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CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A cell phone used by a Wyoming 13-year-old to run up a nearly $5,000 phone bill will text no more thanks to her angry father and his hammer. Dena Christoffersen of Cheyenne sent or received about 20,000 text messages over about a month, and her parents' phone plan didn't cover texting.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A cell phone used by a Wyoming 13-year-old to run up a nearly $5,000 phone bill will text no more thanks to her angry father and his hammer. Dena Christoffersen of Cheyenne sent or received about 20,000 text messages over about a month, and her parents' phone plan didn't cover texting.
I've had a few "surprise" bills on my son's cell phone too. Nothing on this level, though. I love my kids dearly, and would not change anything about being a parent, but I think people considerting starting a family should spend a couple months as the sole guardian of a teenager.
When I saw this in the news my 15 year old son happened to be sitting next to me. He looked at me and asked, "How can someone do that? She had to have been texting non stop."
Makes me wonder - were her parents so out of tune that they didn't notice her texting at all? If they didn't have any texting as part of their plan, then you would think that they would have brought it up the second they saw her fingers going at it on the phone.
If she's so sneaky that she was able to do $5,000 worth of texting over the course of a month never in their presence, then they have a lot more to worry about with her....
Any parent, in my opinion, who lets their child have a cell phone should be monitoring the usage online and not be waiting for that bill each month. I sure hope they are doing something to make her help pay back the bill.
I never could understand texting, wouldn't it be easier to call the person instead and say what you need to say? I know, I know, it is a polite way of having a conversation with someone while you are sitting at the table eating dinner, or at the movie theater watching a movie, or sitting in your classroom while the teacher is talking without having a phone stuck to your ear and interupting the people around you with your talking.
I think to many people have become addicted to cell phones and being able to text is just another way to feed that addiction when you are in places where it would be rude to be on it talking.
How on Earth did we ever survive without cell phones?
I think this father should go to jail for hammering this phone. The daughter obviously just needs more love and affection. Dad should buy her a shiny new car, give her $10k and buy her an Iphone... that'll teach her!
DISCLAIMER:
*This post is an attempt at sarcastic humor. I do not believe the above statement anymore than I believe in the Easter bunny*
I have toddlers. Right now, my almost 1 1/2 yr old loves playing with phones; be it the cell phone or land line. My 3yr old did also, but not to the extent my younger one does. So, no biggie, right? The other day my dh said "You need to be careful with him & the phone. He can call 911 or some other number." Oh, I just laughed off my paranoid husband who has no clue what it is like staying at home with toddlers in the winter...
Yeahh..see...someone called Nassua, Bahamas & the phone stayed on 5 1/2 minutes during the day...$17.25 charge...the number was along the lines of 242-444-2222...and another call to Kentucky that cost $.30...
Here I am thinking that since he is right in front of me playing with the phones or I can hear him hitting the numbers & never hear a voice come from the other end...no big deal...nope. It cost us $$
I can see a 13yr old sending that many text messages; especially if the parents "assume" she would stay in her boundaries or it wouldn't happen. I'd smash the phone to obilivion, also.
Hopefully a lesson learned in that family. I just cannot justify the need of texting + teenagers. We don't even have texting available on our cell phones & we are adults. Personally, I don't need a text message on my phone. But I can see the attraction for teenagers.
I hope that when our children become teenagers, we are ready to battle the challenges of cell phones & the internet!
I have toddlers. Right now, my almost 1 1/2 yr old loves playing with phones; be it the cell phone or land line. My 3yr old did also, but not to the extent my younger one does. So, no biggie, right? The other day my dh said "You need to be careful with him & the phone. He can call 911 or some other number." Oh, I just laughed off my paranoid husband who has no clue what it is like staying at home with toddlers in the winter...
Yeahh..see...someone called Nassua, Bahamas & the phone stayed on 5 1/2 minutes during the day...$17.25 charge...the number was along the lines of 242-444-2222...and another call to Kentucky that cost $.30...
Here I am thinking that since he is right in front of me playing with the phones or I can hear him hitting the numbers & never hear a voice come from the other end...no big deal...nope. It cost us $$
I can see a 13yr old sending that many text messages; especially if the parents "assume" she would stay in her boundaries or it wouldn't happen. I'd smash the phone to obilivion, also.
Hopefully a lesson learned in that family. I just cannot justify the need of texting + teenagers. We don't even have texting available on our cell phones & we are adults. Personally, I don't need a text message on my phone. But I can see the attraction for teenagers.
I hope that when our children become teenagers, we are ready to battle the challenges of cell phones & the internet!
They didn't have texting as part of their plan - so their were no boundries to stay in. In the article is says over 10,000 texts sent/received. That's a lot. That's beyond a lot.
They didn't have texting as part of their plan - so their were no boundries to stay in. In the article is says over 10,000 texts sent/received. That's a lot. That's beyond a lot.
I know. Wasn't justifying the situation.
I do think that cell phone companies need to come up with a way to block texting if it is not on your plan. We do not have it, but we know we can use it. My dh has used it a few times & it is $.25/text. That's a lot of money. But it's profit for the company, so they have the advantage.
While the owners of the phones need to be fully responsible for the use of the phone, the companies also need to step up to the plate and they are not. It's a huge fad right now & cell phone companies are making a lot of $$ off of it; as they should...but there is also social responsibility & they are taking none.
A 13yr old should not have a phone in their possession so much that they can text 20,000 messages in a month.
The parents screwed up. The daughter screwed up. Lesson learned on both ends.
Cell phone companies also need to change some things, IMO.
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