Oh my goodness, children have so many needs (wants) these days! My son is now 14 and will be entering high school in two days. (My baby, he is so grown up… and it happened so fast!) But anyway, since he was 11, he has been begging me to get him a cell phone. He claims everyone has one but him.

Although he has been persistent in his request, I never really gave it much thought. But now that he is entering high school, I am reconsidering.

For the past summer he has come up with better justification than “everyone else has one”. He has begun playing to my sense of fear. He gives me all of these emergency scenarios in which a cell phone might save the day.

Also, as he gotten older, I have been losing my overprotective mother grip. But now I can see how a cell phone can help me regain some of the control back. I can kill two birds with one stone. I can give him the cell phone that he desperately wants. And I can get the control I want… because he will only be a phone call away from me at all times.

Last month my cell phone service contract with Sprint expired. So now I have the freedom to select any service provider. I have looked at a few, but I think I may settle with the new AT&T (formerly Cingular, formerly Bell South Mobility)

My first mobile phone was with Bell South mobility. Even back then, they had those roll over minutes. I really made use of that feature, and I’d like to have it again.

AT&T also has free mobile to mobile. Right now, I have to pay an extra fee for the same thing from Sprint.

And I like the free call forwarding. I can use that feature to forward calls to my desk phone when I am at work or my house phone when I’m at home so that I won’t use up anytime minutes. Sprint charges a per use fee for call forwarding.

Besides, AT&T has great family plans. I can get three lines for a little as $70. And… AT&T also has some great specials, discounts and rebates offers:

> They offer a wide selection of free phones.

> Many rebates of up to $150

> For WA, OR, CO and TX residents, Car Toys is offering rebates of many AT&T mobile phones, valid through 8/5

> Save $100 on the AT&T Tilt after Mail-in Rebate promotion card, plus, get a FREE GPS Accessory Kit with separate Mail-in Rebate

> Courtesy of Howard Forums, a list of many AT&T bonus minutes, text, media packages and other codes

> 10% discount off regular monthly rate for AFGE unions members

> 12% discount off regular monthly rate for College of New Jersey employees

> 8% discount off regular monthly rate for Indiana University students and 12% discount off regular monthly rate for Indiana University employees

> 15% discount off regular monthly rate for UC Berkley employees

> 5% discount off regular monthly rate for Communications Workers of America union members

> 10% discount off regular monthly rate for Union Plus members

> 15% discount off regular monthly rate for University of Kentucky employees

> Enter your work or school email address here or here to see it you qualify you are eligible for a discount

> $25 from CashBaq, that can be used in additional to the coupons listed here

> $31.50 rebate from Big Crumbs