Aibu for not having home broadband

[Wivine011217]

Please I need your advice for this matter , am a single mother of 2 and I don’t have any home internet and I use my mobile data 45gb and share hotspot with the kids , let them have 1 hour a day and most the time we are always out in the park , soft play , libraries , I let the have more outside time indoors than on tablet, they also have lots of games mostly educational that doesn’t require WiFi access they enjoyed playing .My mum and sister thinks I am wrong for not having home broadband internet and they are saying children need more time for internet a day . They are making me feel like a bad mother. What do you think please

Don’t listen to them, sounds ideal.

Haha why would children need the internet?

It sounds fine, your kids have access to the net when they need it. Too many kids spend too long online. My oldest does, if I'm being honest.

I guess it depends how old the kids are. If it's needed for homework, school research etc then yabu.

However if your children are little then no worries. My 2 play out practically all day everyday but do hit Netflix after tea and baths for an hour or so before bed. So 2 streaming plus me at the same time it's worth the wifi.

Of course kids might need net access. I know mine have had projects which need research since about 8 years old. Sometimes their homework is things like going onto the Newsround website, and written about a headline they've seen.

My dc have some homework which has to be done online. It depends how old they are, OP.

I think home broadband is cheaper than sharing mobile data.

On Android devices you can set the devices up with child accounts and the parent can remotely control the hours the devices are used and the apps that can be downloaded. There are similar facilities on Windows 10 and Apple, not sure how good Apples are. Anyway, my point is there are more sophisticated ways to control internet access than sharing your phone. Have home broadband doesn't have to mean losing control.

Thank you so much everybody, they are 8 and 5 years old , for homework is not a problem since I have hotspot, I let them use but to my mum and sister is more of YouTube since my children loves watching other kids videos on YouTube , when their at my mum house they spend all days watching YouTube and in my house I let them 1hour if YouTube only which my mum thinks it’s unfair

Home broadband would be far cheaper tbh

I don't think it's an issue. If you find yourself in a tough spot with homework I think you can always try McDonalds or Starbucks.

I do the exact same as my phone has unlimited data allowance so it’s a no brainer! I also don’t have tv channels so mine are very deprived 🤣🤣

I am with voxi and I pay £20 every month. Yes my mum and sister thinks internet it’s very important that my children are suffering without it . 1 hour is not enough according to them

@Wivine011217 1 hour is plenty!! Tell them to sod off! So far today mine have had none!! Right now they are playing with LEGO. Dd is making a rocket ship and ds is making a jack hammer!! 🤣

Of course they're not suffering without it. At that age, all they need is occasional access. Spending hours on YouTube wouldn't be beneficial.

Having said that, you'll probably need to rethink in a few years when they're a bit older and at secondary school.

For the time being, yanbu.

I have the same situation and get 50GB phone data a month and share the data on devices when I need it.
Hate it though and I’m going to get home broadband.

I don’t use up the 50GB every month but I do come close. And that’s not even using the hotspot everyday.

Sounds like plenty. What a load of rubbish that kids "need" the internet - no other generation of children has had access to the internet and they seem to have survived. If you were suggesting NO internet at all you might be unreasonable.

In schools I've worked in it has been policy not to set homework that requires internet use unless students have access at school. It is discriminatory to lower income families otherwise.

Even if their school doesn't have a similar policy, at 8 and 5 I'd be surprised (and saddened) if they were being given more than 1hr of homework per day.

I cannot think of another reason that a primary aged child would need access to the internet.

I haven't got home broadband either - I've got 100gb data per month for £24 and that's plenty to cover my phone usage plus connecting my laptop or DDs tablet to my wifi hotspot

I think it's absolutely fine for younger kids, but I think teenagers do need proper internet access (as in decent, fast broadband/wifi if possible) because so much school work is done online these days.

Sounds a lot cheaper than if you had to buy data and broadband if it is enough for your needs, at least you are not paying for the annoying landline which is always included in broadband and internet is internet whatever its source

45gb is loads and you manage the data well so I can't see the problem.

I think you’re doing a brilliant thing for your children, well done!!!