To think it's OK for my dd NOT to have a mobile phone now she's at secondary school??

[overthehill]

I'm a bit of a technophobe & I don't have a mobile myself: I do worry about possible health risks & also wonder how something can go from being non-existent to totally essential in just a few years. Dd does go to school on the bus, but children always managed to do this before mobiles were invented, so I can't really see the need - they just seem like another expense, which could be stolen, lost or cause health problems. And before anyone wonders, I'm not a troll & this is a serious question. Fwiw, she has one friend who has no phone, & at one of the other schools in our town where some of her friends go children are not allowed mobiles.

a long time agi, when i was young, there were phone boxes on every street corner. they cost ten pence for a local call. and everyone used them#now, i struggle to finda phone box. when i do, they areinvariably broken, and cosst a fortune in twenty pence pieces.
i think getting her a cheap pyg phone is the simpler option.

I don't think they are essential, but they can be useful. Personally, my 'mobile' phone actually sits on my writing bureau 90% of the time, I take it out only in very specific circumstances, and only about 3 people have that number.

My older two children were each given a phone when they started secondary school and it has been useful on occasions. Not so much for school purposes, although they have sometimes rung home to say for example a school club is starting that week and can they go to it. Starting secondary school also coincides with a gradual independence for my children. Over the course of Yr7 and Yr 8 they start to be allowed to do certain things independently and that's when a phone can come in handy, even if it's just there in case of an unexpected event.

I put £5 credit on my daughter's phone when she first got it, and it didn't need topping up for over a year! She literally used it for ringing home when there was a real need. Now she's nearly 15 she does text a bit, but still not that much, and she pays for extra credit! My children don't have 'cool' phones, they can buy those themselves when they are 16+. They have cheap and cheerful ones that do the job - i.e. send and receive calls and messages.

Our secondary school allows mobile phones on site as long as they are only used at break, lunchtimes and before/after school. They would certainly not like 1700 children queueing up to get a message to mum about a school club or for mum or dad to bring in a forgotten P.E. kit!

I can understand you not having or wanting one, like I say I don't really like them myself and only use for for emergency purposes. But nor do I think it's such a huge issue for an 11-year-old to have one as long as there are certain rules in place.

mY son has one of my handmedowns and it has proved invaluable since he has started secondary school this term.
He got lost coming out of school in the first week and we were able to direct him to the station. Also when there is a problem with the trains he has been able to call us and we don't worry if he is late.

The school doesn't ban but have very strict rules about their use.

Well, what a lot of sensible & well balanced people on here!! I thought I'd be accused of being cruel & reckless for not allowing dd to have one - although actually she's not that bothered atm & could borrow a friend's phone if necessary. We did talk a bit today about what she'd do if she missed the bus, & she said there'd be no point in phoning home anyway as we don't have a car so couldn't go & take her to school/pick her up, so she'd have to make sure she didn't miss it!!

Ds(8) is quite different, & apart from being a boy & interested in gadgets generally, I'm sure he'll be pestering us for one in about a year as he doesn't easily take no for an answer & will come up with lots of reasons why a phone is essential... But, to be fair to him, he doesn't have a playstation/X-box or whatever the latest gadget is either, & makes do with the computer, so maybe we'll be able to keep him at bay for a bit longer.

overthehill
my childrren dont have them - the eldest is 15 and next 13
their mates never have them on or charged when they need them and they have to be turned off in school anyway
in emergencies i call school it has always been fine
call boxes are also available
i would not worry
i do not like the health risks
ce of carphone warehouse will not let his teenage daughter have one!

No, you're not unreasonable - if you don't see the need then there probably isn't one. I do have a mobile (although i was relatively late to get one - and mainly use it for texts), but dd1 and dd2 have only just got one, and share it!. It's a cheap one so it (probably) won't get stolen, and they only have it for one evening a week so they can let me know if they want to come home. That's it - probably don't even need it for that.

Tbh, I am sick and tired of spending money topping up my son's phone to pay for all the 'quick' calls that his friends who are not allowed phones make to their parents.

I didn't get my first one until I started learning to drive. I wouldn't be without it now. Do have a rather snazzy one, but I'm a grown up so that's allowed & it was only the second brand new one I had in 5 yrs!!

Will probably let DD have one when she's at secondary school because of the bus journey. Only for emergencies though. Will probably just give her one of my old ones & get a PAYG sim for it so it'll be a good one, but not a brand new one.