Please help me choose a phone for 11yo!

[needaMNnamegenerator]

Where to start? There's so much choice!

I've promised DS an upgrade now he's off to secondary. He's had the phone he's got for 2 years, since he started walking to school on his own. That was easy, I just got him the cheapest PAYG smart phone.

But now he's a bit older, I'd like to get him something that's decent but doesn't cost the earth. He's pretty techy.

Do you have your kids on a contract or PAYG? If he's on a contract I guess I'll need to limit it.
What phones do they have? I don't want to spend a fortune.

What else do I need to think about?

Also any tips for limiting access to porn on it? (I don't have any evidence he's accessed it so far but I know kids first come across online porn at around this age ).

Thanks :)

If you decide to get a contract I think it’s three that will block content and you have to go and turn it off on the app to allow to view it. I’m sure they all have their way for parents to control the content. If you do purchase a phone giffgaff will block content and you have to send them picture of ID to show your age.

Apple does allow to use parental controls and you can restrict access to certain websites. I’m not sure about Samsung or other brands you’d have to have a google.

I would presume iPhone and Samsung are what most kids his age will be heading towards. My niece is 10 and she’s had her phone for around 1 year. She has a Samsung and most of her friends have Samsung. I think you can get better deals on them compared to iPhones. I think she has the a20e or a51they don’t spend much on it per month.

For contract it’s going to depend on how much you want to spend per month? My only suggestion is to avoid older models of iPhones as they can Be slow compared to new models. Can’t speak for Samsung.

Does your son have any idea on what he would like if he is into tech? He would
Probably be able to guide you better on what direction to look.

Buymobiles I got my phone from them which was great, at the time I got cashback which was a cheque and the price of the deal was the cheapest I’d seen for the deal I had got. They have changed it some what now where the advertise the price of the deal at a lower price as you get cashback but you still pay the higher price per month, it’s the way they calculate it, just something to watch for.

Sky can have some really good deals too. A friend of mine recently had a terrible time taking a new contract out with Vodafone.

Hope that helps with clarity but you should be able to implement parental control with whoever you use and whichever phone you get.

Should’ve said giffgaff being the sim pay as you go option if you choose to buy the phone

Thanks for the reply.

I can rule out iPhone I think as it'll be more expensive won't it?

No adults in the house have an iPhone!

@BF2748

Should’ve said giffgaff being the sim pay as you go option if you choose to buy the phone

Useful info thanks :)

Both of mine have always had secondhand iPhones from giffgaff. My year 11 has an iPhone 8 and is more than happy with it.

Off to look at some Samsungs...

I'd say an iPhone 8 or a Samsung 10

I bought my 11 year old son a Motorola G7 Power and it is on a Giff Gaff contract.

It's not a super expensive phone so if it gets lost or damaged it's not the end of the world, and it has amazing battery life. I decided against PAYG because I want him to be able to contact me if necessary and running out of credit would be an issue.

I use Family Link to manage what he can do, so he can't install apps without my say so, and I can also limit how much time he can spend on any single app. It also restricts access to porn, although I suspect this isn't perfect.

I also know all of his passwords, have my fingerprint registered on it, and have told him that I will be checking his phone periodically.