Smartphone/Basic Phone/advice for yr7

[YinuCeatleAyru]

I have browsed the mumsnet archive and know this topic has been done before but would like up to date tips as most of the phones referred to in old threads are no longer available.

DS going into year 7. peers will include kids from affluent families who may well have the latest iPhone but that is never going to be an option for us.

I want him to have a phone but I am not sure whether to make him put up with a basic non-smart phone for just texting and calling (which would then be upgraded to a cheap smartphone in a year or two) or whether to let him have a smartphone right from the start. he is very likely to waste hours on any gaming capacity he has access to so I would like to limit such capacity as much as possible. I am nervous about getting a phone with web browser capacity as I don't want him to have unlimited web access.

any recommendations for an appropriate phone? I don't really want to spend more than £100 but can stretch a little over if I have to, and would like it to be network-free as I can then put him on giffgaff and get free calls.

Texting and calling aren't really what kids do though, so it wouldn't help him socially at all - those would just be good for an emergency so he could contact you (which is fine, if that's what you want).

but if you want him to have ways to contact other children socially, then phones with communcation apps etc will be far more useful.

They also use apps on their phone to show and submit homework, etc. (you can do it on a computer/tablet too, but it's handy when they have their phones with them and want to know something).

They use the camera for lots of things too, both socially and for useful stuff (taking photos of timetables, or notices, etc).

Browser access is handy for looking stuff up, like bus timetables etc if he's travelling to school alone

Map, too, can be handy.

So a smartphone is really quite helpful in secondary - though of course there are all the worries about inappropriate stuff too. But better to get him used to having one now, with you checking it regularly, teaching him how to avoid the inappropriate stuff etc - easier than when he's older and might want more privacy.

You can get older smartphones/iphones etc second hand. Doesn't have to be the latest iphone.

You probably need some input from DS because if you don't get him the 'right' phone, or at least one he deems acceptable, it will probably be worse to him than not having a phone at all and if he's that way inclined, he might be tempted to 'accidentally' lose or break whatever phone you get him in the hope that the replacement will be the phone he really wants. But if at all possible, stay away from Apple, because the cost is just stupid.

Don't automatically assume affluent families buy their DC more expensive phones, families with more spare money are just as likely to give their DC the parents old phones, or buy cheaper/second hand.

I really rate the Motorola G7 range. Argos appears to be selling one version for £100, although it could be that there's little stock available, but you might be able to get one for a little more elsewhere. Very far from basic, great phones and a total bargain compared with those costing hundreds of pounds more.

Please do not buy him a basic phone that you can only call and text from. Kids do not text or call. They use a variety of messaging apps to communicate. If you buy him a basic phone he will find he is left out of the loop and his friendships will suffer.
I realy can't understand this mindset in this day and age. There is nothing wrong with having access to the internet. It does not need to be closely supervised at all times once they get into high school.
What you do need to make sure of is that you educate you child in how to handle any potential risk and what to do if anything makes him uneasy.
My kids use their phones at school for things as well, some classes the teacher will tell them to get info on their phones, homework apps are accessed from their phones and often they often submit completed work.

most kids have iphones, it doesn't need to be the best one as there's a chance he'll break it/ lose it etc a second hand or an older generation will do especially as he's only young.
as pp have said texting and calling is just not something kids do nowadays. it's all about social media, snapchat tiktok instagram etc which you just can't get on a basic phone unfortunately. definitely agree with the online homework too there's so many ways teachers can set homework online now and it's so much easier doing it this way. there's also loads of resources online for him to use for his school work, it's amazing really.

you can also put restrictions on his browsers so he can't access sites you don't want him to as i agree with you, there are some things he doesn't need to see!

In a case most iPhones look pretty much the same. Try and get him the iphone 6 reconditioned.

You don't need to get an iPhone, but yes to a smartphone. I agree with a pp in regards to the Moto phones.

Don't give into this ridiculous pressure to have an iPhone.

a nice simple lightweight last forever £10 phone is what adults that work from home use, as who wants to carry a fragile brick round?

kids probably have to have a smartbrick though, as the world has gone mad. That will give him unlimited access to all the evil and porn in the world, so all you can do is teach him now to cope with that. Terrible burden for 11 years old but that's how it is, sadly.

My 11yo DS is off to secondary in September too. He had a cheap text/call phone for this 10th birthday last year. This was to allow him to go to the park etc and develop a bit more independence. He treated it responsibly and and didn’t lose it so for Christmas this year he got one of our old iPhone 6’s. As pp’s have said they don’t really call or text each other. DS uses WhatsApp a lot for group video calls and messages. I use the Apple screen time restrictions so it’s all lockdown for overnight and games are restricted to 1hr a day max. Apple is great for this as I can also do that remotely from my phone. I can also track where he is when he’s out about!

Another to say that yes, if he can't be on apps such as Whatsapp, he's going to be excluded and left out of things.

Whatever phone you get, just make sure you have good parental controls set up. Keep it away from him when he should be going to bed or he'll be up all night.

My DD has just finished year 8 and is more than happy with her 2nd hand iPhone 6s. We picked hers up for £95 a year ago. Some of her friends have iPhone X's or 11's but she knows we would spend that sort of money. Just make sure it has a good case and a screen protector

My DS is currently in year 7. He had a Nokia 105 which he used for texting and calling us. He was not the only one in his class/school year that didn't have a smartphone. (Even now there are boys in his class who are not allowed to be in group Whatapp chats) He has a laptop and access to an iPad so he wasn't missing out on any homework apps etc. The only reason we caved and got him a basic android was because of lockdown. He had to photograph all his homework and email it into school and it was significantly easier for him to do this on his own phone. He is also now in his class Whatsapp group so they can ask each other questions about classwork/homework. We probably would have got around to getting him a smartphone for this Christmas but with no major rush. It's a Samsung J something and we've installed the Family Link app to restrict apps and it shows his location.

We sat down with DS, and showed him possibilities. He was horrified about the cost of phones, so we offered him DH's old Samsung, and whatever case he wanted. He's very happy currently. Will see what happens in Sept in Y7 - it was his 11th birthday present, during lockdown.

I would get him a smartphone now, but lock it down tight with parental controls. As he gets used to it, you can extend a bit more trust and ease up on the permissions. You should be able to get a good secondhand iphone from somewhere like Music Magpie at quite a reasonable price. Get him a good case to go with it (something that is going to protect it well from being bashed around) and hopefully you won't have to buy him another for a while.

We bought ours cheap Honor (?) phones for about £100 each. They are locked down in that they have safe search on, aren’t allowed specific apps (YouTube is included in the blocked ones) and have to ask for permission to download apps or for more time. So far they’re totally ok with it, but they don’t start high school till sept so I guess time will tell if they’re still ok with. We did say that if they look after their phones then they may be upgraded. Looking at the cost of uniforms and everything else x 2 though they might be out of luck!

thanks for the advice all. I have got a basic refurbished smartphone that is a few years old but looks shiny and new. should be ok.