What phone does your year 6/7 child have?

[Elfie23]

As above really.
I've said DD can have a phone in year 6 for safety as we want her to start getting used to walking on her own (plan is to start with her walking to the car outside the school just out the gate and down the road for about 1-2 minutes and then build up to further distances) in preparation for secondary school.

What type of phone do your children have? I'm definitely not looking at anything top of the range, I've had a look with my provider and can see an IPhone 11 for £20 a month. Just need something half decent so I can use find my iPhone or similar to see where she is, and for her to be able to use it in an emergency if needed so something with decent battery life?

I find mumsnet a whole different world. I’ve yet to meet a child without a smartphone year 6 and onwards. They’re all on Snapchat. Phone seems to matter with some (must have an iPhone) or they are not really bothered and have a Samsung. Homework apps, email, qr codes. It’s all pretty relevant these days. Plus I like to track my kids. They’re home before me and I don’t expect them to message me with all their plans.

@Sometimeswinning yea very true my son's high school does an app for managing homework etc. I have managed to keep him off social media so far mind, the main thing he wants to do is upload gaming videos to YouTube, have held him off so far!

Mine had an older iPhone for when they started year 7. I wanted iPhones as I have one and I can connect them to my family account. I can monitor their usage and set parental controls from my phone. Plus I could use Find my iPhone with them. And they integrate generally so much easier.

Dds both started with an only Samsung android of ours. Dd1 got a new phone for her birthday in year 7. The battery was now poor and she needed more app space etc.

Dd uses her phone for the bus too. Our local route is shared between two companies. One offers a cheaper weekly ticket via the app or by getting the certain companies bus in the morning, but you can use the ticket on either company's bus. It's just easier to use the app as she can then get the first bus to arrive.

Dd also checks her homework etc using her phone. She gets notifications when any homework or feedback is added. Again not essential as she can use a laptop to check but much easier for her to manage.

Mine has my old iPhone XR but if I hadn’t had that, I’d have bought a reconditioned iPhone so I could put him on our family link. Then got a 2nd line on my contract so I can share data. We’ve agreed if he looks after this one, then he gets my 13 when I upgrade.

My son had my old iPhone 8 last year in year 6. He’s year 7 now and for Xmas had an iPhone 13. It’s £20 a month so reasonable. We are iPhone users and his account is connected to mine- he has a child account and I can monitor screen time/apps etc

DS wants a phone for his upcoming 13th birthday. I'm not 100% happy about it as I have seen the kind of stuff that gets said/shared and he is vulnerable (ASD) but at the same time I can't protect him for ever and he needs to know how to use a phone responsibly to fully participate in the modern world. I have iPhone but he says android is better.

DD had a loan of an old android phone in yr6 if she was out of the house.
Yr7 we bought a recon Apple. It was linked to DH's account so unlimited access to music etc but no downloading of apps etc.until she was older. It was useful for school and all the kids had apple phones.

Friends y6 daughter had just got an iPhone SE 2022 model.

2nd hand iPhone 6 SE 2022. On a tenner a month contract so he can use iMessage on mobile internet

Don't get a good, contract phone. Many of ds's friends have broken handsets their parents are still paying for

DD in year 6. She had my old iPhone 7 but the battery was so appalling and it wasn’t compatible with the latest IOS so she couldn’t, for example, download the audible app and she LOVES audiobooks. Anyway. I’ve ended up getting her an iPhone 11 because it’s the oldest ‘new’ iPhone I could get her. She is beyond thrilled with it. She needs it because she spends a lot of time down at the stables so it’s useful to be able to stay in touch with her. She mostly uses it to take photos and videos of horses. She messages her best friends but doesn’t join into class WhatsApp conversations- she’s just not bothered about them. I check her phone every night and she gets timed out at 8pm when she needs to give the phone back to me. It’s all very low-drama. I also have a child in year 9 who is very similar. They need the smart phones for school. All their timetables and homework are on them. Maybe I’ve just been really lucky.

Should also say that DD knows if she looses or breaks her new phone it will be back to the iPhone 7 for her!

Primary school (age 11) has a refurbished iPhone

Going to high school later this year (age 12) and will get her a decent new Samsung.

Sorry don't know what age year 6/7 is but guessing it's about the same.

My 13 year old in year 8 had the cheapest smartphone we could get when he started secondary. He accidentally dropped it down the toilet a few weeks later. We bought him another cheap pay as you go smartphone at the beginning of year 8. He barely uses it tbh. My 10 year old in year 6 doesn't have one yet.

Following as have a DC starting secondary in September and planning to sort them a phone this summer.

Was going to give my old Samsung. Can someone advice how to set up parental controls using android/google/Samsung? I'm clueless.

I don't want any apps downloaded without permission, and want to add time limits on Internet etc.

Maybe a basic Nokia is the way to go, but equally don't want bullying because they've not got a smartphone.

I would personally advise any parent getting a smart phone for their DC to get the same as they have- tends to be easier to use parental controls and also (and this might be just me!) means I know completely how to work it! We’re an Apple family, I would be completely thrown by an android device!

Used Google Family Link, app on your phone and theirs.
I'd give them a phone now so they are able to learn how to use it (and you the parental controls) before high-school and get used to remembering to charge it up.

Some schools aren't just using Apps for homework they use they can order lunch via an app too.

Following

Our son has just been given his first phone (yr 6). We put a new screen on DH's old iPhone (I think it's an old 8). We went with an iPhone as were heavily locked it down so he can only access a few websites and has to request access to others/ to download apps. Basically, we manage it from ours. If you are concerned about safety, have iPhones yourself, and want to regulate what they can access, it's a good way to go. We put a super cheap Labara Sim in.

Just to add, we took this route rather than buying a brick, as DS will get the train home from secondary school occasionally. We wanted to be able to buy digital tickets when plans change, and have seen first hand through a friend, how useful 'find my phone' can be (their son got off the bus at the wrong stop, didn't want to admit his mistake but walked in the wrong direction. They were able to track him down and collect him safely.

Mine has a refurb iPhone 12mini. I’m Apple, as his her dad, and the laptop. Make use of the security features, uses it for school work, video calls her friends (we live remotely so she can’t just call in on them).

Cancel the cheque?

Samsung Galaxy here.
We don't do Apple products!
Samsung are great. Easy to use and with loads of parental controls etc.
We're keeping a very close eye on how it is being used.

Both of mine have iPhone 12s - think they were the best "basic" contract to add to our family plan and we wanted to all stay on Apple because we know the parental controls well on that.

I allow WhatsApp because the kids went off to lots of different schools for secondary and keeping contact mattered, Snapchat and FB etc are blocked. Rule is that it stays downstairs for charging, that we have the right to go through chat logs whenever we feel that we need to, if it ever gets seen out of its case and without a screen protector or if it gets dropped and cracked - you get the Ancient Brick of Shame for the remainder of the contract.

My Year 8 has an old iPhone SE from year 6. They need a smart phone because DC use a quiz app called blooket in class. This means everyone needs a smart phone at her school. (It’s a very middle class catchment state school). They also get all homework via app, and school comms are via email. You can’t just give them a non smart phone and parents with older kids will have different experiences. They move very quickly with tech.