“The new TracFone LG Optimus Fuel™ Android™ smartphone is a pre-paid wireless phone with excellent parental control options and GPS tracking, making it an excellent choice as a first time cell phone for kids. The phone is loaded up with SpongeBob SquarePants apps, which your kids will love.”
It has happened. My son can now go to school and come home by himself. It kills me, but it is time.
And he has a phone. One that I received for a blog review. And it is a different brand than my phone. That means I cannot track him the way my sister-in-law can track everyone in her family because they all have iPhones. That also means I have yet to let him leave the house with the phone. And I have already caught him with the phone when he shouldn’t be using it, and it has never left the house! That is why I am thrilled to share this review of his new phone, the LG Optimus Fuel™ Android™ smartphone , it helps with many of the cell phone issues I have surrounding my son having one!
I reviewed a phone similar to the above one from TracFone over a year ago. I was very excited about its features, but it was from a startup company that is now out of existence. There was no reason, when he was still in elementary school, to give that phone to my son, so it never got used. Now that I do not have a choice, the time has come for him to have a phone to walk around the city with. Or at least as far as the tracking chip in his ankle will allow. I am kidding!
GPS Tracking (my personal favorite!):
I can track my son with the GPS in the phone! For example, if he had this phone two weeks ago, when he “forgot” that I wasn’t picking him up from his after school program, I wouldn’t have had to leave the house looking for him. I could have called, or checked the GPS and seen he was in the school yard, presumably shooting hoops.
How this is a great first phone for your kid(s) – The Family Guardian App:
The Family Guardian app allows you to set times when your child can unlock their phone to call, text, and/or browse online. That means he cannot use his phone in Hebrew School, where he goes twice a week, two hours at a time. Because there are others who do sneak it there, and they get in trouble all the time. I am happy to have one less thing to worry about!
I have labeled my son an electronics addict. If I did not strictly regulate his electronics time, he would never do homework. He is in an advanced program in middle school and we cannot spare any time away from homework! That is why all electronic usage is monitored. And of course as strict a monitor as I am I have found him in the bathroom with his electronics! What a sneak! Luckily he is not a good sneak, he does get caught. That points out another advantage to this phone. This is not an unlimited usage phone. I don’t want my son to have access to unlimited minutes and data usage. We have to buy a certain amount of minutes and that is all he has to use. Yet another item I do not have to worry about!
Additionally, the extra perk with this phone is the SpongeBob SquarePants apps already loaded onto the phone. We all love SpongeBob SquarePants in this house, I have even met Tom Kenny, the actor who voices him! If my son does want to play games on the phone, I am much more comfortable with these apps, then something mind numbing like minecraft!
This is a great holiday gift idea!
My son started middle school in September, There is a large group of us who still walk our children to school. We are slowly letting go. This holiday season, this TracFone is the perfect gift for the kids, because they are ready. With GPS tracking, parental controls, and limited data usage, we parents have a shot at having some piece of mind when our kids start to experience their freedom outside our watchful eye!
Many of my son’s fellow students have had cell phones for over a year. He has not. And that made him very unhappy. He now has his new TracFone to take with him when he leaves the house. He actually called today to ask if a friend could come over to hang out. It may not sound like a big deal to you, but it was the first time this has happened. And he understands that I am in charge and set the parameters. Again, he doesn’t like that, but is more than willing to agree to my terms, as long as he can have this phone!
But Wait! Don’t just listen to me, listen to the kid who gets to use it, my son, Paul:
Lastly, my Dads Group, Life of Dad, has a fun December activity for you and the kids, you can track Santa through the GPS in his phone! Life of Dad will be sharing Santa-ish photos every day, and you can see them and make believe you are tracking Santa with us by following the hashtag, #TracSanta!
Disclosure: I have partnered and was compensated by Life of Dad, LLC and TracFone for this promotion.
My oldest is 10 and he has been NAGGING incessantly about getting a phone. While he’s not getting one this year, I am seriously considering it next year when he’s in the middle school. This sounds like a great starter phone.
These are perfect for kids. Sounds like a great one for your son.
Tracfones have really come a long way. I remember when a tracfone meant you could talk to someone and that was pretty much it.
My sons aren’t anywhere near old enough for this, but when the time comes, I want a phone that I can control. This one sounds great.
Tracfones are great for kid’s first phone! No contract and they are inexpensive to keep each month!
I like the idea of a pre-paid smartphone. It looks like a great phone and I like that it has GPS tracking.
My oldest(who will be 10 tomorrow), has been asking for a phone. I used to think NO WAY, but there are times when I wish he had one and I think he’ll probably be getting one sometime in the next year.
This sounds like a great starter phone. It has some great features that kids and parents will both like.
It’s cool that you can set certain times for the phone to unlock. That’s definitely useful for homework time!
This certainly sounds like a great first phone for kids. I like that you can set locks so kids cannot access the phone when at school.
I have never heard of this before! I love the phone being able to lock at times I need that for my son!
Now this is another cool product of technology! Life’s made simpler with smartphones. The Family Guardian app is so amazing!
This looks like the perfect starter phone for a kid. The Family Guardian app sounds very ideal.
This is a great phone to start your kids off with. I love the Gps and parental controls.
I definitely worry about cell phones and kids! This phone looks to be very safe and I love parental control!
My daughter will be starting after school sports soon and we will be in need of a cell for her then. I think this is going to the top of our list. It does look like it has a lot of the features we are looking for!
This looks like a great first phone for kids. I like that there is no contract and you pay as you go.
Paul has a phone already? Time is flying way too fast! I will bet he is going to download foodie and restaurant apps! 🙂
Very interested in researching this phone. We have a competitor but curious what the differences are. The parental controls on blocking calls/texts are key in my opinion and yes GPS is important.
I think TracPhone is perfect for kids! I love that you can just buy cards to reboot the minutes instead of having to pay for a contract.
i keep telling my brother in law to get a smartphone from track phone. he still has a flip phone. maybe I should get him one for Christmas.
So glad he likes it! Looks and sounds like a great phone!
Very cool! This seems like the perfect starter phone.
Tracfone has really come a long way over the years! This is perfect for a pre-teen or teen.
I love the parental control options and the GPS tracking. This sounds like the perfect phone for the kids. Thank you for sharing
GPS Tracking would be my personal favorite too. This looks like a great starter phone for kids to learn cell phone responsibility with. Thanks Mitch!
What a lucky son you have! The perfect cell phone for him for sure. It will give you peace of mind. What an awesome phone!
Really its cool! GPS Tracking would be my choice for my son! This is nice phone for kids. I want to share another idea http://tracker24x7.com/ Its really impressive.
Your link is helpful. Thanks azg for sharing your thought.
LOL, Santa Clause and Hebrew school. He’s got it covered for sides, to be sure. I have that phone and like it’s long battery life, but that’s only if I leave bluetooth and wifi turned off and no apps that can turn it on for updates or downloads, until I want them. On his though, might need to leave those on, not sure.