First phone for dd recommendations

[Marmaladegin]

Want to get dd a first phone as she's starting secondary next year and it will be practical.

Any tips on:
A not hideously expensive but user-friendly, functional phone.

How people manage this transition: what works well for keeping your child safe (and yes I appreciate the safest would be for her not to have one, but we've decided starting secondary is a reasonable time)

Tia

Are you an Apple or Android family? I'd stick to whichever you use. If Apple, the SE models are more basic and less expensive, you can pick up used ones easily enough (we tend to get them from Giffgaff, our network provider).

Oh really? Why does it make a difference if DH and I are Apple then please?

So that you can use family sharing for apps, data storage etc, airdrop and imessage, also it will be easier for you to set up and help her with it if you already familiar with the way Iphones work. Same I’m sure if you are all Android, but I don’t know much about Android phones, we have all always had Apple.

We got DC an iPhone SE off Amazon Renewed, second hand but perfect condition and guaranteed for a year, great value.

If you and dh have iPhones, I would give her one of your older ones and upgrade yourselves to newer version.
That way she ends up with a phone you can understand yet nothing too bad if lost if it’s already a few years old.
wipe it clean of your data, buy here a new case so it looks new and hers and buy a new SIM card only data

Like pp said we just upgrade then give the kids our iPhones with a sim only deal.

Yes, thinking back our two’s first phones were our old ones, then when those packed up we got secondhand ones from Giffgaff.

Reconditioned sounds like a good plan but don't you worry about battery life? Eg my iPhone looks mint but the reality is it doesn't hold charge for a day... which would be a problem for dd as I'd want to be confident she could ring text if she had a problem with bus getting home etc

We're an Apple family but got DS (same age as your daughter) a Motorola Moto G31 as a first phone - a lot cheaper and frankly in the half term he's had it, it's been brilliant. Easy to set up and use and the battery is a revelation after iPhone batteries.

We have pretty strict parental controls via Google Family so he can't install new apps, etc, without me approving them. We use Life 360 for location tracking, and we set firm ground rules from the outset: no phones in bedrooms, we have the right to take his phone at any time to check what he's doing, no passwords on apps that we don't also have, no adding contacts or messaging people he doesn't know personally (and that we are also able to know if necessary.)

He has some games on there, YouTube, Google chat to send funny gifs to his grandmother, and music/podcasts. He seems to mainly use it to send me Parks and Rec gifs to tell me he's on his way home from school or to ask where I am if his brother and I have dawdled, because he's appalling at remembering to take his keys.

For my DD we had gone the old iPhone route
she already was familiar with my phone (which became her phone) - and setting up a family account was easy
battery life - her school makes them turn the phone at the start of the school day and leave either in lockers or at reception (secure boxes for each class) so that has not been an issue, but we also got a couple of cheap external batteries from Amazon so she can take one if needed

Don't get her a phone

@Marmaladegin - we have had several iPhone batteries replaced over the years. Our last one only cost €30 for a collect, replace and returned 3 days later directly with apple. Then gave phone to in laws who still didn’t have a smart phone.
Apple does offers on battery replacement fairly often, but you can also get a most generic phone repair places.

A battery back up from say Anker isn’t a bad idea for any phone brand Incase something happens and they are away longer or need phone charge option.

Oh that's not bad at all is it - thanks @Caspianberg

Battery life for the second hand phone has not been an issue at all.

My kids carry around a battery pack for emergencies and long days/sleepovers. It pops into a bag easily and lasts years.

Hiya, for a first phone I'd recommend a Motorola. We or should I say Santa lol got one for my daughter and she loves it. Suppose depending on how tech savvy your child is or looking more a modern make like an iPhone but I'd definitely for a basic first phone go for a Motorola. Good luck! x

Ha...somehow my kids have managed to wheedle newer models out of us than either parent has🙄. Well until last week, anyway...

But as a starter, a hand-down is a good opportunity to upgrade yourself. And I agree that you should stick to the family system, iPhone or Andoid.

@JassyRadlett what's it like running Google family link off your iPhone? We are a split apple/Android family, DW apple me Android. As such my DW wasn't too keen for dc's to get Androids as she wouldn't be able to monitor/control the phones from her iphone. Doesn't bother me a huge amount but it would be good if we could have a parent control that either if us could use. If Google family link works from your iPhone that would be useful as I don't think I can add iphone cobtrols from my android.

@Unsuredad123 I control my DS's Samsung tablet from an iPhone using Family Link - works ok.