mobile phone - when did your kids get theirs?

[Handywoman]

My dd will be 10 in April. She is mature and independent and has been left in the house while I run errands for about six months now with no issues. She is just starting to venture out on her own for short spells to run the odd errand or to the local park with a friend. This is testing my nerves but I know it is best to go slowly and allow her confidence to develop natrually, so I am happy about it. She is LOVING the independence! I am now thinking the next thing to consider is getting her a cheap mobile so we can contact each other when she starts going out for longer periods (although this is realistically not going to be until next Spring as the nights will be drawing in). I have also said that from Easter next year she will be allowed to walk home from school and let herself in (summer term, Y5).

Is this the right age to start thinking about it? I am thinking of a Xmas prezzie or for her 10th b'day. When did yours get a phone? Are any of you holding off til secondary school?

Thanks,
Handywoman

DS had his the summer before he went to secondary.

DD is 10, and has walked herself to/from school for well over a year (I am home when she gets in), and also goes to the local park for up to 1.5 hours without me - will sometimes pop home to check in and then be given a revised time to be home. She does not have a mobile yet, and will not have one until she is about to start secondary. However, she has borrowed an old one of mine when we were all camping for a week at a Christian festival and she had a lot of independence as we were busy working at the festival and it meant she could contact us easily.

I don't think 10 is unreasonable for a mobile - one or 2 or DD's friends have one, but it is the exception not the norm atm.

DS got his in year six, aged 10 - he bought it with his Christmas money. I had promised to get him one for when he started at secondary, but all his friends were getting them in year six. By then he was walking to school by himself and sometimes going round to friends' houses after school, so I was happy to have some way of contacting him/being contacted.

DD is nearly 10, going into year 5, and may start walking to or from school by herself soon. My phone is due for an upgrade in a month or so, so I am thinking of passing my old one on to her.

DSD got her first mobile at 9

my DDs both got them at 9 when they started being allowed to the park with their friends, but juding by the fact that a day after they got them they had about 15 numbers, I'd say 9 was quite late not entirely sure what a 7/8 yo needs a phone for though

DD will get one next summer, or maybe in April at her birthday - in preparation for starting secondary school - she'll be 11y. She doesn't really go far on her own, and if at the park she is always with 1 or more friends. She doesn't walk to/from school as too far away. So, at present there is no need for her to have one. When she starts secondary she will be using public transport to get from school at the very least and more need for her then.

Mine got theirs the summer after they were 9 iyswim.
They go to schools over 10 miles away from yr 5 onwards.
They are only to be used in an emergency and credit is supposed to last a long time.

Ds1 got his for his 11th birthday but dd1 had one a few months ago (she has just turned 10). They have been very useful for getting in touch with the dcs when they are out with friends, which for dd1 is most days just recently. I do worry though that a lot of their friends already have smartphones which was a bit of an eye opener for me. I'm not sure I can afford to upgrade them just yet!

Yesterday! Ds is 10 just going into year 6 - but I made him sign a contract with me about behaviour / attitude / usage

He's got a £7.50 a month contract which he pays for out of his £10 pocket money with 250mins & 5,000 texts a month. But he's a boy so he won't use it all but it's a safety net really

No set rule, feral kids (not mine, of course, other people's) out with phones around here from 8yo.
Mine used old house phones until they want to start texting a lot, so about age 10-11.

10th birthday to coincide with starting middle school in year 5. They all start walking to school round then and after school clubs randomly get cancelled so phone very handy.

Snowballed, my jaw hit the floor- a contract for a 10yr old?? I hope you have a cap on it and have talked to the network about blocking premium txts and calls.

I frequent the MSE forums and may adults who think they know what they are doing come to grief and end up with huge bills on contract phones when they reply to spam txts, lend the phone to a " mate" or lose/have it stolen. He only needs to leave it in the park and not notice it's gone till the next day for YOU (and your credit rating) to be saddled with a huge bill for all night sex chat/calls to the middle east.

Maybe not for a 10yr old but for 11+ kids watch very carefully if they are taking contract "nice" phones abroad. They may well use data roaming without realising (eg "well I never used the internet" but actually the apps have been ticking away in the background and the emails updating).

My 3 (including the 19yr old who deals with her own) are of giffgaff goody bags. Non contract, so if the phone is lost/stolen/misused the most that is lost is the balance, and £5 gets unlimited txts and £10 unltd txt/internet and 250mins calls.

As regards age, the older 2 got them when the secondary places were out- gave them time to get used to the phones and go on the bus etc alone. DD2 got hers at the start of yr6 as she was walking home alone and a lot more independent without a sibling left at primary

Theas thanks for that, top tip! Thank u every 1 for yr contributions

Also what I did with DSD was as she got a blackberry we disabled the internet on it :-) O2 were very helpful

My DS got his on his 12th birthday, just after starting at secondary school. I plan to do the same for my DD.