Santa brought iPhones for our kids this year. He’s not crazy despite what you may think. The world that we (meaning our specific family) lives in is much more convenient when our children have phones. (This isn’t our first encounter with children and cell phones, you can read more here.)
With the phones comes additional responsibilities, especially since they are smart phones. I searched and searched online for a contract that fit our situation. I loved parts of each one that I found, and thought that other parts just didn’t fit our needs or weren’t concerns for us. So, I combined about four of them.
This is what I came up with:
It is my phone. Santa bought it, but I’m paying for it. Aren’t I the greatest?
I will always know the password.
If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads “Mom” or “Dad.”
No phone calls or texts after 9:30 PM on a school night or weekend night at 11:00 PM. If you would not make a call to someone’s home phone, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.
If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.
Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. This includes posting a photo/video of anyone without their permission.
Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first and always!
Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person … to their face.
Do not text, email, or say anything to someone that you would not say with their parents in the room.
Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.
Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else’s private parts. Don’t laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear — including a bad reputation.
Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.
Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Wonder without googling.
Don’t give out your cell phone number randomly. Never to a stranger regardless of what they say.
Do not enable or disable any setting on the phone without my permission. We have things turned on and off to (a) keep you out of trouble and (b) make your phone free of junk that will cause it to fail.
No texting or making calls with friends while doing homework. Your mind needs to be on your studies!
Never share personal information such as name, address, phone number, school, teams, age, etc., with anyone online. Be safe. Crazy people are out there, and unfortunately, not everyone is good.
You may not join any social media network without asking your parents first (Facebook, Vine, SnapChat, etc.). When it is appropriate for you to be a part of these networks, we will set up your account so that the highest privacy and safety guards are enabled for you.
You will give your parents access to your phone whenever we ask … with a cooperative attitude.
You will mess up. We will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. We are on your team. We are in this together.
Parent Expectations
We will respect the privacy of our child when the child is talking on a cell phone.
We will pay the standard monthly fee for the cell phone contract.
We will be reasonable with consequences for violations of this contract. Consequences will start at loss of cell phone privileges for 24 hours and progress according to the seriousness of the violation.
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At the bottom, there is a place for each child to sign, as well as the parents.
If you would like a download of this document, click here!
