More importantly, TMK, neither of them have a camera.

You've got a kid who's active in her church but you don't trust her?

strange.

It's a losing battle anyhow, but good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Why not a cheapo flip phone? No apps and just a phone. That's all a kid needs IMO (if that) and giving them a computer in their pocket is just asking for trouble.

The poor kid would be mortified and possibly scarred for life.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
You've got a kid who's active in her church but you don't trust her?

strange.

It's a losing battle anyhow, but good luck.

No I don’t trust her. She’s a good kid, but she’s a kid. There’s a lot of bad stuff out there that I don’t want her exposed to yet. I know it’ll happen eventually but I want her to mature some and be able to walk her through those things. As someone else mentioned, I don’t trust other kids either. I’ve seen too many issues come up where an innocent kid has been brought into stuff by other kids.

Also the “non bad” stuff like social media can screw up a kid. Worrying about reactions and engagement streaks and all that nonsense is not good for them psychologically.

iPhone has great parental controls.

It can be easily set up where you allow apps via a notification on your phone, or no apps can be downloaded. At any time you can see their location on ‘find my’. At any time you can see their usage what apps they are using.

By an open refurbished iPhone 11 or 12 for $250 ish.

You certainly correct to protect her and to do that forever. But very soon she will be an adult. At some point you will want her to go out and make / find her own way. Right?

It is not a matter of technology. Does your car have GPS so you can monitor her activities?

quote:

There’s been a few times where she’s gotten done early or something has been cancelled and she wasn’t able to let us know.

I bet there was someone else there that would have let make a call to let you know. I am adamantly against kids having phones.

All of us made it just fine without phones as kids and our activities got cancelled just the same.

With pay phones having virtually disappeared, I don't see anything wrong with a flip phone that can only make and receive calls or texts for a kid. They don't need cameras or internet access yet.

I would probably go with a Nokia 2780 flip phone if I were in your shoes. It has a removeable battery, which means an emergency spare could be carried. It doesn't support Facebook (good in my opinion). Maybe you can remove the browser. I am not sure.

Maybe this helps with perspective? https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobi...-it-made-me-anxious/

It must be hard raising a daughter these days. I can only imagine. If I run across anything that might help, I'll come back and post another reply.

quote:

I bet there was someone else there that would have let make a call to let you know.

With their own cell phone, no doubt.

I bought a Nokia flip phone on eBay for $40 for my 3 kids to share. Signed up for Ryan Reynold's MINT mobile. Unlimited talk and text. That's all they need. We don't have a LAN line, so it's the emergency phone and they also use it to talk to their friends.

There is a company called Bark that makes software to basically monitor your child's phone.. iPhone or Android. I've had it on on our daughters phone and it's proved invaluable. They also have their own "phone" for purchase. To my knowledge they have the only software of its type. It takes a bit of work to get setup initially but it's worth it.

https://www.bark.us/

I recently went through this and just ended up getting them S24s when we added their lines. Samsung has solid parental controls with immediate monitoring, and you can control not only the times they can access but also duration as well as granting extra time. I'm not thrilled, but my youngest doesn't even remember to charge it sometimes, while my oldest has been shockingly reasonable with it.

I completely blocked youtube, the internet and social apps. They will not get those until they are out of the house but they can text and call a group of preapproved people. They have a few games to play locally with us or together on roadtrips.

Hope that helps. Its a jungle full of mines for sure.

I totally get where you’re coming from! I had a similar issue with my teenager. Locking down their iPhone can definitely help, so setting up restrictions on their Apple ID is a good start. I found turning off Safari really helps keep them focused and safe from random browsing. For messaging, using iMessage to limit contacts works well. But if you’re thinking about switching to Android, I’ve heard Google Family Link is pretty solid for managing apps and screen time.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
There is a company called Bark that makes software to basically monitor your child's phone.. iPhone or Android. I've had it on on our daughters phone and it's proved invaluable. They also have their own "phone" for purchase. To my knowledge they have the only software of its type. It takes a bit of work to get setup initially but it's worth it.

https://www.bark.us/

I think that is the same app my daughter has on her kids phone. Limiting the amount of time the phone can be used is a really big plus.