Phone for Christmas

[El2026]

My daughter who is nearly 10 loves making videos pretending to act etc. I was looking at cameras that video but unless I spend crazy money none seem that good. I have a spare phone I haven't used I was thinking of gifting it for Christmas strictly no sim or wifi access allowed. Is this a good idea?

I wouldn’t say so. She’ll be happy for a while, then asking for WhatsApp, then other apps, etc. Although the SM ban is due to come in in March, which helps. I’d just go for a camera

Personally, if it is just for filming herself, then I would still go with a camera.

The quality doesn't need to be great at all, Kids don't really care about that. It is still fun to play with. Do you have a computer? A nicer webcam is an easy way to let her film herself. Or if you don't want to go too expensive, second hand filming cameras are cheap and still perfectly good quality. Ebay has loads at different price ranges.

Or as another idea - you could buy her a "camera add-on accessory" type pack for your phone. I've seen them with grips, lenses, tripod etc. So she can borrow your phone to film on, but turn it into a "propper camera" in her eyes.

Personally, I would either go nice webcam (easy to film and then see on the computer right away) or an older second hand video camera.

Could you try making a short film together on the spare phone before deciding? See whether she enjoys planning scenes and filming, then agree who can watch the finished videos.

A phone is not a gift, it's a curse tool and the parent should always own it so the rules can be enforced.
Get a camera for Christmas not a smartphone.

I wouldn’t, making videos is one of the very last things I would be encouraging in a child, it just normalises the digital culture and before you know it she will have online access and want to post the videos.

When we were kids we used to act out all sorts of things, no video was needed.

Don't do it. Slippery slope.

Just buy her a camera. You can bet them cheap enough.

https://amzn.eu/d/0fUkAxH1

This is like under £30 and perfectly adequate for what she will use it for.

My 10 year old is getting a phone for Christmas but she is year 6 primary which seems to be the norm locally for having a phone (though lots of her friends had them in year 5).
Yes they are the work of the devil but you can limit things. My son doesn't have WhatsApp on his phone despite him saying lots of friends have it. It's not allowed upstairs at night time. We know the passcode to check messages.

What does she need a smart phone for?

Well she wants to text her friends and use the phone I guess like a tablet (I won't let her take her tablet on holiday or if we go out for the day in case it gets broken).

It wouldn’t be a decision I would make, some people give 6 year olds phones but it doesn’t make it right.

A phone and a tablet well before the end of primary school 🤦‍♀️

🙄 clearly not someone who works with children and realises this is generally the norm.

lol you ‘work with children’ and insist on normalising a 10 year old having personal access to not one, but two smart internet devices because other parents so ignore the huge damage causes? Okay!

Is filming herself really something you want to encourage at all?

If you think 10 year olds aren't using tablets and phones then you are completely out of touch. Whatever your views on it, it is pretty standard that children use technology in their lives. That doesn't mean they aren't doing anything else. You seem very judgy.

Sorry @El2026 that your post is being derailed. This is not AIBU and the Christmas boards are usually a friendly place to share gift ideas.

It’s not derailing the thread because her question is ‘is this a good idea’ so the aim of her thread is to garner opinions on whether it’s a good idea.

I work with children, if that is the qualification required to have an opinion, and I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. There is mi need for nine year olds to have phones.

We just did a training session on ‘hurt core’ which was quite an eye opener. Just because some parents are giving children a phone doesn’t mean it’s safe or a good idea. People do all sorts of things. Don’t look after their teeth, speed when driving, eat a bad diet and so on but that doesn’t make it best practice.

I think the question was whether it was better to give the phone which she already owns, or whether to buy a video camera. Which would you advise then @HubertLaneIsMyNemesis?

For me the phone would win as it's already paid for and as @El2026 notes, is better quality than many alternatives. If she buys a vtech camera for example they are quite childish with poor quality images.

If you are thinking she shouldn't do it at all, then I think back to my own childhood where the technology of the time was a cassette player. My parents had one you could record yourself on and how my brother and I used to spend many hours interviewing each other on silly topics, or even worse singing!

That one looks lovely, thank you 😀

Its nothing strange, she just likes acting then watching it back.not like pretending to be a influencer or anything

I am in my late 20s, and I use to film myself mucking about on my digital camera (pre smart phones), as did my mates, so it's hardly anything new. I don't think it's harmed my relationship with the digital world.

I loved my digital camera, got it as a Christmas present in late primary, it was a bright pink one that wasn't your ordinary digital camera. One of my favorite presents as a child!

I wouldn’t.
I’d keep kids away from phones for as long as possible.
Go for a camera.

OP if you do buy one of Amazon test it out before Christmas. We had the same idea as you a couple of years ago as ours liked to put on shows, dance, sing etc and record it. We purchased a cheap camera from Amazon with great reviews but when we tested it the quality was absolutely shocking. It’s all well and good saying kids don’t need anything special but if this is a Christmas present there should be some excitement involved. We ended up giving an old phone of ours instead and returned the camera.

Surely you can see that things have changed a great deal since then. When you were doing it, there was no danger of it being shared or someone taking a screenshot of it. It was a completely different time.

Someone in their late twenties is not living the same childhood as a nine year old.

It would never be shared though there would be no wifi access that is the point

Until there is..., oh well just download this app for editing.... oh this app needs updating
.. It's a slippery slope!

Have look around for cameras like I posted earlier...