To think 9 is too young for an i phone!

[JakieOH]

Just that! I think it waaaaay too young but AIBU?

YY Nicki :)

My DS has a phone in a capped contract, it is on the carphone warehouse ID network. It is capped at £9.50 per month. I only went for a contract rather than a payg as he gets 5000 texts every month so I know he will be able to contact me if he needs to and won't be out of credit.obviously at that price it isn't an iPhone. Like I said earlier, my main concern with getting an iPhone or any expensive phone for a child is that they will get mugged by an older child and the experience of being mugged will be traumatic. My son is senior school age so has to take the bus to school and I don't want him wandering about with expensive electronic devices.

pinkTC....it must only bee EE and Tesco then as I know o2 and voda DEFINITELY don't and I don't think the others do either.

There are still ways around it though.

I do feel a little bit sorry for children who end up cut out of something others have - when I was growing up I didn't have branded stuff because my parents thought it was a waste of money and of course it is but it made me stand out so I won't do that to my children.

I think 9 is a little young.

I used to work for a mobile operator and this was a common complaint. Child goes over bill- parents phone company demanding a refund.

The worse scenario was the 9 year old boy who had been looking at adult content and had purchased adult videos. When I told his Mother that the charges were valid she went beserk. She ranted and raved about how it was my fault as he was 9 and it should be against the law for children to do this.

Well surely if you want a capped contract then you would just go to tesco, EE or carphone warehouse ID contract. That's plenty of choice, surely?

JackieOH - IMO - he just needs to tell her no and make sure that there is no coming back. If he says, no, £450 is too much to spend on DD for Christmas, she'll find one that's £400 or £300 and then try to convince him that one at a reduced rate is OK.

If your argument is that she is too young for an iphone/phone, be clear about why - and also about when she will be "old enough".

Or just say that you have already decided what to but DD and that sorry, it is not an iphone.

I don't think an iphone-less 9 year old is in need of anyone's pity.

I think I can give my child whatever I want to and not care what anyone else thinks

of course you can. that's your prerogative. but when you mention it on an internet discussion board, people are likely to voice their opinions.

No, I didn't mean that squoosh; just that I want my children to feel at one with their peers if you like. If I hadn't got DS a phone, he'd have been in a minority and I didn't want that. Same with some clothing and other products I suppose.

Yeah I think it's too young. My cousin is 10, nearly 11 and has just got his first phone. It's a really basic one with no internet or touchscreen or anything fancy.

pinktrufflechoc My parents wouldn't buy expensive "must have" brands for me either. I think they were right - my resentment about it at the time soon passed and TBH I feel guilty about it now.

I bet Apple et al love it that kids bully the only one in the year with no iPhone.

OP just read background to your OP. What a cheek, if she wants her DD to get an iphone, your OH should tell her she can buy it herself!

So with some of you'd cave in to your childrens peer pressure and get them an iPhone?

My child goes to an independent school and children with iPhones in his year group are most certainly in the minority. Most of the Parents could probably easily afford to buy iPhones if they wanted to. Some children have them but only around a couple per class, the rest have much cheaper phones which still have touch screens and plenty of apps etc. the windows phones seem to be the most popular in his school (probably because of the ease of using the parental controls).

There's certainly no bullying of children without phones that I am aware of, but in terms of a shared sort of culture I feel it's important. Or at any rate it was important to DS.

So is it Iphones in particular you object to (because o the price) or smart phones in general?

Depends if it's part of a birthday or Christmas present or an old one that use to belong to the parents/ older siblings.

Where I live most kids have phones at 9 as that's when they start walking to school by themselves as they start middle school.

Unlimited internet access isn't a great idea but lots of people just have calls and texts.

I can think of other things to get het up about tbh

Unless there is a specific need I don't think any child really needs any mobile phone.

The iPhone bit doesn't bother me at all. Many parents give children their old phones as they upgrade. And many people just use contracts as the phone is part of that.

Dd had an iPhone as her first iPhone at 11. It was her birthday present and part of the contract. Contract was same price as other smart phones. We went for iPhone as we use iTunes and already have paid for music and apps we wanted her to access easily. We wanted a smart phone rather than a basic make a call/text phone as it was replacing her old IPod Touch and was going to be her phone plus music system etc.
I don't regret the decision. She's 13 now and got a newer model for her bday this year when her contract ran out. She's sensible and careful, no issues, not lost it and never broken her own phone either.

So the iPhone doesn't cause me any issues or concerns at all. A 9y needing a phone I find a bit unnecessary though, although I am aware some children do need to be contactable for various reasons and see why some - a minority - may need a phone of some form.

My DD (aged 8) has an old iphone 3. She has a basic SIM in (PAYG with no credit it on it).

It has internet safety controls, AppStore is locked and not even linked to an account anymore.

She uses it to WhatsApp me and her dad when she's at either parents house. It doesn't go to school (unless travelling to the other parent's house, then its tucked in her bag) and she never calls on it. I've called her a couple of times on it to say hello, which she loved.

It works for us and costs us nothing - the phone is barely worth anything to sell, its one that ex-H got through work. But then I have an iPhone 5 I got in the same way too

There's no way he can do it anyway, he can't afford it and the last time she did this, with the ipad I ended up buying it because the child had been promised it by her mother and neither iarent could afford it if she wants her to get a I phone for Christmas she will have to dig into her own dusty pockets to get it.

It was more that I thought it was unnesessary for a 9yo to have brand new I phone or infact a phone at all. I don't know now though, perhaps a cheap 1 to instil a sense of responsibility isn't a bad idea.

I'm actually more horrified that the Christmas present annual argument has started already and ive not even had summer

No one needs a phone but they're very useful.

My brother has one and so do all his friends. In fact, my mum bought it for him as she felt bad that he was 'left out'. I think that's just how it is - everyone wants to be cool and like their older siblings. Don't see the big deal if I'm honest.

To be fair, most of the stuff children and for that matter adults have is unnecessary.

We don't need most of the possessions we have but buy them for security or for pleasure or for convenience.

Children are the same. DS has had a huge amount of pleasure from his phone in terms of music, audiobooks, recording, camera - he doesn't need it but he wanted it and so I tend to think - why not.