We're looking for a low-cost phone for our 14 year old -- first phone. We want to keep cost low (under $100 or even lower) in case of possible loss/breakage. I have mixed emotions about a Smartphone, but we do like the features that might help with keeping him on track and on time. I know my iPhone has been great this way, it's just too expensive an option for him now. I found a couple of what I call basic Smartphones, quite inexpensive and reasonable ($100 or under) -- the Motorola Moto and the Microsoft Lumina 435 (different versions out there too). The Lumina also seems to have the new Cortana assistant available (as in Windows 10). Does anyone have experience with these or other low cost Smartphones?

And now I tried to set up teen profile as a start. I set a password and child's name and birthdate. Now it proceeded to home screen. It greets me by name (not my child!) and also I note with alarm that it shows my whole Amazon purchase order history (presents, etc.). How is this happening and how can I change? I don't want to show all of this.

...I see also that you can set parental controls -- but this seems to be only setting a numeric password to prevent purchases. Any way to filter internet sites? Or just block totally? Curfew hours? Or is the blocking/curfew etc. only through Freetime.

Our son has a new Fire tablet, and I'd like to set up parental controls. I know there is something called Amazon FreeTime that you can subscribe to -- but what ages would this be appropriate for? I understand it has free programming, but I don't know what ages. DS just turned 14. Our main concern is to block social media (for now), and filter inappropriate internet sites (and inappropriate YouTube, etc). I don't mind setting curfew hours, as well. I know, he's older. But we're just being careful for now. Any suggestions or experiences with parental controls and/or Amazon FreeTime would be much appreciated!

Our 14 year old just got a guitar and is excited about learning. He says he can teach himself and he does have a good ear for music. We have a couple of very basic intro books. Can anyone recommend online resources (whether online classes or YouTube videos, free classes, or something else)? Comments about specific books welcome, too, or good/bad experiences with different resources. Any/all suggestions would be much appreciated!

Our 14 year old just got a guitar and is excited about learning. He says he can teach himself and he does have a good ear for music. We have a couple of very basic intro books. Can anyone recommend online resources (whether online classes or YouTube videos, free classes, or something else)? Comments about specific books welcome, too, or good/bad experiences with different resources. Any/all suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks! But will the Tracphones only be phone and text only? Or do some of them have internet as well?

We are about to buy our son his first phone, and want an inexpensive "dumb phone" -- only the capability for calls and texts, no internet. But our very old flip phone is uncool (even I get that). And really hard to text on, too. Our idea is to buy the phone until he is used to carrying and takes good care of it, then move eventually to a phone with data. I've heard recommendations for Tracphones -- but I'm clueless as to where to start looking, and also what is out there. Should I start with Best Buy? Target? Walmart? Where first? Any suggestions (soon if possible!) would be much appreciated.

Thank you both. If the placement is usually just on birthdates, she'd be placed in 3rd. But since she did not complete the whole year at the PS, would she need to repeat that year next year do you think? That's what I'm wondering. And for testing -- we are not really pursuing any testing in the school itself. I meant outside independent testing for cognitive and any attention issues.

I'm not looking for specifics (probably varies by school district and state). But what generally happens if you choose to re-enroll a child in public school mid-year? And if you wait until fall of the following year is this better? I'm wondering if there is always testing, and whether if a child tests below grade level in reading (impt), whether the school would have them repeat the grade. This is our 5th year homeschooling, and 3rd homeschooling our DD who is now in 3rd. We know there is impulsivity and hyperactivity issues (attention-related), but this year it's become a struggle across the board -- and our other older child (teen) is getting shortchanged because ALL the time and energy are going to address the struggles, adapt the curriculum constantly. So... we're pursuing evaluations but also wondering what would happen exactluy when a family re-enrolls a child mid-year? Or at the start of a new year? Would greatly appreciate anyone being able to share their experience. We are not ruling out homeschooling again, but for now -- this may be what is needed.

I'm not looking for specifics (probably varies by school district and state). But what generally happens if you choose to re-enroll a child in public school mid-year? And if you wait until fall of the following year is this better? I'm wondering if there is always testing, and whether if a child tests below grade level in reading (impt), whether the school would have them repeat the grade. This is our 5th year homeschooling, and 3rd homeschooling our DD who is now in 3rd. We know there is impulsivity and hyperactivity issues (attention-related), but this year it's become a struggle across the board -- and our other older child (teen) is getting shortchanged because ALL the time and energy are going to address the struggles, adapt the curriculum constantly. So... we're pursuing evaluations but also wondering what would happen exactluy when a family re-enrolls a child mid-year? Or at the start of a new year? Would greatly appreciate anyone being able to share their experience. We are not ruling out homeschooling again, but for now -- this may be what is needed.

Our DD was in public school for PK and K, and then we homeschooled 1st, 2nd, and this year 3rd. She has always been bright but highly active and has difficulty sitting still. With occasional outbursts. However, this year has been a battle and she's been refusing to do work, writing nonsense when she doesn't feel like doing assignments, etc. We have already discussed ADHD with her ped, and there are probably both sensory and attention issues. However, I'm thinking of enrolling her back in public school while we have her evaluated. She may benefit from the structure, I need a break quite frankly, and our other child needs more attention than I am able to give at the same time. Has anyone done this and what happens when you re-enroll? Do they test? I'm thinking she may possbly have to finish the year, but then repeat this grade. Which may not be totally bad, as she is yo9ung for her age and behind at least in reading.

And I really feel quite awful, I actually pulled a breakfast to Santa event scheduled for tomorrow morning. It was just so awful. But I warned to please stop, and it didn't, I just can't see doing it right after this. But it's like, when it gets awful there's no getting through to her. We did also have a situation last week at a party, where she knocked a girl down because she was running around crazy, and the poor girl was just trying to sweep up after the event. Refused to apologize, it's all her fault, etc. And this was after there had been a near incident and we'd warned her about safety. But on the other hand -- the ped said that because she can control herself in some situations it must not be ADHD. Like the one class she liked. And we had a really awful behavior two weeks ago in church, and almost got kicked out of choir. Yet she is back and is actually behaving there the couple of times since that. What gives? Why does this come and go?

Well, I thought I was going to sit down and reflect on all the advice. We just had a kicker of a day (and night). In no particular order -- I don't think we would have trouble getting an IEP, since with her physical disability they are required to give her one. However, we already had difficulty in getting enough (as Oh Elizabeth put it) in it, and had to get independent evals in order to get needed services. Just in terms of giving her appropriate materials she can access etc. And getting this done consistently in the classroom was a nightmare. No, she's not medicated and has no behavioral label. We have tried, the behavior has been there all along -- but even with 3/4 teacher evals and ours supporting attention and hyperactivity problems, the ped would not go with it. We literally had an apppointment where she jumped off the exam table for about an hour, I let her b/c I thought he'd see the behavior, and he still thinks she's just an active child. Someone mentioned ODD, the description of that fits to a T. The behavior is not always noticeable, she can be sweet and very social. But when she's not, oh my. You should have seen it here tonight. One correction (not to mishandle books) and it escalated something awful. I am apparently a terrible person, we deserve to die, and as a bonus she went after the cat. I'm thinking here again about the public school and my motivations. I just think I need some kind of break if nothing else. It's saying something b/c we had such difficulties with school and the IEP process. But I'm wondering if just some...respite....during the day and lifting responsibility for school might help. We have an older child who really needs help meeting his learning needs, and really wants to try, and I'm spending 90% of my time with her. I can't have him out of the house because he needs a lot of intervention and assistance. Is it wrong to think of public school in this way? Does this ever happen? Or will things get better if we can scrape enough together to get a full neuropsych in the next couple of months and hopefully....I don't know what. Medication? We just evaluated our other child and it was a huge out of pocket expense we are struggling with. Partly though as I went first through a neurologist. I'm thinking here, maybe just do neuropsych? They seemed to have more hands-on useful testing and observations. Help.

Oh Elizabeth, thank you! We actually took advantage of getting one during the recent sale. :) I was thinking it would be shared between the two kids, but maybe we could just dedicate this to his use. I suppose the advantage would be keeping near him. Do you have your DS' in his room and/or with him most of the time? We need lists and reminders like there's no tomorrow. I wonder if websites/apps like the Cozi Calendar can be used on the Fire? Even with the controls? We'd want to keep the internet mostly blocked except for something like that. P.S. With the included clock app, can you attach a text reminder (like "do this _______ now")?

We have a 13 year old and will be getting him a phone for the first time. He has ADHD inattentive, as well as slow processing. He's extremely bright, but needs a huge number of reminders of tasks to accomplish, staying on track, etc. The plan is to start with something inexpensive -- hopefullly not a smart phone, but a less expensive phone (possibly a trackphone). So there would be some limits and also if it is lost there is not a huge out of pocket expense. I KNOW an iPhone or something would have lots of helpful apps. But what could we get that is not as expensive if lost or as hard to monitor usage (especially internet). Any ideas?

Thank you so much for the info, I am finding I can relate parts to one child, parts to another. I need to sift through it a bit more and will repost. Having a good board to ask questions on is a huge help. :)

Thanks Oh Elizabeth. Can I ask, are you homeschooling both children still or is the one with the ASD diagnosis in school now? When you mention IEP, it sounds like school. We had a tremendous time getting IEP in place for other issues. It is a long story, but it involves difficulty with an outside state agency that works with the school for her physical disability. Because they weren't helping, we pushed back on the school -- and caught a lot of flack. We did see and ask for sensory OT while in school, but they didn't see it as necessary then. We did OT out of pocket in K, through a children's hospital, and it helped a little, but our goal of having this transfer in....no go. They simply dismissed the outside OT's recommendations as they didn't see it. By start of 1st, they did start seeing behavior in school. This was not news, we saw it at home. And funny thing, when she was good at home, the behaviors would come out in school. Or when she was good in school, it was like an explosion when she came home. I am so hesitant to put her back in school, and don't really want to...except I have to make something work to make things calmer, and also to make sure she gets a good education. Do you think school would help? Or are there ways to work with the behavior to correct at home? Can you explain what you mentioned "if you can go to a place where there is more on the table, ADHD vs...."? I'm not sure I understand that. I'm wondering do you have any recommendations or your behaviorist, for dealing with some behavior issues at home? I understand you when you say you are just done. And the dynamics do sound similar to many of ours. We had really difficult issues with her around 5, when there was pushing and hitting. It calmed when we pulled her. But lately there has been the pushing again and in between the name calling and aggression. It is really making a lot of chaos at home.

Thanks Oh Elizabeth. Can I ask, are you homeschooling both children still or is the one with the ASD diagnosis in school now? When you mention IEP, it sounds like school. We had a tremendous time getting IEP in place for other issues. It is a long story, but it involves difficulty with an outside state agency that works with the school for her physical disability. Because they weren't helping, we pushed back on the school -- and caught a lot of flack. We did see and ask for sensory OT while in school, but they didn't see it as necessary then. We did OT out of pocket in K, through a children's hospital, and it helped a little, but our goal of having this transfer in....no go. They simply dismissed the outside OT's recommendations as they didn't see it. By start of 1st, they did start seeing behavior in school. This was not news, we saw it at home. And funny thing, when she was good at home, the behaviors would come out in school. Or when she was good in school, it was like an explosion when she came home. I am so hesitant to put her back in school, and don't really want to...except I have to make something work to make things calmer, and also to make sure she gets a good education. Do you think school would help? Or are there ways to work with the behavior to correct at home? Can you explain what you mentioned "if you can go to a place where there is more on the table, ADHD vs...."? I'm not sure I understand that. I'm wondering do you have any recommendations or your behaviorist, for dealing with some behavior issues at home? I understand you when you say you are just done. And the dynamics do sound similar to many of ours. We had really difficult issues with her around 5, when there was pushing and hitting. It calmed when we pulled her. But lately there has been the pushing again and in between the name calling and aggression. It is really making a lot of chaos at home.

Our DD (8) is in 3rd grade. We pulled her out of public school in fall of her 1st grade year. She has other issues where she had to have an IEP (not behavior, a physical disability). Bottom line is, it worked well for two years, although there have always been ups and downs in her behavior. She can be hyperactive, challenging. But you know, it worked for two years. But this year the work is a bit harder, it does take a bit more concentration. And she has been SO challenging. She doesn't want to do her work, and she will actually make up numbers or scribble in her book to try to get away with not doing work. Multiple times. And she will shout, sometimes hit. And corner our animals. But then in between can be sweet and intelligent. But you never know when--except if you tell her no or try to correct her work or behavior, watch out. And we also homeschool another older child with ADHD and processing issues. Because of the attention, I have to constantly work to monitor progress. Did I mention one is loud and sensory seeking, and the other needs quiet to focus at all? I am literally shaking as I'm reading this, thinking about putting her back in public school. And this year also I've had some minor physical health issues that I need to get control of. What exactly happens if you enroll a child mid-year in public school? I'm thinking they might not count that year, or might test her abilities and then might not count some of the homeschooling since it isn't public. I'm not fond at all of the option, and we had problems getting and implementing the IEP, but I'm almost to the point of thinking that seeing her behavior corrected by others might help. Or at least give me a small break to regroup during the day. I know we need to pursue more evaluations, but in the meantime I am CRAZY trying to monitor her all the time. Any comments/suggestions would help so much. I need to be able to weigh what the options are. I don't want to pull in and out of school, but I'd look at this as a try it and see how it goes option. Maye?

Well we did go ahead and buy a Fire on sale, for the holiday (shhhh). Someone please talk to me again, though, about the parental controls and how to keep it almost totally locked down. Or do you need something like Qustodio to make it really secure? Oh Elizabeth, can you talk about alarms? We have an issue with keeping on track, etc. and an alarm or reminder feature would be excellent. Although I'm not sure I want to trust it being locked down enough to keep in his room. What kind of alarms are there and how can you use them for a forgetful child?

Thanks Alessandra. we just had a chat and it appears that he tried different variations and "found" the password as it was same as on our skype. We will definitely change it. We don't have the ability to make network invisible now (I asked DH) but will with new router. Problem is just that he keeps saying time to get this and that set up, and we're down a laptop and printer too so the whole computer situation has me about in tears. Can you possibly tell me how the forget this network works on iOS? We do have iphone and iPad, I suppose these too will need to be locked down even tighter.

I'm looking for wisdom from other parents -- is it possible to access the internet on the Nintendo DSi, without a Wifi password? We have a security password for our wifi, but just discovered our son playing Youtube video on Nintendo DSi. If you don't have a password, what makes it possible? Hacking? How would he find the password? We have not given him internet priviliges on other computer devices here -- except for our iPad, and except for PC laptop during online class -- because he was previously "curious". What do do now? Help!

We have iphone and one iPad, but there are amazing sales on the Fire tablet for Black Friday. I was thinking of either one for older child or younger. But are there any kid controls? How do they work? We do have Amazon Prime already. I do see there is a kids version, but on Amazon it was much more expensive -- about 80, as opposed to 39 for Fire. So was thinking about the lower cost version, especially as this is our first foray into tablets other than iPad. And would a small amount of storage be okay? The lowest price is 8GB. Main purpose (at least for younger child) would be some photos, some videos, some games. Something to toss in bag and and bring along. She doesn't have a camera so I see this might be something she'd enjoy too. But I don't want her all over the internet, either. :) Any suggestions/comments would be so much appreciated!

I have wanted an affordable camera for several years, as I am currently only using my iPhone 6 camera. For taking normal mom photos, but also documenting our homeschooling! What I would like is something affordable, nothing too fancy -- automatic (but some manual options would be a plus), ability to connect to web would be great (download photos easily). I know that sales are coming in the next few days and have absolutely no idea where to look. Any ideas/suggestions would be so much appreciated!