To why parents would fork out for an expensive phone for under 16s?

[malificent7]

Dd informs me that some of her classmates in year 5 have iphones or Samsungs.
Im a bit judgy as they are so expensive both if you buy a handset outright plus on a contract they are still expensive as a monthly payment.

I didnt want dd to have a phone at all but due to incessant nagging i relented and got her a cheap handset from Tescos. She hasnt had any credit on it for months and uses it as a tablet.

Aibu to think that giving a child an expensive phone is a bit daft. Kids loose and break things plus it sets an unreasonable standard.

I know i was daft myself to have guven in and get her a phone but everyone else in her class seems to have one!

Sorry, that’s how I feel soup.

Are you really unable to grasp the concept of people having different amounts of disposable income and different things they want to spend it on?

Some people spend loads on cycling equipment, gourmet food, meals it, drinking, smoking, expensive holidays, branded clothing, brand name foods... the list is endless.

Oh God. That’s my opinion now move on. I don’t care, it’s not my money.

My kids are 'individuals' in other ways so I don't need to make them go without a phone to achieve that. I can afford it and I want them both to have a good phone and laptop (MacBooks gasp) so I buy them. They're happy, we're happy. I won't apologise for it or do something different just so other people feel better. Why do folk always have to be looking at what others do? Just live your lives!!

I agree with@Iseesheep. DS12 got an iPhone X for Christmas as he was so good at keeping his last iphone in mint condition we managed to sell it for a really decent price (couple of hundred pounds).

He has a really cheap laptop atm, isn't grabby and is so lovely polite and helpful, but my colleague ripped into me when they heard what I'd done.

My money. I work for it and we're relatively well off. I can spend it as I like. Why do people have to be so judgey??!

My dd had an iPhone five in year five. She walks home with her friends and lets herself in and I can track her on find my friends.

Plenty people do lots of daft things with their money.
Some kids are responsible.
Lots of ppl get pleasure by spending money on their kids.
What other people do is only slightly relevant to what I decide to do.

I can’t get het up about this anymore. My DD10 has an iPhone 6s and prior to that she had a hand me down 4s, which she looked after exceptionally well so we upgraded her at Christmas time.

It’s £23 a month so I don’t think that’s particularly extravagant and honestly, most kids in her class DO have decent phones I.e not basic PAYG type ones.

Round here smartphones are typically an 11th birthday gift. Ds1 has my old Samsung Galaxy 4, ds2 will get my current phone next year and I'll upgrade. Ds1 is already saying that he wants a newer, better phone next year so is saving up for one.

The deal is, if they break them they pay for repairs. If they lose them or they are stolen, they get a cheap PAYG unsmartphone until their next upgrade is due.

YABU
Don't wonder. Its none of your business what phone my child has or what I pay for it. That's as crass as wondering about any other thing a child has and how and why it's paid for by they're parents .

*their

DD who is 11.5 has had a succession of iPhones from my mum who has upgraded and now has an iPhone 6 which was my old one. I had it for 3 years so it got good use! It was her main birthday present and she loves it.

Cost me zero. I could have sold it but I wouldn't have got much and I felt more comfortable with her having it as the battery wasn't great anymore.

DD's both had PAYASUGO till they went into year 9.
All most all of the interaction at school for going out is done over media, and I didn't want my child to miss out.
3 have a £20 a month unlimited internet and both agreed to less presents for Birthdays and Xmas £25 max in return for the phones...
good if you can do it at a Birthday or just before Xmas as it changes every 12 or 24 months... so they get good gifts every other birthday...
also so much work at school needs the internet, i was worried it would effect their exam results... both got A and A*

Fluffy40
I had my first phone at the age of 29.
Anyone beat that?

I can - first mobile in my 60s. My current one was a £15 PAYG from Tesco - I put £20 on it over three years ago and haven't topped it up since. It mostly languishes, uncharged, at the bottom of my handbag.

One of mine had an iPhone 4 of ours last year because it was cheaper than buying an android. Then my 10 year old got a new iPhone for Christmas. Only because I was looking at cheaper ones and then my phone company rang me up and offered me an old stock clearance 5S for £12 a month and that was cheaper than the androids I'd been looking at. Most kids with iPhones will have old knackered iPhones that aren't worth the parents selling on.

DS has latest Samsung and DD has latest iPhone. Have done since they turned 11.

I upgrade them every other Xmas, if they break or lose it in between times, it's down to them to pay for repair or replacement. Never happened yet.

Pp mentioned teaching DC to be individuals who don't need to have latest just cos their friends do and I agree in part. However, there can be a high price to pay for that in terms of bullying and teasing which the DC would pay, not the principaled parent. Whilst I can afford it, I won't put my DC in that position, teenage years can be hard enough anyway.

I bought my dad one when he was 47, a Nokia one which was new at the time. For months he kept yelling “hen that box keeps beeping again!” He has a smartphone now (almost 20 years later) and still can’t work out how to use it. He asked me to open his texts the other day and there were 97 unopened

Because 16 is not a magical age where children suddenly manage responsibility. That is a gradual process. Some adults I know are constantly dropping and breaking phones. My DD on the other hand has never broken one so o am happy for her to have a decent iPhone. DS gets a cheaper model as he is a clumsy clot. I base my decisions on individual needs and abilities, not the number 16.

Our teenage niece and nephew have iPhones that their parents upgraded from.

I do wonder at how often people upgrade their phones. I try to use mine until they are on their last legs. This however was easier pre-smartphones - my first Nokia lasted nearly 7 years.

Our boys saved up and bought themselves (reconditioned) iPhones when they were 12, as they weren't happy with our old Windows phones we gave them at 11 (Y6). They're 13 now. No losses, no breakages. They look after their stuff; they understand the consequences of not doing so, which would be that repairs/replacements would have to be saved up for.

No biggie.

My year 7s both have Moto G phones on sim only. Most classmates seem to have i-phones. I don't understand the appeal for adults or kids personally.

We're quite techy as a family, and have various consoles, tablets etc but prefer Android. The boys have followed suit. If the time comes when peer pressure sees them want i-phones then we will get ones for their birthday (I have a work i-phone but prefer my personal Android phone).

I would imagine it is hard for children/teens who have the brand new, latest versions of everything, as it will become an expectation and at some point they will have to either pay for these things themselves (which many will not be able to afford), or get used to having second-best, which is hard when you've always had the best

This is what stopped mine having the latest phones when early teens, despite us being able to afford them. If you raise expectations that young, what happens when they are working, paying rent etc, maybe uni loan repayments, so cant afford the latest gadget. For how long will parents bankroll them with the top gadgets? Mine have had Iphones at 17/18 for xmas, not top of the range and they pay the Sim only contracts themselves.

A colleague of mine told me in the autumn that her DS cried himself to sleep on his 14th Birthday, as she had been too mean to buy him an iphone 8 (she has a well paid job, but a high mortgage and two other DC). He had plenty of other presents, day out, meal out, but he was distraught as he hadn't got the top phone. She told me last week that he had used every single penny of his savings to buy himself it before Christmas. Her almost 17yo is already complaining as they wont be buying her a car for her birthday like other friends. She is bemused by their sense of expectation!

Where kids are getting old handsets from parents, or parents have more than enough money for a top of range handset, fine, each to their own. But some parents do bow to peer pressure whatever the cost.

My hairdresser was telling me last week that she had bought her 9yo an iphone for Christmas and of course he had to have the best. In the next breathe, she told me she wouldn't be getting married for years (just engaged) as they want to buy a house but are struggling to save a deposit!!! I would always put secure housing above gadgets, but everyone has different priorities I guess.

Both my boys (6/11) have iPhone 7 Plus with 30MB data per month (plus calls and texts) and due to me and OH already being customers we received a really good deal for them. My mum fosters children and got them both phones (can’t remember which type but not Samsung’s or iPhones) and she pays more for her contracts for them than we do ours. So really I don’t think it has any bearing on anything! I just know iPhones are study so I went with those

Kath6144 Thank you !!!!

Mine got their iPhones (new) for Christmas presents - it was what they wanted and they have looked after them. They need them for clubs / school - they have been told which apps to use to practice languages etc I also use findmyfriends app to check where they are if need be

I would always put secure housing above gadgets, but everyone has different priorities I guess

You know that it's not an either/or situation for most people right?