First phone help

[Beachhutnut]

I have got a phone for my 11 yo DD for Christmas. I want to set it up in 'safe' mode ahead of the big day so she can use it straight away. Just realised I am out of my depth! We already have qustodio to keep tabs on tablet use and as I don't want to go down the Google route as they give kids too much control at 13.....but it's prompting me for a Google account. What did others in the same position do? Do I link my Google account to the phone so I can download apps if necessary but password protect? Skip? We have Microsoft family safety on her laptop..... I may be overthinking but don't want to mess up the set up and cause problems further down the line 🙈

No idea on that sorry @Beachhutnut

If you are with EE or 02 or Vodaphone you could go into a shop and ask for help. If its an iPhone you can get help from Apple on a live chat. Maybe other phone manufacturers do the same thing.

You'll need to go down the Google route....

Theyll need an account, if you use yours, there's a risk they'll be able to access payments, emails, anything else that's linked etc

You can use Google family to control things. By the time they're 13, an app or account restrictions isn't going to stop them anyway.

Thanks all.