Mobile phone for 10 yr old dd with SEN

[notsoslimmum87]

Hi,
Advice needed please.
My dd (10) has started getting transport to school every day. She is SEN and travels on a minibus with other students. We'd like to get her a simple mobile phone so that she can contact us if there were any emergencies (hopefully not) but you never know. We don't want her to have any form of social media, only texting, phone calls, Whatsapp as she likes to send voice notes instead of texting as its easier for her and possibly an app to download music as she loves listening to music. I've scrolled the internet but its only coming up with very expensive and fancy smart phones or very basic phones. We need something in between really. I did see something a few months ago that had all the things I've listed as well as a tracker so you can see where they are etc but cannot find it anywhere now strangely. Any advice would help!

The problem is that WhatsApp requires a smartphone, there are no phones that can deal with what’s But not other social media (WhatsApp is social media). Can’t she send standard texts from a basic phone?

How about a reconditioned iPhone? You can be in charge of which apps she has if you have an iPhone and you set her account up as a child’s account. You can download a music app for her and WhatsApp then she would have to ask permission to download other apps.

I would say though that you may regret lettering her have WhatsApp.

And have you found the SN Chat Section yet? Some of the MNers in there might have more experience of school transport and phones

Imoo do watches that will let her send voicemails to authorised numbers, and also have GPS. You have to have an Imoo app on your phone to message her. I don't know if any of their watches have music. Our kids has a Mighty for that- no screen but it connects to your/ family Spotify.