I think this rule sums up all the others. Kids will mess up, time and time again. SInce the phone is a privilege I can, and will, use it as a teaching tool. Having their phone 'taken away' from time to time has been the most powerful tool at my disposal for lesson teaching.

There are so many restrictions on this "gift" that I wouldn't be surprised if the child gave it back to his mother. I would tell the child that he may not do inappropriate things with it; doing so will cause him to lose the privilege of having the phone. Then talk with him about things that would be inappropriate. That being understood, I would help the child to see all the innovative and educational things he can do with it. Make it a tool to help him, not a constant weight on his shoulders. If the child is too immature to handle the phone, then wait until he's older to give him one.

The overall sentiment of this "contract" is fantastic. To me, there are two very important aspects in taking this step with your child: 1) don't give a cell phone to your kid to soon. I know that means different things to different people, but grade school is too early. Age 13 seem appropriate to me. I would even assert that waiting until the kid is of driving age before giving them a phone. 2) parents need to model prudent cell phone usage with their kids (myself included). If the parent is going to dictate appropriate behavior with such a device, they best be prepared to behave in kind lest they be labeled as hypocritical.

Rule 1 is the only one I'd tell the kid. Most of the above rules are a parent telling their kid what to do, which I avoid doing (I'd rather let my kid figure that out). As long as the phone isn't a problem (for me) the kid is free to use the phone and free to figure out what's going to be a problem (for him) and what isn't.

Many parents don't want their kids to screw up. They make long lists of rules telling the kid what to do so they won't screw up. I differ. I want my kid to screw up. That way he learns to live with his mistakes and learns how to deal with them. I want a kid who thinks about the consequences of his actions without being warned up front, because that's how the real world works.

If my kid takes the phone to school and a teacher takes it away, I'll be sad for the kid. I'll probably say something like, "Oh, how sad! You lost your phone. Now you can't text your friends, even when you're not at school. Bummer! Now what are you going to do?"

I'd let the kid pay for the service whenever I can't use it to get in touch with him.

If I call the kid and he doesn't answer, he doesn't get to use the phone. No warning. The kid will get the phone back when I don't need to worry about not being able to get in touch with me. But why tell the kid that upfront? Let him figure it out, and before you know it the kid will always be thinking to himself, "I wonder what's going to happen to me if I do x?" Isn't that what you want your kids to be doing?

WOW! She seems like a controll freak! A few of those rules are valid, but calm down lady!!! Why did he need and iphone in the first place to put all those rules on???? She is trying to make herself look smart and responsible but the responsible thing would have told the kid to buy his own iphone. Oooopss...he can't cuz he doesn't have any money!!!??? Lesson 1. learned right there!

Considering Rules 4 and 5 limit the time the child has the phone, I question the sensibility of this expense for so little use.

The hardest thing was trying to understand what is considered rude to my teenaged daughter's generation and for her to understand what is considered rude to my generation. She would have friends over and they'd sit on the couch and talk and text other people. I said, "Hey, next time you invite people over, maybe you should actually pay attention to them." She said that's how all of her friends interact - they're always two or three places at one time.

I told her that it was rude for her to sit next to me and text while we're watching TV together or riding in the car together. All that clicking, buzzing and light flashing was really annoying and distracting for me. She couldn't understand why I couldn't just tune all that out. Well, I couldn't and I still can't. To me the focus should be on the people you're with. If it's not, you should excuse yourself and go to a different room. I think it's completely silly to be in the same room with other people who are all communicating with different people that aren't in the room. That norm is totally foreign to my daughter's generation.

We just had basically one rule: be careful, smart, and respectful with your phone. She did drop her phone in the toilet and ruin it. She felt bad and learned her lesson without punishment. Most teens don't need to have so many "if this, then that" type rules. Parents should try to develop their teen's internal sense of right and wrong rather than relying on external consequences.

I see this parent as trying. I also know it will be a battle! but I think we all know that. : ) We also had a codes both in text and in voice if something was not right (for different situations).Oh, I know I will sound like an over bearing parent, but I also had her friends cell phone numbers as well.

Two words: Over. Parenting.

The list is so long that by the time mom got to No. 18 (I will take YOUR phone away), even she could not remember No. 1 (It's MY phone.).

Why does any child NEED a cell phone to start with? NEED and WANT are two different things.

I think kids will need an app to track all of those rules....