recommend first mobile phone for DS age 8

[makingitupaswegoon]

OK - bewildered by options (as usual) but think I will need to bite the bullet and get DS a mobile phone.

After summer he is allowed to travel to and from school himself and he is also becoming more independent by going out to play with friends unsupervised and not necessarily in friends' gardens. No friends live on our street nor are we overlooking the main play areas (we are about 10-15 minutes away from these). I trust DS but would like him to have some way of contacting me if (a) he wants to play with a friend after school or (b) there is an issue.

Any thoughts about what might do the trick? I don't want to pay too much and I am well aware phone is likely to get damaged. I'm not going to be able to get away with an old style phone either. DS has also said he wants to have a phone to take photos (of his lego creations no doubt).

Thanks for thought and ideas

If he wants a phone to photograph his Lego, I’d let him use mine. I wouldn’t be letting my 8 year old wander around with a smart phone (too much of a target, talked into doing stupid things with it, get broken).

I would strongly encourage you to get a normal phone (not a smartphone) until he starts secondary at least.

Think about if you want your kid to have a phone that can connect to wifi and download apps - it is very easy for him to be unsupervised on it and get himself into trouble (or be targeted).

Then again maybe all his friends socialise on a kids messaging app so you might consider one if it has good parental controls.

Honestly I would think about something very cheap and basic like a Alcatel 2038X

But if you do want a phone with a camera, maybe one of the Doro phones. Cheap and quite durable.

I'm not sure about what type of phone but if you do opt for a smart phone Google Family is an amazing app that you can use to monitor his usage. I have it for both step kids tablets.

I can set time limits, inactive hours and to download any apps they need my password. If I remember rightly it has a location tracker on it that you can opt into if you choose.

I've found it really reassuring that I know they're not accessing anything me and dad don't approve of and that they're not up on it all night as its cut off

We use an Xplora X5

It's a smart watch with mobile phone capabilities, camera and gps

It's not a smart phone but it is a phone and as parents we can see where he is and can add his pals to his contact list.

Motorola Moto Gs are great phones and really affordable. I have had a G6 for a couple of years without any problems.

Yeah already use google family link for DS tablet - it's great.
Wondered about a watch and had looked at the Vodaphone one not the Xplora but it does feel a bit like we are tagging him.

Lots of kids here have mobile phones by the time they are 10 ... and I sort of think he needs to understand the pros and cons of digital technology