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Original poster

non-smart phone for 11yo

92 replies

surreymother1 · 29/07/2022 21:23

So dd is going to secondary school in September. Having to travel by train by herself so I want her to have a phone for emergencies, but don't want a smartphone and all the potential hazards that might entail. Has anyone else given their child a non-smart phone? Does anyone have any recommendations? Also is it possible to get GPS on one? I am thinking probably not, but would be great if it was possible.

OP posts:
Hellocatshome · 29/07/2022 21:28

I dont see the point in getting a non smart phone. If you dont want her to have access to certain things just get the parental controls and lock the phone down to the things you want her to access. Lots of things in Secondary school will be a lot easier with a Smart phone. My DS can only access his homework planner on his smartphone. If he didn't have one he would have to access it on mine or the laptop but obviously we don't have the laptop on all the time to notice if there is anything added etc

RedSnail · 29/07/2022 21:29

You can’t send her to high school with a non smart phone…

LilacPoppy · 29/07/2022 21:30

Just get an iPhone and disable internet, App Store etc. she will be embarrassed and will need one for school apps at home.

LilacPoppy · 29/07/2022 21:32

by internet I mean safari

Singleandproud · 29/07/2022 21:39

DD had access to a dumb phone from the age of 8 so that she could call me / text me when she was at swimming galas or other places we might get separated. We used the new Nokia 3210s, however they are no where near as user friendly for today's teens as they were for us. It took her along time to work out how to text properly and things like that. Was great for the bottom of her bag for piece of mind though and was pretty much as indestructible as the old ones.

For her 12th birthday I got her a Nokia smart phone, paid for outright less than £150 bundle with a case and wireless headphones (and is perfect for what she needs and its difficult to see the difference between that and more expensive phones), paired with the £4 per month sim of the original dumb phone.

I teach teenagers and they are so upset and worried when they smash their expensive contract phones and I was keen to avoid that. Originally I did not allow her to have WhatsApp as I know how many issues social media causes, however it was really impacting how she could communicate with her peers and she was missing out.. She now has WhatsApp but knows that until she's 16 I will be doing spot checks on her phone and laptop and that is the condition of her having access to them. So far she has not let me down.

florenceandthemac · 29/07/2022 21:40

RedSnail · 29/07/2022 21:29

You can’t send her to high school with a non smart phone…

This

IShouldBeWriting · 29/07/2022 21:41

Nokia 105 is talk, text and FM radio. It doesn't have a camera. The battery lasts for days. It costs under £20 and that often includes £10 credit.
I gave my dd a previous version when she was 8, and only got her a smartphone during lockdown.
When she started secondary she said everyone had smartphones. By half term she told me she was glad she had a dumbphone: "smartphones just cause drama".
School do so much through internet, even in class, but my dd has never taken her smartphone to school.

hockeygrass · 29/07/2022 22:25

Dd will be the only dc in the school without a smart phone!

Turquoisa80 · 29/07/2022 22:27

The teachers sometimes ask high-school kids to look up information on their phones.. So Internet is handy

NeverEnoughCake2 · 29/07/2022 22:43

If she's travelling by train, surely she needs a smartphone so she can use the national rail app in case of delays or cancellations?

My DS and his friends have loads of WhatsApp group chats that they use to clarify things like when homework's due or what type of sports kit they need, so she'll be missing out on useful info in that respect too. Like @Singleandproud , we do occasional spot checks on what he's sharing and receiving on WhatsApp.

My DS's school does have a really strict policy on any phone out without teacher permission between morning registration and end of the school day will be confiscated for 24h, which cuts down on a lot of potential for phones to cause drama. However, we also use Microsoft family to make sure he can't access certain types of content or install any apps without our checking them out.

acca2017 · 29/07/2022 23:24

She needs a smartphone. She will be embarrassed with non-smart phone. If you worry a lot use parental control - so she will be not be able to download app without your permission. As other users mentioned internet access will be useful especially if she will travel by train on her own. Plus you can download Life 360 or Find My Kids app to check where she is when she is travelling back from school. So there are also advantages of having smart phone!

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 30/07/2022 06:46

DS uses his smart phone in school a lot. He keeps his timetable on it, accesses Teams/365 to see messages from teachers, looks stuff up on the internet for school work, WhatsApp groups for project work. I can track where he is using 'find my' and he uses the bus app to check travel times/delays etc. He keeps in touch with his friends with apps like WhatsApp - no-one phones or uses regular text messaging.

Like it or not, smart phones are part of everyday life for secondary school children and it could be socially isolating not to have one - better to teach them how to use one safely then attempt to keep them away from them imo. There will be plenty of battles during the secondary school years, this isn't one I would pick.

Clymene · 30/07/2022 06:58

Most schools expect children to have smart phones.

There's nothing inherently evil about them, you just need to have control and oversight

QuattroFromagio · 30/07/2022 08:16

She won't be able to do anything social without a smart phone. Children communicate with messaging apps etc - they don't text or call. She'll be so left out of things if her friends all have them, both actively, with people wondering why she doesn't have one, and passively, by just being forgotten about when plans are made

All the useful apps are on smart phones, not just social media, but things like maps, train time tables, google, homework apps, planners, educational apps

She'll need to take photos of things, even homework, school stuff, reminders/notices, timetables.

She'll want reminders apps and alarms and things like that

So many uses for them. Just get some good parental controls, and teach her how to use things wisely, and look at her phone now and then

LadyCatStark · 30/07/2022 08:18

Please don’t do that to her!

TeenDivided · 30/07/2022 08:21

I'm on the conservative side on these thing, and even I say a smartphone, but locked down as much as you like, combined with rules of use.

ExcusesExcuses · 30/07/2022 08:24

so many people saying she needs a smart phone. she doesn't. Both my DS had a Nokia dumb phone and it was fine. indestructible, used for emergencies and no social issues that others are citing.

abdidab · 30/07/2022 08:25

I was cautious too. BUT
All peers arrange their social lives on apps
Homework is managed on an app
Homework is set on different apps
There are plenty of parental control apps that you can use to.
You can check her phone regularly.

RuthW · 30/07/2022 08:30

Please don't be 'that mother' setting her child up for a reason to be bullied and isolated.

Secondary school kids need a smart phone now.

Beamur · 30/07/2022 08:33

I found the school seemed to expect kids to have smart phones.
Will she have internet access at home on a laptop or PC? She will need it for homework..

MuffinMcLayLikeABundleOfHay · 30/07/2022 08:36

If my child was getting a train to school, she would have a smart phone.

In the olden days, there would be staff to ask if things went wrong and boards with information about alternative rounded and there would be pay phones that worked. Now it's assumed people have access to the internet.

MrsAlbertaWhisker · 30/07/2022 09:16

Oh please don’t do this to her.

High school is a whole other world compared to primary school. Older kids are ruthless and will pick on other children for absolutely anything.

Get a smart phone but put rules and safety settings in place if you’re worried about unsupervised internet access etc.

However, my daughter uses hers every day as the teachers rely on kids having smart phones to participate in lessons by using them for internet research or joining in on kahoot quizzes etc.

Also, my daughter found a smart phone extremely useful from that age as she was able to access train and bus websites and Google maps when one day she got completely lost coming back from school.

DelurkingAJ · 30/07/2022 09:18

Interesting. DH’s school (boarding), has banned smart phones for Y7. They all seem to cope! (And anecdotally bullying has fallen dramatically).

User56785 · 30/07/2022 09:39

DelurkingAJ · 30/07/2022 09:18

Interesting. DH’s school (boarding), has banned smart phones for Y7. They all seem to cope! (And anecdotally bullying has fallen dramatically).

So he isn't getting a train home then? He doesn't have to 'cope' with that?

MaudieTipstaff · 30/07/2022 09:51

DC2 now 18 didn't have a smartphone until he was 14 at his own choice.

None of the schools we looked at recently for our 11 year old allowed phones in school time at all.
In one school you have to apply for permission for your child to have the phone for travelling and the phone has to stay in a locker in the office.
In the others if the child is using a phone at school it's confiscated and the parent is called to pick it up.