Which phone for DS starting secondary school?

[Queenofknickers]

My DS(11) will be walking to and from secondary school in September plus I want to encourage him to make friends, go to park etc, so we are going to get him a phone. Can any of you experienced people recommend what we should be looking for? I don't want him teased or mugged. He is fairly responsible (as 11 yo boys go) but is capable of losing a phone. Obviously he wants an iPhone (in his dreams)

Check with your insurance company that you are covered with lost/stolen/broken phones. Mine have Samsung ones and they are glued to them . Unfortunately smart phones will mean your son will be on fb etc. Try to get an unlimited deal with texts and data. Otherwise the monthly price will shoot up.

None.
Do you really want him hanging around the park and getting into bother with a bunch of teenage boys?
Also friendships work much better based in real life than text speak imo.
That said my 2 are the only ones out of 800 pupils who don't have a phone.

When eldest DC went to secondary, it was rare for a pupil to have a smart phone.

Now, the majority have them.

But there are enough parents who insist on a set period of responsible ownership of a basic phone (before even considering smart phone) that it's not a teasing issue.

Google 'festival phone' for an acceptable cheapie.

I think a cheap smart phone is the way to go - they interact with one another via apps like snapchat and instagram, and when DS's phone was broken and he was making do with an old brick phone he felt very out of it.

DD is the same age and has an old Samsung one that her aunt gave her - not the end of the world if it got lost / stolen, she has it on trust - I know her passwords and I check her use of social media from time to time - this was the same for DS when he was younger, but less so now that he is nearly 17.

I'd get a cheap phone for now, see how much he uses it and also how his friends message eachother. My DD is in Year 9 and still has my DH's old phone - she doesn't want a mobile (we've offered her a smarthphone) and rarely uses it. Most of her friends message eachother out of school on ipods and ipads.