YOUTH: Cell Phone Contract

When I was growing up my parents always knew what was going on in my life because it was public.  The phone was in the kitchen where everyone could hear your conversation, the tv was in the family room where the family watched it, and the computer, when there finally was one, was my dad's.  Friends came over to our house to hang out where there was an adult present and my mom fed us.  We weren't over scheduled and ate dinner together at the dinner table nearly every night.

It's great to be able to provide all these electronics for our kids but they come with responsibility.  When I take youth on trips there are times when they must have their phones and times when they are not allowed.  If I find they're being used inappropriately I take them away and return them to their parents with an explanation of their inappropriate use.

Cell phones are extremely convenient but sometimes kids...

• don't seem to have an understanding of the cost of cell phones.
• don't seem to have an understanding of common courtesy and phone use.
• are calling each other and texting at all hours of the day and night.
• are sending sexual pictures of themselves and others.
• are inappropriately using their phones at school and sometimes during class.
• are bullying others.
• do not realize that the actions they take with their phones are NOT private.

Many parents have created their own set of rules and keep a good handle on the household rules regarding phone use but in order to help those parents teach their kids appropriate phone use and responsibility I've created this FAMILY CELL PHONE CONTRACT to help them set appropriate boundaries with their kids.  There are a few rules that won't apply to some families so I left it a Word document so it can be adjusted.  Feel free to share it with the parents of your middle and high school youth and anybody else who might find it beneficial.  Also, if necessary, feel free to adapt it for church use during youth events or trips.