Many children and teenagers these days have their own smartphone from a young age. But cost control plays a very important role, especially with your first mobile phone contract. Various child tariffs are available for this purpose.
Online since childhood
Analysis by the IT industry association Bitkom shows that around two-thirds of all children between the ages of six and nine already have their own smartphone. For children between ten and twelve years of age the proportion is already over 90 percent.
All generations now live in the digital age. For this reason, parents have a special responsibility towards their children.
Families should choose their first mobile phone contract carefully. Flexible terms and cost control play an important role. There are different models to choose from for this purpose.
Total cost control with prepaid cards
Many children and young people enjoy surfing the Internet. However, popular apps such as TikTok or WhatsApp require large amounts of data. If parents still want to keep full control over expenses, prepaid cards are a good option. Parents can top up these cards with the credit they want. All costs associated with telephone and internet usage are deducted from this credit.
Vodafone CallYa prepaid offer is a good option. The provider offers different packages tailored to the needs of children of different age groups. The monthly add-on for the initial package is 4.99 euros.
CallYa initial tariff services
CallYa’s introductory tariff includes one gigabyte of data volume, free phone calls and SMS in the Vodafone network as well as 200 minutes or SMS in all other German networks. However, teenagers or older children usually need more data, which is also available from mobile phone providers. For a basic fee of seven euros per month, Congstar offers three gigabytes for prepaid children’s tariffs.
In addition to three gigabytes of data volume, this Allnet S prepaid tariff with 5G also includes a download speed of 25 Mbit/s as well as a flat SMS and telephony rate for all German networks.
The one-time connection price is 9.99 euros.
Additional card or family benefits
Alternatively, parents can use additional cards to top up their children’s first mobile phone contract. If one or even both parents have a contract with the respective provider, other family members can use the additional cards to get an additional phone number and take advantage of the existing smartphone contract. The costs and conditions of these additional cards vary from provider to provider.
Additional cards from Vodafone or Telekom
Vodafone calls the cards family extra cards. These cards are available in different pack sizes with different amounts of data. A disadvantage of these additional cards is the lack of option to cancel monthly at any time. The minimum contract term for the additional cards is 24 months.
Another option is additional cards from Telekom. Freenet Mobile offers offers for MagentaMobil Plus cards. The first additional card with a data amount of 20 gigabytes costs 19.99 euros per month. Each additional card costs 9.99 euros per month.
The first mobile phone: at what age?
Although the Internet and smartphones have only been available for the past few years, we can no longer imagine daily life without these technologies. So it is not yet clear how the use of social media has a lasting effect on our brain. For this reason, the AOK only recommends phones for children from the age of nine. In childhood, cell phones should only work to a limited extent.
Before the boys and girls use a smartphone for the first time, the children should already be well prepared by their parents to use the technology.
Ideally, parents regularly take care of their offspring while using their smartphone. In this way, children can be gradually introduced to the Internet, mobile phones and social media. In this way, everyone affected establishes a healthy usage behavior.
Clear rules regarding the use of mobile phones
It is equally important to set clear rules regarding mobile phone use from the start. In addition to these times of use, agreements should also be drawn up regarding correct behavior in social networks or in conversations. Depending on the age of the user, the assistive devices have special protective functions. Many app and website blocks are necessary to protect children from content that is harmful to young people.
2024-07-18 12:37:01