Tracfone LG 410

Tracfone LG410 Flip Phone – The Tracfone LG410g is one of the most economical user friendly prepaid phones available. The keys are large enough that are easy to press.  The LG410 also has nicely labeled keys that are easy to see.  The Send and End buttons are clearly labeled.  There are no annoying hard to use features on this phone. Simply dial the number and hit send to make a call.

The LG410g is also affordable and can be had for under $20 making this an excellent low usage emergency call only phone. Tracfone offers cards for as little as $19.99 that are good for 90 days so you can have an excellent calling plan for about $7 a month! One can also prepaid for the entire year in advance so no need to keep track of monthly bills. As with all prepaid plans, there are no contracts.

Another excellent feature on the LG410 is the extended calling area. You may be surprised to find that Tracfone actually uses the same calling area as your local Contract provider and you also get all the calling features like voicemail and caller ID.

We give this phone 2 thumbs up for use as a low usage or emergency call type phone.

Net10 LG300g

Net10 LG300g Candybar style Phone- This is a candy bar style phone with fairly large easy to read and press keys.  Great for Seniors with arthritis as they do not have to worry about flipping the phone open or anything. Like the phone above, the keys are clearly labeled. The labels are white on black so they are high contrast. Also, the Send/End keys are labeled as such so no cryptic symbols to decipher.

Like the LG410 above, this one is also quite affordable and can be had for $25. The Net10 plans are a little different than the Tracfone plan above. They offer a flat rate of 10 cents per minute. You can purchase a 300 minute card for $30 that’s good for 60 days, that’s only $15 a month so it’s very affordable.

Net10 also uses the same local calling area so you can count on it’s reliability. Of course you also get voice mail and caller id at no extra charge.

Overall, this is an excellent little phone for seniors.  It’s very easy to use and very affordable so it’s a perfect device for any senior that’s concerned with ease of use, reliability and affordability.

Free LG300g and 750 minutes for your first Month

Cost

Getting your child a monthly plan or adding them to your family share plan might not always be cost effective. With overage charges, you could be facing a hefty cell phone bill at the end of the month. I have seen parents facing $400 and $500 bills because their child used the phone too much. Not to mention the initial phone costs and or additional contract commitments with some of the large national carriers. Here are some tips to avoiding this:

• Consider a prepaid service like Tracfone. This will allow you to control their talk time so you can spend as much or as little as you feel comfortable. This will eliminate that huge surprise monthly bill.
• Buy the most basic phone you can find. Again, Tracfone to the rescue. They have various basic phones under $20 that are perfect for children. If you are set on adding them to your share plan, consider buying a second hand phone.

School safety

As the media has reported, there is no question that cell phones can cause classroom disruptions such as inappropriate text messages, pictures, cheating , etc. However, since the 1999 Columbine High School shootings and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, parents have found that having a way to communicate with their children can give them some peace of mind. But having too many students on their cell phones can cause some issues for emergency responders.

According to first responders, cell phone usage during emergencies can cause an increase in the spread of rumors about the situation, can cause congestion by concerned parents at a scene that should be controlled and cause an overload in the cell phone system at the area.

Inappropriate Callers

This is something that many parents may not think about when arming their children with cell phones. Consider the fact that inappropriate callers like sexual predators can take advantage of a cell phone by empowering them to contact your children without you knowing.  Most parents do not check their children’s cell phones so the possibility exists for a sexual predator to maintain an inappropriate relationship without you ever knowing. Here are some tips to avoiding this:

• If you have your child on a monthly plan, monitor the bills closely for numbers you do not recognize. Quiz your children on these numbers on a regular basis.
• If you have your child on prepaid service, monitor the call history on the phone and again quiz your children on numbers or contacts you do not recognize.

Age and Responsibility

While age is an obvious concern, responsibility plays an important on role on deciding on whether to get your child a cell phone.  Will they use it responsibly? Will your child lose the phone or damage it while playing?  Will they use it in the middle of class? While you can limit these hazards by providing them with an inexpensive prepaid phone. You should also take the opportunity to teach your child responsibility by setting limits, consequences and rewards.  Here are some tips:

• Use prepaid service so that you can reward by purchasing more minutes when they do well in school.
• Use prepaid service to limit usage and tell your child that they have X amount of minutes that must be used wisely.
• Have them do chores to pay for a replacement if they damage the one they have. Again, buying an inexpensive prepaid phone can allow them to “pay the phone off” within a reasonable amount of time. They will be more careful with it if they know they have to pay for it if they break it again.