Tame Your Data Hog with Pre-Paid Phones [AD] #IC #DataDoneRight #SprintMom

**Full Disclosure: I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for Virgin Mobile USA which is one of Sprint’s prepaid brands. I received two Virgin Mobile smartphones to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

I hear the ‘older generation’ complaining about how lazy kids ‘these days’ are more and more often. It’s said that kids today don’t want to work for things, they just want everything handed to them. It’s no surprise that my boys, like most kids, are data hogs. They will sit and stare at a screen for as long as they possibly can. But my husband and I don’t want our kids to be lazy and obnoxious so we try hard to teach them a strong work ethic.  One way we do that is with chores. Some chores are done because they are part of our family and it’s just a part of living here. Other chores can be done to earn money or time on electronics.

My kids occasionally complain about doing chores that benefit the family but will do just about anything for money or time on their electronics. I am not (terribly!) ashamed to use that motivation to my advantage quite frequently! Pre-Paid phones, the Virgin Mobile devices, make it easy to control the amount of time my kids are allowed to have on their gadgets.

Data Earning Chores:

1. Dusting earns 40 minutes
2. Vacuuming earns 25 minutes
3. Laundry (wash, fold, put away) earns 40 minutes
4. Dishes earns 30 minutes
5. Mopping earns 60 minutes

Using the data earning chores allows my kids to earn as much device time as I am willing to give each week (3 hours). I like that the boys have to earn their time and that they know what the limit is. It’s so beneficial to my kids and their work ethic.

Our older son attends a school that encourages the use of smart phones for school and homework. We give him 8 ‘free’ hours of data for school use but he has to earn the rest of his data time. He is definitely the bigger data hog in our home! Our younger son only uses data for watching video game videos. While he doesn’t need a ton of time, he has to earn what he wants.

The data sharing functionality and restrictions are very easy to use.  The phone is hand-sized and works well for everyone in my family.

Virgin Mobile’s Data Done Right Multi-line Data Sharing plans feature:

• Pre-loaded Virgin Mobile app which provides data buy-ups and international add-ons with one touch, directly from the device.
• Parental control features with device curfew and app restrictions.
• No additional monthly line fees. No contract.
• One-touch data buy-up options, which range depending on your need for more data.
• Popular social media and music streaming apps without data charges, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pandora – unlimited usage without counting against your data allotment, for just $5 per month.
• Flexible international calling/texting options.
• Sprint® Nationwide Network

Data Done Right single line and multi-line data sharing plans by Virgin Mobile are exclusively available at Walmart. They are pre-paid, flexible shared plans. My favorite feature is that you can divide up the data however {and whenever!} you want to fit your family needs. Bonus? Every multi-line plan also comes with a free mobile hotspot feature, making it even easier to share data across Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Use Walmart’s Data Done Right Store Locator to find Virgin Mobile pre-paid phones near you!

How do you tame the data hog(s) in your home?