Paying for DCs' mobile phones? Reasonable or unreasonable?

[BalloonSlayer]

A friend who is really careful with money mentioned to me recently that she pays her 18 year old DD's mobile phone bill, which comes to £500-600 a year.

I was and wondered whether this was normal.

My DCs are not at that stage yet.

Apparently it came about because the DD had pay as you go phones (which her Mum paid for) but they were always out of credit when her Mum really wanted to contact her so her Mum got her a contract phone.

Am I really looking at three lots of bills like this in future? Or is my friend being taken for a mug.

Or is there a way around it:

• a separate phone they must carry on nights out with some credit on it?

• not allowed out unless they have credit?

shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/simplicity/iphone/1_month

Perhaps it's just me, but I find the concepts of "free" and "£60 a month" difficult to square. If you can't afford to buy an iPhone, here's an idea: don't have one. Otherwise it's a particularly pernicious form of HP.

dd1 had a contract from 14 when she got a job I paid the first £20 a month that was her babysitting money, anything over she paid herself as soon as she turned 18 she transferred it into her name. dd2 has just got a contract as it will be cheaper than topping it up every month, she's been told if she goes over the minimum bill I'll have the phone and she'll get mine both dd's, myself and dh can call each other for free as were on vodafone friends and family.

My dds have PAYG phones. I top them up when necessary. DD2 rarely uses hers. DD1 uses hers a lot but she takes advantage of offers which she checks the TMobile website for. She texts rather than phones and I don't even spend £10 a month.

I don't even have a contract for mine and it's a 32GB iPhone. Yes, expensive initially but I am in complete control of how much it will cost me.

I'm a bit taken aback that someone who qualifies for EMA would spend £35 a month on a phone contract. I do realise I will be flamed for that. But it does seem excessive.