It’s the latest marketing pitch to sell wireless phones to busy parents. Does a child really need a cell phone? Only you can decide what’s right for your family. But clearly cell phone makers see a growing market selling “peace of mind” to moms and dads.

We got four of these kid-friendly phones and had four families test drive each of them.

This bright green phone is designed for kids between the ages of 5 and 9. It has five speed-dial buttons on the front (one is designated for emergency calls) that you can program via the Internet or on the handset.

When a child pushes one of the buttons a question pops up on the screen – for instance, “call home?” or “calls dad’s cell?” If that’s right, they push send and the call is made. Migo was the favorite at the Laskowski house. Both 5-year-old Brendan and 8-year-old Naddie found it easy to use. “They don’t have to memorize numbers,” Janelle Laskowski told me. “They just know that each of the numbers correspond to a certain person.” Migo is made to use Verizon’s optional Chaperon service that lets parents track the phone in real time on their handset or PC. For an additional charge, parents can set up boundaries for where the child can go. If the phone leaves the designated area, a text message alert will be sent to the parent’s phone. (Only certain adult handsets are capable of using this service.)

Mrs. Laskowski said the Chaperone service worked great. “I could see where they were when they were not home and I knew they could call if there was a problem,” she told me.

Erin Powell also gives the Migo high marks. She likes the parental controls that limit outgoing and incoming calls and how many minutes can be used.

Mrs. Powell says her 6-year-old son, Tyler, “really loved it” because it’s easy to understand. But her 9-year-old daughter, Lorna, would rather have a normal cell phone.

The Migo phone is $49.99 with a two-year service contract. The Chaperone service, which lets you locate the Migo phone via handset or PC, must be activated by a Family Share account, which is $9.99 per month. Chaperone with Child Zone, which allows you to locate your family member’s phone and get alerts when they enter or exit a specific area costs $19.99 a month.

Disney Mobil

Everyone agrees this is the “coolest” phone of the bunch, because it’s a real LG flip phone. Disney Mobil is targeting an older market, kids age 11 to 15.

The phone has lots of bells and whistles, including a color screen, camcorder, and camera with flash. Kids can download games, customize ring tones and display screens. The exterior display shows the time and caller ID. It even has voice-dialing. Mrs. Carlson especially liked the “Family Alerts,” text messages that were already pre-programmed into the handset. So with the push of two buttons her son Matthew could tell her “I’m running late” or “Ill be home soon.”

Parental controls let you restrict the numbers the phone can dial and receive. You can also limit the hours of the day and days of the week the phone can be used.

With the Family Monitor feature, you can set a monthly allowance for voice minutes, text and picture messages, and downloadable content. When the limit is reached, both you and your kid are alerted. Then you can decide what, if anything, to do.

Like the Migo, the Disney phone uses GPS technology to let mom or dad locate their kid’s phone online or on their handset whenever they want.

(Source: msnbc.com)