An account with a monthly bill shows every phone
number called including time of day and helps you
understand who your child communicates with.
Review their call history with your child and explain
that this isn’t an invasion of privacy but a way to help
keep him or her safe. Especially note unfamiliar num-
bers from out of your area.➟ The monthly bill (see Figure 11-9) tells you what
times of day calls are taking place. If a child’s having
difficulty getting up for school in the morning or
sneaking out at night, look at the child’s phone call-
ing and texting history. If calls and text messages are
flying in the middle of the night, you may need to
take the phone away from the child after a certain
time in the evening, setting a time that the family
believes is too late for accepting or making phone
calls, and returning the phone in the morning.It’s also useful to pay attention to calls and text messages sent during
school hours. Most schools prohibit use of cell phones during school,
except for emergencies. If a child or teen’s phone record shows a lot of
calls or text messages placed during school hours (especially to other
students) this may indicate a problem with paying attention in class or
cheating on tests.Sit down with the children in your care to periodically
check the content on the phone. Which ringtones are
they using? Are the photos they’ve taken and the pho-
tos sent to them appropriate? What other items have
they downloaded (games, ads and coupons, and so
on)? What services have they purchased? Are the serv-
ices appropriate, and do they have ongoing monthly
fees? You may not find some services appropriate.
Does the phone allow them to watch videos? If so,
which videos are they watching?230
Part II: Using the Internet While Dodging the Risk