What phone does your 11-12 year old have? Want something basic

[18761875j]

What phone does your pre-teen have? I don't want to open Pandora's box and give her a full smartphone, but also considerations are that having wifi data access like Whatsapp would also be good, as it would save needing to get a full monthly minutes plan, so could be used to phone me or text me even when on wifi only.

Open to a brick phone but also wondering if it will be too limiting if doesn't allow basic internet and whatsapp type apps.

Want the cheapest option for running as well! E.g. data or minutes that don't expire as we won't use it often.

Also having a cheap handset is important in a way - 11 year olds are not the most responsible with tech and posessions!

I’m in the same boat ! I’m
getting a refurbished iPhone which will have controls and v limited functionality ( what’s app and camera), so it fulfills basic needs only!

If all her friends have WhatsApp she’ll probably feel left out if she doesn’t. Dd and her friends spend a lot of time sending each other pics and videos etc.

We found a basic Samsung smartphone was relatively cheap and v easy to use. Personally I think the Android user interface is more straightforward than the all singing iPhone.

Refurbished phone from Backmarket is a good idea or one of your old phones if you’re upgrading.

We use a rolling 30 day contract which is cheap but comes with lots of data.
Use a sturdy case and screen protector from day 1 as it gets dropped!

Don’t get a brick phone. Like it or not most 11-12s will have an iPhone. Get a cheap secondhand one from somewhere like cex and a SIM card with lots of data included - Tesco do some good ones. You may not want to open Pandora’s box but it’s better to start when they’re young and talk to them about keeping safe online and implement rules rather than making them left out socially, which they will be with a brick phone. (My son is 12 and has an iPhone 12, most of his friends have iPhone 11/12s).

Motorola £90 from Argos with Google Family Link installed - means I can control which apps can be downloaded, lock it after hours and track location.

We started with GiffGaff and a 30 day sim but didn't get on with it. Switched to Lebara who piggyback Vodaphone for a fraction of the cost. Martin Lewis' website has some great offers - we paid £1.99 a month for 5gb for first 6 months.

My ds has an iPhone SE on giffgaff - generous data with no way to overspend. The phone wasn't expensive refurbed but does what she wants, WhatsApp, video calls and iMessages.

I'm in a very similar position so am watching with interest.

I'm not sure how it all works, can I buy a handset from say GiffGaff and use it as a PAYG? or do I need to commit to a contract?

I want something basic, cheap and of little value to potential phone thief's (big issue here at the moment with iPhones being taken from young secondary aged school kids!)

Dts got reconditioned iPhones from CEX for their 11th birthday, they were just about to start secondary.

Thanks all. Some good options that I will look into!

I'm a bit agog at all the iphone recommendations - I am personally against iPhones on principal. I have and always will have an Android - for less than 1/4 of the cost and it does pretty much everything an iPhone does and I don't need to worry so much about losing it or the screen breaking as it's easily replaceable! Especially for a child. Just want something that calls, maybe does whatsapp / pix, texts and basic internet.

I don't honestly get the fuss about them. I think they are overpriced and unnecessary especially for that age, even second hand!! Plus I am not bowing to the social pressure of "needing an iPhone". If kids can't learn to not always need this or that brand then they will get locked into a cycle of having to buy overpriced stuff forever.

My dd has a Samsung Galaxy A14. All the functionality of a Samsung smartphone, but at a very reasonable cost - £100. Like you we are an android family and don't have any apple devices.

Ds has a Samsung.

If you have an android get her one or it will be very difficult to use and family safety apps. I recommend Google family..you can set time limits, age limits for apps, block or allow instantly, geg notified when they download anything and see location. The only annoying thing is you have to go in and tweak it at 13 as Google thinks children are then old enough to take control but it's not difficult to do.

And yes another vote for a secondhand Samsung.

Just got dd one for her birthday. Moto g, £99. Either that or a basic samsung, which is what I've got.

DD started off (and still has) a Nokia Smart phone, £150 outright and a £3.99 a month ID mobile SIM with unlimited texts, mins and plenty of data. It does everything an iPhone does but at a fraction of the cost. It's lasted 3 years without even a scratch on the screen. Primarily she uses it for WhatsApp, Duolingo and Spotify.

It was a birthday present with the understanding that I can do spot checks andit charges in the kitchen overnight. We talk alot about online safety and I prefer her to have access to a phone whilst still young enough to be taught how to use it safely and what to do if an an unsafe situation rather than a brick at 11 and then a smart phone later when she was less under my influence.

I really like Nokia /HMD as they have corned the sustainability market and offer Fix-at-home kits for basic issues like cracked screens or iffy charging ports.

My DD (13) has a Redmi 10. We're an android family and it works just like a Samsung but cheaper, we use the Google family app. DD doesn't give a shit what her friends have and has no interest in the latest models. I have to use an iPhone for work and I hate it.

Highly recommend the cheap giffgaff sim, £6 a month, unlimited calls 2gb data, no contract. Payg is the main alternative but if they actually use it you'll soon run out of credit.

As for handset, that's your call but i would opt for a refurbished older smartphone myself.

I know loads of kids with brick phones but I think if you want a brick phone you have to accept they can’t use WhatsApp on it. This is what we do and DS uses WhatsApp on our home laptop. When he is 13/14 he will have a second-hand iPhone with no sm and lots of parental controls.

I got my dtds iPhone 8s (i had to use apple products at work so went down that route for personal phones too as I wanted to just do stuff the same way in work/personal phone). Dc got second hand iPhones because I wanted to get something I know how to use. Initially they had Asda pay as you go sims but I’ve moved them to sky with a £5 a month sim. My sim deal gives me far more data than I could ever use so I can share it with dc.

dd1 has a newer phone but she got that for Christmas in year 10 after proving she could look after her phone (my old iPhone SE - original se not the new one).

God if one of my friends tried this speech with me I would laugh so hard. An android is no more costly than an iPhone on a plan.

I feel that you are far more concerned with what people think about you than helping your child navigate school.

Nokia 6300, one of the few dumbphones with whatsapp (but also facebook / youtube).

Or, generic android with family link, although my experience with the first 5 of my children is that knowing it is locked down, means they pester to have the apps installed or restrictions removed.

Get a smartphone - a cheap android one is fine - refurbished from cex etc

We have dumb phones at work when off site and we can never use them

I'm voting for iphone XR or similar, refurbished maybe £100. I'm with Tesco, cheap and lots minutes calls and data, but most importantly you can put a limit on overspending, say £2.50 a month.

We are an apple family, DS 10 has an iPhone 13 with a gift gaff sim

Mine have android on Lebara contracts for less than £5 a month for 20g data and unlimited calls and texts.

Google family is really good for parental controls.

DD has an android moto phone.

It is very very well locked down - she does have whatsapp, but no internet browser or youtube. She can't install any apps without me or DH entering a password.

She will need a browser at least in time - she has access to a computer at home, so she's not entirely without goolge/youtube.

It's definitely possible to have smartphone (with tracking, mapping, bus ticket app etc.) but not full internet access.

DH found a deal on 1p mobile where she has limited data, but unlimited calls and texts. I think it was £36/year, but looking at their website, something similar is £48/year