Are your kids too young for an unrestricted mobile phone but old enough to easily get far beyond the reach of, ahem, concerned parents?
The i-Kids mobile phone service provides a restricted mobile service that allows “pre-teens” to call only four pre-determined numbers (via the Vodafone network). An emergency button dials each of the four numbers in order until one is answered.
Busy little fingers can’t clock up SMS bills, either. Of course, it receives incoming calls.
The service can also alert parents when the handset moves past a predetermined (via the i-Kids Website) safety zone. The handset can also be located via GPS.
“Parents are not always in a position to know their child’s exact location because young people
need a degree of independence and parental trust in order to develop,” says i-Kids’ Mark Gullickson. “i-Kids gives parents peace of mind by providing secure access at all times, while giving their children an opportunity to grow. It certainly takes some of the stress out of being a caring parent.”
The handset costs $299 and the service has a $28 monthly subscription fee.
