How to Get Your Phone Back when Your Parents Take it Away

Last Updated: March 21, 2023

Having your phone taken away by your parents is a relatively common punishment. Your parents may decide to take your phone away because you have abused your phone privileges. They may also decide to take your phone away as a punishment for a different mistake. It is important to understand why your parents took away your phone, discuss how to get it returned, and show your parents that you take your phone responsibilities seriously.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Talking to Your Parents

1
Determine the best time to talk to your parents. Select a good time and place to talk to your parents. Make sure that you are in a private location such as the car or your home. Don’t begin the conversation right before a scheduled event.
2
Discuss the problem with your parents. Calmly approach your parents so that you can talk about the problem. Your goal is to determine why your parents took your phone away. If you don’t know why your phone was taken, you will not know the best way to get it returned.
- Give yourself time to cool off. Do not talk to your parents when you are angry with them for taking your phone.
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3
Actively listen to your parents. When your parents talk to you about what you did wrong, make sure you are truly listening to them. Avoid thinking about what you want to say in response. Think carefully about what they are saying so that you can respond thoughtfully and respectfully.^{[1]
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4
Express your feelings. Reflect on your parents’ complaints. Then, tell them how this makes you feel. Discuss your side of the story with them so they have a better understanding of why the mistake happened. ^{[2]
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5
Apologize for your mistake. Own up to your mistake and make a sincere apology to your parents. Your parents are trying to teach you a lesson by taking your phone away. The first step in recognizing and correcting your mistake is to apologize.Give them time to think and discuss it together and privately, while doing this don't ask and ask and be patient. this shows that your mature and understand that they need to talk and think. ^{[3]
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- Avoid begging for your phone back after the apology. It is important to do what your parents have requested in order to get your phone back. Begging does not indicate a sincere apology.
6
Discuss a plan on how to regain your phone privileges. Once you have fully discussed the problem with your parents, request a plan to get your phone back. Be sure to discuss a timeline and list of steps that you need to take.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Meeting Your Parents’ Expectations

1
Determine the owner of the phone. If you do not pay your phone bill, you must understand that the phone is not yours. Make an effort to respect the rules that have been put in place. If you are unclear about these rules, discuss them with your parents.
2
Correct your wrongdoing. Your parents are likely to give you a set of expectations that must be met in order to get your phone returned. Work diligently to meet these expectations.
- For example, if your phone usage costed your parents a lot of extra money, they might request that you pay that portion of the bill. Find odd jobs and chores that you can do to earn some extra money to pay off that debt to your parents.
- If your parents took your phone away because of poor grades, study every night to ensure that your grades improve. Show your parents your next test grade to prove that you are taking your grades seriously.
3
Consistently meet your parents’ requests. You need to prove to your parents that you take their concerns seriously and will not repeat your mistake. You can prove this to them by repeatedly meeting their requests, instead of simply meeting them when you get in trouble.
- This will also prevent your phone from being taken away in the future.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Demonstrating Responsibility

1
Use your phone at responsible times. Once you get your phone back it is important to use it properly. Have a discussion with your parents on when you can and cannot use your phone.^{[4]
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- Discuss a phone curfew. Decide on a location that your phone will go at night to be charged. Determine if this curfew is different on weekends or weekdays.
- Avoid using your phone when you are at the dinner table, in class, or driving. By understanding these basic phone etiquette rules, you are demonstrating responsibility to your parents.
2
Avoid exceeding your monthly phone plan. If you do not pay your phone bill, you may not totally understand your phone plan. Your phone bill will be considerably more expensive if you exceed your phone plan. Discuss this plan with your parents.^{[5]
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- Figure out if you have unlimited minutes or a cap on your monthly minutes.
- Determine how many texts or picture messages you can send per month.
- Know how much data you can use and how to avoid going over your data limit.
- Ask your parents if you have any roaming or international calling restrictions. It might cost more to make calls or send texts out of your state or country.
3
Respect your parents’ boundaries. When your parents set boundaries for your phone usage, respect those boundaries. This is key to preventing your phone from being taken away again. Use your phone responsibly.

Community Q&A

Question

My mom changes my phone password every night. How do I make her trust me? I've done nothing wrong.

Community Answer

Try having a conversation with her about this. Your mom deserves to know that this upsets her. Ask her what she needs in order to trust you with your phone.
Question

What if it's because of bad grades?

Community Answer

Talk to your parents about your grades. Figure out what your grades need to be in order to get your phone returned. Then, work on keeping your grades up so you can prevent your phone from being taken again.
Question

My phone was taken away and I can't find it. How can I find it?

Community Answer

Talk to your parents about how you can get your phone back. If you steal your phone back you will probably get in even more trouble.

Warnings

Using too much data or talking on the phone for long hours can result in a huge bill.

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Despite your efforts, your parents may decide not to return your phone.

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