(WXYZ) – Teens and texting. A phenomenon not always easy for parents to understand.
WATCH JOANNE PURTAN'S REPORT IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ON THE RIGHTI asked 16 year old Andy Velez what’s so cool about texting.
“Being able to keep in touch with your friends without actually talking to them, ” Andy said.
Some kids say it’s just easier and faster than making a phone call. Andy and his sister Lydia text a lot!
“Too much, too much, all the time,” their mom Peggy says.
While she knows the value of her kids having cell phones so she can reach them whenever she needs to, there are times she believes the texting is simply inappropriate, like during dinner, at church, in school or in the middle of the night.
“That disturbs their sleep,” she says.
If this all sounds familiar, you should know that 3 of the four major wireless carriers will help you set the rules. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile allow you to set times during which your child can’t send of receives phone calls or texts. It does allow you to set numbers, say your own, that your children can always call or text! You can also completely block unwanted numbers.
Verizon and AT &T charge you five dollars per month per line for the parental control package. T-Mobile charges 5 bucks total for up to five lines on one account.
With Sprint, you can’t designate texting or calling times, but you can block numbers for free.
You can read more about each of the carrier’s parental control features by visiting their websites.
Verizon
T-MobileAT&T
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