Dad hammers Wyo. teen's phone after mega-bill
By Adam Chodak
9News

Posted: 04/08/2009 07:47:35 AM MDT
Updated: 04/08/2009 03:36:56 PM MDT


Dena Christoffersen sent more than 300 texts within an eight-hour period every day at school. (9News)CHEYENNE — In one month, a Cheyenne teenager sent 10,000 text messages and received about the same — all while her family's plan did not include texting.

That means the family's provider — Verizon — charged them for each incoming and outgoing text message.

The girl's parents, Gregg and Jaylene Christoffersen, thought texting had been disabled, so one can imagine their surprise when they got the monthly phone bill and it asked for $4,756.25.

"It just hit us like a rock, like you're stepping into a bus," Gregg Christoffersen said.

The bill was legit.

Dena Christoffersen, 13, had apparently been sending most of these messages at school. That's more than 300 texts within an eight-hour period every

Gregg Christoffersen was shocked to see his daughter's texting bill. (9News)day for the whole month.
Needless to say, it drew attention away from what she should have been doing: paying attention in class.

"She went from A's and B's one semester to F's in two months," Dena's dad said.

Hours after the enormous bill arrived, Gregg Christoffersen took a hammer to his daughter's phone.

He and Jaylene also grounded Dena until the end of school.

"I felt really bad, and I have learned my lesson," Dena said, with her head down.

Since she lost her phone, Dena's grades have gone up, and the texting is down to zero.

As for the phone bill, the family says Verizon has been willing to knock it down to a reasonable level.

The Christoffersens are asking school administrators at Johnson Junior High School to crack down on cellphone use during school.


See the smashed cell phone at 9News.com.

Source and This one too
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Ok so if this were my child...wow. I'd freak! 10,000 texts in a MONTH? WTH?!

So my question is....what would you do if this were YOUR child?

And just for the sake of converstaion, if you text, whats the greatest amount of texts you have sent in a month? Or even in a day?

Hahaha what an idiot girl.

Anyway, what does she need with a phone at 13? I didn't get mine till I was 16 and started actually going out on my own.

shit, one month i had like 15000 texts xD i'll probably get my kids a phone when they are fourteen or fifteen, depending on how mature they are. i'll more than likely put unlimited texting on it, therefore not having to worry about overage charges.

Good on her for her grades improving. =D I'm proud of her and her parents!

lmao! only in wyoming....(well of course everywhere else...)

No point in "cracking down" on cell phone useage as school.

You need to "crack down" on stupid.

That girl was stupid. Her phone deserved to be smashed.

I got my first cell phone when I was almost 13. However, my parents were just starting their divorce, my mother was sick, and I needed a way to get in contact with my family. I never texted in class because I didn't have a reason to/my friends weren't big on texters.

Once I was a little older (16) and I got a new phone and switched carriers, then I started texting at school. It didn't affect my grades one bit. I sent close to 800 messages a month, and I still graduated with a 3.4 (4.0 weighted) GPA.

Sounds like this little girl didn't know how to handle herself responsibly.

oops that other link is this one too

I'm pretty sure I'd be like, "You're getting a job, you dumb bitch. And you're paying me interest on it. And you're paying rent now, too. Fuckface."

The most texts I've ever sent in one day is three, and the most in a month is three. I don't do text messages. If I want to talk to someone, I'll call them.

See, I'm the opposite. I HATE being on the phone, because then I feel obligated to keep the conversation flowing, and then its awkward. With texts, I don't have to say much. :-)

But then, even with that I still don't text much, AND I have a text plan so it wouldn't matter. :-)

GOD! My dad would have taken a hammer to me, not the phone!
And THIS is why you don't give a ya kids bloody phones until they're old enogh to pay for it themselves!!!

If this was my child, she'd never be allowed out of the house again because when she's not at school or doing homework she will be doing chores to within an inch of her life to work off the bill!

Most texts I've sent in a month is probably about 500, and I would have been about 21 when I did it and I was shocked at THAT much. Not sure about in the period of a day.

i'm pretty sure that if the verizon consultants that they go to are pretty nice that they'll find a way to change their plan and back date it.
i have verizon and have gone over on minutes before and they've done it for me.

Must be a crap school for them not to notice someone on their phone or to just let them carry on, she must have pretty fast thumbs.

"I felt really bad, and I have learned my lesson," Dena said, with her head down.

ROFLMBO!! PUH-LEASE! The only reason she feels bad is because now she doesn't have her phone. If she still had her phone she wouldn't feel as bad about it.

First of all, a 13 year old doesn't need a cell phone. They have those phones for kids where you can only program like 5 numbers and call the numbers in them. I would maybe give my child that. I don't see how people can text that many in the first place. You have to be spending 95% of your time staring at your phone.

I agree. I don't see why a 13 year old needs a phone. I didn't have a phone til I was 16 because a.) I could pay for it, b.) I was dating at that point. No need to have a phone beforehand as I see it. If you're 13 years old, where are you going (other than school) without an adult that has a cell phone? Exactly.

I got my first phone for my high school graduation. I used them around 16/17 but didn't get my own until then.

Last week during standardized testing, the school I am observing had all students put their book bags in the hallways so that if they had phones, they wouldn't interfere with testing. School policy is that kids can bring phones, as long as they are turned off.
We are talking about 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders here! They are between 8-11 years old! :-S

Well, I think that depends on where you live.

I grew up mostly on farms, out in the country. So yeah, if I needed to go somewhere other than school, I was with an adult.

But, when I was 12, I lived with my aunt and uncle for almost a year, in a suburb RIGHT on the state capital's edge. So I would run around with my cousin, who was also 12. We took the city bus everywhere. We went to the mall, we went to the movies, we went to the arcade... we spent a LOT of time on that city bus!!!!

My aunt and uncle both worked a lot, so we didn't always have a ride somewhere. And I think, if they had been as readily available, and affordable, back then as they are now, my aunt and uncle would have gotten us cell phones. Nothing fancy or expensive, just a basic prepaid phone.

So, basically, my point is, being 13 doesn't mean you are with an adult at all times. If you have the means to use public transportation, you probably will. And in THAT case, I don't think its a bad idea. But I would NEVER give a child a contract phone, for just this reason. They don't have to be careful with their minutes/texts, and they don't have to think about what its costing their parents.

And judging from the some of the comments here, they obviously don't give a damn and will spend their every waking moment texting if you don't limit them!

You're right, I suppose it does depend on where you live. Where I live, parents let their kids run loose on their property and through the woods, because I live wayyyy back in the country. We don't have public transportation here (unless you consider the school buss public transportation! Lol), so I never thought of it in that way. I agree that a prepaid minute/texting phone would be best in that situation, kids REALLY just couldn't care less about the bill!

Yeah, most of the places I lived as kid were way back in the country too, so I know what you mean.

In fact, that one year was pretty much the only time I lived any place with public transportation until I went off to college.

Seriously. It does depend where you live. If you live in suburbia where your child can walk/ride bikes across town and go places on their own safely, a phone is justified. If you live in the city, a phone is justified.

If you live on a farm and never go anywhere or do anything? No point.

And seriously. If your kid wants a phone? Get a pre-paid. Spend 20$ a month on a set date recharging their phone. That's it. If they burn through their minutes or eat up their texting before the recharge day, their problem.

I think 13 is old enough to start giving them SOME responsibility, if you are going to give them a phone. Those programmable ones are more for younger children.

I think prepaid phones are a good idea because they have to keep track of their minutes and make them last. my sister did that with my niece. She could text, but it used minutes. She was given $30 in minutes to last her the month. If she wanted more, she had to earn the money for it, and NOT by doing household chores. She had to get the money outside the home, babysitting or mowing lawns or whatever.

I think for most kids, that would have been a great exercise in responsibility. Its simple, its easily kept track of, you get to have easy access to them, and they still get to feel "cool" and grown up. ;-) Its kind of a win-win.

okay what is the 13 year old doing with a cellphone. They have those ones where you set the number she can call and that's it. and 2 if that was my kid oh they would be paying me back and losing all their rights. That's bullshit!!

I hate teenagers.

well, my phone is shut off currently :P which is killing me, but on a regular everyday basis i think i send a good 700-800 texts a day. im a textaholic. i HATE talking on the phone. i would rather text until my thumbs fell off than talk on the phone. :/ btw, i am 15, and sometimes even i think that i overuse my phone. but i know when not to use it, such as i wont pull it out at the dinner table or at a friends house in front of their parents... i think that would be rude...

You need to find something better to do with your time....
What are your grades like, to be sending that stupid amount of texts in 1 day?!