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Preteens

Parenting a preteen can be a minefield. Find support here.

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Original poster

Does my dd have the worst phone in Year 8?

53 replies

Dancergirl · 15/09/2015 23:11

Dd is 12.5, just started Year 8. She has the same phone as she had at the end of Year 6 when she started coming home from school by herself. It's a Samsung Chat - looks a bit like an old Blackberry but pretty basic really.

She says that most of the girls in her year have smart phones, some have iPhones. She's a good kid, doesn't really nag for stuff and hasn't made too much fuss about it although I know she'd love a new one.

So is this a really rubbish phone for a 12/13 year old? She is on a fixed monthly contract with Tesco, I pay £7.50/month. Would it cost a lot more per month to upgrade?

OP posts:

sleepdeprivedtigers · 02/10/2015 12:21

Ive seen a lot of the kids phones on the school run. They do mostly have decent smartphones.

I got dds iphone second hand from Game. It was battered on the back but we got a cover.

RJnomaaaaaargh · 02/10/2015 12:27

Beware with older versions of iPhones as Apple stop supporting them within a few years and you can't upgrade to the new software. My 11yo has my old iPhone 5 and I wouldn't buy anything older than that.

Also iPhones only really an advantage if the rest of the family and most of her friends have them (FaceTime iMessage shared music etc) otherwise I wouldn't bother.

TheUnwillingNarcheska · 06/10/2015 10:33

Ds1 is year 8 and has just paid out of his own money to upgrade his Samsung Junior? to a Moto E 2nd gen. Was £100?

We went to Carphone warehouse for the phone and he is on a gifgaff bundles tariff - direct from Gifgaff.

Dh is massively into tech (IT developer) and we are both getting Motorolla G 3rd Gen for Christmas.

I would make your daughter wait until Christmas. The only reason Ds1 upgraded his phone was because he paid out of his own money. To be fair he had had that money sat in his moneybox for 2 years and never spent it on anything.

Funny that isn't it that they are happy to spend your money but if it is their own, they can manage without something

Original poster

Dancergirl · 13/10/2015 21:36

Still thinking about this, dd has really set her heart on an iPhone. I've asked some of her friends parents and lots of them say that their dc have their old one etc. Not an option for us.

Dd says the camera is really good on the iPhone and you can do really fun stuff with it.

sleep - the 2nd hand iPhone from Game - is it unlocked? Does it take a normal SIM?

OP posts:

rollonthesummer · 13/10/2015 21:42

Buy a second hand iphone from Amazon/Ebay etc and just get tesco to give you an iphone sim for her account to go inside it. I have DC in Y7 and Y9 and all have Smart phones. Most of DS's class have iphone 6s!!

Original poster

Dancergirl · 13/10/2015 21:45

Will she have the same phone number if I do that?

OP posts:

RitaConnors · 13/10/2015 21:49

There will be iPhone 5s for sale at them moment as people upgrade to the 6S. We've always sold our old phones on eBay.

If you ask around your friends, people at work etc. You may find someone who is looking to sell theirs.

iPhones have smaller sims I think than other phones but I'm not totally sure about that. I think they are called micro sims.

rollonthesummer · 13/10/2015 21:51

Yes-just ring Tesco mobile and explain you want a sim for whatever model of iphone you buy and want to continue on the same contract deal-the number will stay the same.

unlucky83 · 13/10/2015 21:58

Even if it doesn't take a normal sim you can get them cut down to micro size or ask Tesco for a new one (I would do both get it cut down transfer the nos to the phone and then put a new one in)
but I think most iphones take nano sims? Which maybe more difficult.
DD1 (14) has a ZTE blade (£80ish) and a pay monthly contract with Virgin and she is happy (or would be except she has broken her earphone socket).
Biggest problem I have is she keeps going over her data allowance - once they get a smart phone the data usage will rack up. She was £10 pm for 1GB but her last bill was £35+. I have just upped it to 4GB for £15 a month (and got they gave me the first month free...makes that £35 bill less onerous - but I haven't told her that) - she is not getting her £10 a week lunch money for 3 weeks to pay me back (she has her own money - she won't starve). If I get her unlimited it is almost £20 pm - I'd expect her to contribute to that!
I've just bought a budget smart phone for £40 whilst mine was being repaired and it is fine - I'm surprised - it does everything that I need it to - guess maybe a bit slow sometimes - although to be fair I just use mine to check email/task lists/calendars...
And it is unlocked - which means that anyone in the family can use it as a spare ...

WoodleyPixie · 13/10/2015 22:04

The iPhone 5c is a good teen phone. Ds2 13 has one and it seems a bit sturdier than the iPhones.
I've just upgraded to the 6s and no way would I be happy with a teen having one. Mine is a work phone.
I think iPhones are good. However we have a rule that I don't check up on him but if I ever ask for his phone he hands it over immediately and unlocked. (Ds1 was bullied over social media)

You can get the 5c quite cheaply on eBay or smartfonestore sell reconditioned phones with a short warrantee. Ds1 got his 5s from there. Ineouldntbrecommend the 5s as it cracks easily. Nearly all of ds1's mates have a crack of some kind in the screen but those with 5c are all fine.

I brought ds2's 5c from car phone warehouse sim free and unlocked and took out insurance. The 5c might not be too expensive from tesco?

Original poster

Dancergirl · 14/10/2015 00:08

Thank you all, this is such helpful advice.

I will look out for a 5c, how much should I expect to pay?

OP posts:

RitaConnors · 14/10/2015 12:09

I can't help you there as I'm not in the uk but the price will vary depending on the storage it has. Like buying a small house or a big house. There will be 12gb or 36gb or 64gb or 128gb.

IKnowRight · 14/10/2015 12:20

My y7 dd has an iphone4s, that we bought from ebay for ?85, it had been reconditioned and works perfectly and looks new. It was her birthday present. Many of her friends also have smartphones, many of them are handsets that belonged to older siblings/parents etc who have since upgraded so were essentially free.

If you buy a phone that's locked to a different network you can get it unlocked. Not sure how that happens but I know there's a bloke that runs a mobile accessory stall on our local market that does it for a fiver.

HSMMaCM · 14/10/2015 12:26

I second the warning on data use. DD had a splurge of YouTube on the bus and regretted it !

GummyBunting · 14/10/2015 12:26

If your DD is most concerned about the camera, iphones are nowhere near the best camera.
She will also be limited to only using itunes for music.

Don't be fooled into buying an iphone because they're somehow 'better' than cheaper alternatives. There are better phones out there for the same price and cheaper. I assume she wants it because it's trendy.

Electrolux2 · 14/10/2015 12:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WoodleyPixie · 14/10/2015 18:13

Reconditioned iPhone 5c would be around £150. Brand new was £300.

WoodleyPixie · 14/10/2015 18:17

New m.carphonewarehouse.com/mt/www.carphonewarehouse.com/phones/apple-iphone-5c-8gb/handset?colourCode=WHITE&un_jtt_redirect

Brand new here for £189 bargain! www.smartfonestore.com/mobile/buy_product.aspx?mfr=apple%20iphone&model=5C%208GB%20In%20Original%20Box&colour=&network=&stock=in%20stock

ChipsandGuac · 14/10/2015 18:21

DD (same age) has an iPhone 6. She put her birthday money towards it. We all have iPhones but only so we can share apps and music.

Original poster

Dancergirl · 21/10/2015 20:12

Is the 5c going to be a lot more money?

And is 32GB a decent amount of memory?

OP posts:

PeopleLieActionsDont · 21/10/2015 20:18

I'd still go for the moto g. It's a great phone.

rollonthesummer · 21/10/2015 21:42

There have been 5 birthdays already in my DC's year 7 class. All 5 have been given iphone 6 or 6s!!!

Chasingsquirrels · 23/10/2015 11:12

13yo (yr 8) DS has a iPhone 4, handed down from DP. He has had the phone for a couple of years (as an iPod substitute as his ran out of memory) but has only had a SIM in it as of last month. If there hadn't been a family phone to hand down he would have had something costing no more than £100 and it would have been a Christmas or birthday present.

As far as I'm aware most of his contemporaries have smart phones.

ragged · 28/10/2015 19:14

£50 smart phones from supermarket running Android. You can get package bundles for £7.50/month too.

BertrandRussell · 28/10/2015 19:33

You're not limited to ITunes on IPhones- you can use Spotify no problem

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