Mobile Phones for Year 7s

[whitecloud]

My dd is 10 and will only just be 11 when she goes to secondary school. She says that all her friends are getting mobile phones for their birthdays. I can believe it because one or two are flashing them round already. Obviously I will consult with other mothers I know about this to see if it's true or just talk by their dds. I don't want my dd to appear different, but am concerned about unsuitable conversations, porn etc which could come from older children. Any opinions or experiences please ? Feel this generation are entering teenagerdom far earlier than in the past and it concerns me.

[Milliways]

My DS will be 11 in August and will get a phone as it is 2 buses (changing in town centre) to his school. They don't have to have blue tooth, or any internet connection, just a phone. My DD got one in YR7 and we have never had a problem. They keep it switched off at school & use it for emergencies.

Her friends have flashy phones - & one got stolen last week :(

[snailspace]

yr 7 is about when most get them around here. To be honest it's quite useful when they start to travel to/from school independently. The unsuitable stuff seems to creep in around yr 9 from what I've heard.

[desperateSCOUSEwife]

ds is 12 and he has had moby, I think when he was 10 or 11
his first one was a bog standard phone
got flashy one for xmas

pretty much standard around this area

[buzylizy]

can I advise if you get one just go for a basic one. My son had 2 stolen(school said lost!) in year 7. I think they have so much happening they are not always on their guard.

[MarsLady]

got DS1 a plain, frankly ugly phone that he can call from and text from.

I asked the guy in the shop that was ugly enough so that it wouldn't be stolen, but not so ugly that he'd get a kicking for having it.

Bog standard, gadget free is the way to go.

[QE2]

dd (14) and ds1 (12) both have them. They often go out alone and have a reasonable distance to walk or cycle to school. Got them when they were about 11 or so iirc. ds2 has just turned 10 and despite asking and asking for one, won't get one for at least another year or more when ds1 moves on to another school and he is walking to school alone.

Just get a very basic, no frills phone - all they need to be able to do is send texts or phone you if there is a problem, that's it. Anything flashy and it will simply get nicked.

[RTKangaMummy]

which one did you get marsy

DS has a very old nokia one that belonged to his aunt, cousins, granny then was given to him

But the battery is not reliable

[soyabean]

Hi Whitecloud and everyone
Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap and basic phone? We are thinking ds1 (14) could use one, even tho he has been fine so far. It is a bit embarrassing that he/we have to call from/call friends' phones when they are out together. I mean we would manage fine without but it starts to seem like making a big point, not having one! He is relatively unbothered.

dd will start secondary school in Sept and I know will be after one, but not sure yet whether we will get one. As they become moe and more essential/normal, they will stand out for not having one I guess.

[Fauve]

Yes, go on, Marsy, name the ugly phone, we all want one (for our kids). Well, I do.

[MarsLady]

it's a strange motorola one that came with a package called Fresh. You pay by debit card. It allows them to make calls for 24hours after their credit is used up. So if they are stranded somewhere and their credit runs out they can continue talking.

I'm not convinced by it at the moment though. But it sure is an ugly phone. Can't remember the model... they don't stock it anymore lol

[sophiecustessofwessex]

my dt's are 13 they do not have a mobile phone. and i like it that way. the cons far outway the pros imo. the disgusting jokes and porn that gets passed around is just frightening.

[Fauve]

I hadn't heard about the porn aspect [naive emoticon]. We have resisted ds, newly 12, having one. In fact, I'm thinking of driving along his route to school (quite a long way) and doing a detailed map of where the phone boxes are.

[JanH]

It won't take you long, Fauve.

[Fauve]

Well, I'm thinking the hunt might take some time. I'm probably more likely to find a Tardis.

[MarsLady]

Phone boxes seem to be vanishing and where there is a phone box, there's often no phone!

[JanH]

Yes, that's sort of what I meant (only the other way round!)

V cheap recon phone from Virgin \link{http://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/cms/view-page;jsessionid=EDNEEFAFCPJN?page=SIE-STD-A65-1&sim=true&actual=SIE-STD-A65-2B\here} (£20)

\link{http://shop.o2.co.uk/shop/o2uk/jsp/tariffs/selectSimOnlyTariff.do?tariffPageView=SIMO&pageTab=SIMOPayAndGo&hideTab=true\O2} have the best pay-and-go deal though - £10 a month buys you 100 minutes/texts. (But would have to pay to unlock a non-O2 phone}

[Fauve]

Maybe he should just mug another kid if he needs a phone [grim ironic snurk]. Friends of his have had nasty incidents regarding phones, so if he does get one, it'll be an ugly one. Thanks for those suggestions, JanH.

[soyabean]

Thanks for the suggestions. Ds does use a public phone sometimes to call, inc reverse charges is needed, but as nearly all his friends have mobiles, he ends up being offered them, which is a bit unfair I guess.
On the other hand there is a certain retro uniqueness to not having one at all...

[Surfermum]

We caved in and let dsd (10) have one for Christmas. She was over the moon and despite our reservations she has been really sensible with it. She doesn't live with us, but it means she can keep in contact with her friends here when she's at home with her mum. She now has to earn her credit, which has improved her behaviour no end, and she is learning to budget. She soon realised that if she texted the boy next door to say come round, she was wasting money when in fact she could just run round and knock.

The only downside is that her mum is furious that dsd contacted her dad on it. She doesn't mind her having the phone, but doesn't want her ringing her dad whenever she wants ... but that's a whole other thread.

[sunnydelight]

We got DS1 a cheapie from Virgin like JanH's link above when he started at secondary school. It was as much for my peace of mind as his as he was making his own way to/from school for the first time. Having managed not to lose it for over a year, we bought him a "cooler" one for Christmas this year. I think I've only put about £50 in total on his phones in credit as well as whatever free time came with them, but girls probably talk more

[Blandmum]

Check that the school will allow it first. We do not allow children to have mobiles below the sixth form, since they are liked to bullying/ potential for loss, theft etc

Statistical the age most likey to access porn etc on the web are those in years 6,7,8.

[soyabean]

Hi all just in case anyone is interested: I just bought ds a phone in Superdrug for £5! Well, it costs £35 as you have to get £30 of topup with it, which has to be used in the first 2 months. And you have to spend £5 in Superdrug on other stuff at the same time. Quite a good deal though, its a Motorola and has camera.

He will only be getting £5 topup from us per month after the first honeymoon period...

[JanH]

If it's not with O2, get it unlocked and then do the £10 a month for 100 texts/minutes deal, soyabean. £5 goes nowhere!

[RTKangaMummy]

Thanks for that

It sounds deffo brill

please could you give more details

[RTKangaMummy]

\link{http://direct.motorola.com/ENG/phoneSelect.asp?country=GBR&language=ENG&web_page_name=SUPPORT&productid=\which of these phones is it?????????}

Is it on 3 network??????