Mumsnet users discuss getting their child’s first mobile phone with musicMagpie

[EllieMumsnet]

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Buying your child their first mobile phone can feel like a big milestone; it’s one of their first steps to becoming a little more independent. With so many different types of phones out there and with a lot of information to sift through on when and how to go about getting your DC their first phone, whether you hand them down their siblings old one, buy a refurbished phone or even get a new one, musicMagpie would love to know your tips, experiences and thoughts on buying your child their first phone.

Here’s what musicMagpie has to say: “With the latest smartphones costing up to £1,000 or more each year, it’s not feasible for many families to be able to afford the latest Tech. You can still get your kids great quality phones without the hefty bill when you buy certified refurbished mobile phones from musicMagpie. You can literally save hundreds of pounds! For example, you could pay £449 for a brand new iPhone 7 or you could save over £170 for a very good condition iPhone 7 with musicMagpie. It’s not just the price – all of our phones comes with a 12 month warranty and go through a thorough 70 point check to make sure they’re in full working order. Here’s how we refurbish our phones. Keep the kids happy and save money… why wouldn’t you?”

What age did you decide to give your child their first phone? Or was it more about them starting secondary school or walking places by themselves that was the deciding factor? Have you/did you ever consider getting them a second hand/refurbished phone? If you did was it a hand-me-down phone from yourself or did you purchase a refurbished one? How did decide which phone was best and what type of package did you get e.g. pay-as-you-go or contract? Have you put any rules in place surrounding the use of their phone? Do you have any tips on where to shop for their first phone?

Whatever your thoughts, tips and/or experiences are, comment them on the thread below and all MNers that do will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

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I think secondary school age is right for their first mobile. My contract renews in December but it’s an iPhone 6s which I think is too expensive to pass to DC. I could keep it and go sim only but don’t want to lose the good contract I’m on either.

DC has had a phone due to trialling one on MN. The screen is cracked, they keep forgetting to charge it. I gave them my old iPhone 5s to listen to music on, they lost that. So I’m not inclined to spend a lot on a phone.

Vodafone have some good sim only deals for iPhone £6-8, so really need to think hard what to do.

What age did you decide to give your child their first phone? My ds was 11 when he got his first phone was it more about them starting secondary school or walking places by themselves that was the deciding factor? It was the end of year 6 and wanted to start being more independent Have you/did you ever consider getting them a second hand/refurbished phone? His first phone was a second hand phone, very basic as all he needed was calls and messages If you did was it a hand-me-down phone from yourself or did you purchase a refurbished one? When I upgraded my phone he then used that one as it easier to use and when he moved into secondary school I could use the tracker on it to see where he was on the journey home. How did decide which phone was best and what type of package did you get e.g. pay-as-you-go or contract? wr looke around for the package with most data and get 20GB for £20 a month which suits us do he'll be staying on pay as you go for a while ave you put any rules in place I made my son sign a contract and I take the phone from him each evening at 8. He has to charge it downstairs and I can check it st anytime. He is fine with this and is sensible with the phone. He also has to ask before downloading any games or apps. surrounding the use of their phone? Do you have any tips on where to shop for their first phone? I'd say look around for what suits your child and more importantly budget!

Our eldest was always using mine to play games on when we were out and about, so it was a pleasure to buy him his first pnone when he was 11. Drilled into him about the dangers of using social media and he does seem very wise concerning the tricks paedophiles will use but I still worry all the same.

What age did you decide to give your child their first phone?not old enough yet but id like to say it will be like I was and so first year of sceniors is about right when they are waking to school on their own. Or was it more about them starting secondary school or walking places by themselves that was the deciding factor?
Have you/did you ever consider getting them a second hand/refurbished phone?it would depend on what they wanted.if a relative or friend has an old one same orsimlar then wed definitely take that on.i think they would hate this but id try to do this always first.i know we were getting our own hones but they were so cheap back then.and now I always lookout for seoncd hand.
If you did was it a hand-me-down phone from yourself or did you purchase a refurbished one? ive had hand me downs
How did decide which phone was best and what type of package did you get e.g. pay-as-you-go or contract?i think pay as you go is easier at first unless you get a brilliant package or they can fund it!there used to be much better eals.but theminimum limit now seem to still be so high and young kids don't need this.with their first phones I still want them to encrouage them to only use it when they need to.use free wifi etc
Have you put any rules in place surrounding the use of their phone? yes not at meal.if I say put it down you do so.i get to see it whenever i need or want to.your credit spending will be monitored and there will be limits each month.
Do you have any tips on where to shop for their first phone? compare online.shop want to sell you what they are told/sponsored t push

DD is nearly 8 and we recently gave her a phone, OH's old phone so no expensive phone and it doesn't matter if it gets lost or broken. She walks to school alone and goes to friend's houses so I need a way to contact her (no one has landlines any more it seems) and her GPS device has been a bit crappy with network outages and not alerting my phone always when she wants me to contact her so we decided a proper phone is the way to go now.

We have rules that she is only allowed limited time to 'play' on her phone at home (has a few games on it) and we use Google family link so she cannot download any app that is meant for age 13 or over (can't even use Youtube which annoys her!) and I have to approve all app downloads with my passwork.

She has to prove to us that she can take care of her phone and be responsible with it for a chance to get a newer phone in time.

DS is 11 and got his first phone in the summer. It's an old handset of mine with a £5 a month Giffgaff package...basically as cheap as you can get! It's suiting him fine though it does run a bit slow.
At the moment he really only uses it at him for texting or calling friends or watching videos on YouTube.
He's off to secondary school next year and will be 12 shortly after he starts so I am planning to get him a better handset then and I would definitely consider a reconditioned one.
We also have Google Family link which is great for keeping an eye on what he's doing. It also locks the phone before 7am and after 9pm. He's not allowed his phone in his room once he's gone to bed. He's not allowed to text or call any adult outside the family - this rule will relax as he gets older but for the moment he has no need to and I want firm boundaries.

Our dc get their first phone a few days before they start secondary. It's cheap and basic, but on a fairly good family contract. If they want something fancier, they can save up and buy it themselves.

Oddly enough, none of ours have ever lost or broken their phone. And somehow, when it came to buying themselves the smartphone of their choice, £800 iPhones and Samsungs were not top of their lists, no matter what "everyone" has.

My son got his as he started secondary school. I never even considered a refurbished one! We bought a cheap Alcatel one initially. It was fine for the first yet and survived some scrapes and knocks surprisingly well.

My dc is only 1 so not getting a mobile any time soon. When the time comes yes a refurbished one would be good especially if it was cheaper.

My eldest got his first phone on his 10th birthday in May this year. I would have given him a hand me down, but we are not into technology so we only buy a new phone when our old ones break.

I got him a basic model as its only for when he goes out with his friends or to his dad's houss and needs to contact me. It's a pay as you go and hes still using the 10 pound on it from when I purchased it.

I'm quite strict with the phone and have a number of rules. He has to check with me before adding numbers to his so I can check who it is, he is not allowed to take it to bed and i can look if I ever feel concerned. I've not had to enforce this last rule though as he's been really sensible with it.

Dd is 11 and she has my old iPhone (part time) for when she is with her dad, with a view of more permanent control when she starts high Svhool next year.

Refurbished phones are a great idea.

We will be buying DS and DD a refurbished phone for their 11th birthdays. This will be in preparation for secondary school and also be the time that we start letting them go out around the village with their friends. It will give piece of mind especially as we'll install the Life 360 app so we know where they are! We would never buy a new phone because it would be at greater risk of getting stolen and I'm half expecting DS to lose it!

none of my dc have phones yet- i will delay this for as long as i can. they have ipads etc but i dont see a need for a phone.

I bought a refurbished iPhone 5 two years ago for my son going to secondary school. Cracking little phone and still going strong.

I was worried beforehand that it would be scuffed/scratched or the battery rubbish but it was perfect. So much so I bought a refurbished iphone5 for myself too.

Glad I did as I could link the phones. This feature came in very handy as I got a contract for him £6 month but the provider would only cap the contract at £50 a month. So I put the parental controls on to manage his data and control internet access... and then forgot the passcode.

I do regret not getting at as you go. However because the phones are linked I can download apps on my phone and they transfer across to his.

Can't remember if I bought them from Music Magpie or Cex. I use both sites for buying & selling (not a prolific user - the occasional chuck out of old games/dvds/electronics).

I'm not sure whether to reset my son's phone back to factory settings so I can erase the forgotten parental pin code, but worried I'd create more issues with it being refurbished. This means I can't relax the internet access to more sites - he could really use it at school when they're told to use their phones to look things up.

Teen has had iPhone 4, 5 & now my phone iPhone 6 as l’ost her iPhone 5 but really wants 7 or 8. I had an iPhone 5 refurbwhich lost.

My DC are only 6 & 4 so don't have mobiles yet but know the time will come!
I imagine they will get mine or DH's phones and we'll get the new ones!
I wouldn't want to give them a £1000 phone at all - we wouldn't even spend that much on our own.

My children will be getting mobiles when they start secondary school. I can see some of their friends already aged 8-10 having issues with others due to the toxicity of chat culture. I want to delay it as long as possible

I gave my son a phone when he was old enough to be walking to school by himself. It was a hand me down that my FIL wasnt using anymore.

Ive always done hand me down phones for the kids as first phones. Once they csn be trusted i will then do a cheap pay monthly.
Always given when they become more independent. Anywhere between 13 and 8

Dd is 9 and just got one for her birthday. Its a simple pay g one, think an alcatel 1. Ds was 11 but shes more mature and is actually better with hers than he is with his. I can usually get her but not him.

My DC had no real need for a phone until moving to senior schools at 13. For last year at prep school, DC1 had a £10 Nokia phone - to prove that they could look after it and call/text us as needed. DC2 will get the same.

At senior school, DC1 got an iphone - a couple of generations old, on a contract which I pay for but which is capped. Again, I cannot see why we would change that for DC2. When the contract came to an end, I moved it to a SIM only deal. We have spare phones at home should it die, and I see no real need for any child to have latest and greatest phone. I know a lot of their contemporaries do, but that is just too bad. They are in independent schools where a lot of pupils come from seriously rich backgrounds. We could never compete and I don't intend to try. For DC2 I will look at refurbished phones as an alternative to another contract, but it still won't be latest/greatest.

Dd is 13 now and has an iPhone SE on contract.

I know I might be in the minority but from a young age she's had access to tech and had old phones without a sim in to play with (supervised) from about five years old.

My logic was that phones are so much more than phones now and I felt I wanted to be sure she followed all the safeguarding and knew all the safety aspects, how to phone police, various setting and how to work her way a phones operating system before handing her a phone. All online safety and our rules about online behaviour etc have been drummed in over the years so by the time she was given her own she had a good understanding about appropriate use not just by her but of others.

I wanted her to know how to identify online bullying, to know what things to not do on a public WiFi connection, how to take a screenshot if she sees inappropriate behaviour that might get deleted, the type of use that would quickly use her data allowance, how to check her usage, to not have earphones in so loud that she can't hear traffic or someone sneaking upon her, and million other things that I felt would have been overwhelming teaching her in one go on giving her phone at 11 when she started secondary.

Just as well because the first week of year seven other pupils were sending porn clips on the bus via Bluetooth. She knew to decline any type pairing from people she doesn't know and to never accept a file she doesn't know what it is, even if from someone she knows.

She started secondary and was given my old iPhone 4 with a £10 a month cancel anytime SIM card in. She's had that until this year and I bought her an iPhone SE. I know contracts usually work out more expensive that buying the handset outright, she self moderates and has never had to be told to put it away at meal times and just last week she commented on how looking around the restaurant it was all adults faffing on phones while the children were trying to chat.

I've been genuinely surprised by the amount of Parents who don't know how to work their child's phone, or just how easy and common it is for inappropriate content to be shared and don't prepare their children for how to handle that. Parents of one of the boys sharing violent porn felt it unfair he was punished by school because the phone company and phone network shouldn't allow it. Doesn't work like that, it's the parents responsibility to teach their child appropriate behaviour. Stats on how many children have accessed porn by 11 years old is frightening.

My dd knows she is lucky to have the online privileges she has and knows that I mean it when I say all online privileges will be removed if she abuses them. No YouTube, no online gaming, no crunchy roll, no dr who, no Spotify. So far it's worked for us and I lve had a few people say I'm a bad parent for allowing her supervised access to gadgets from a young age and how they didn't give their child a phone till they were 11, but my child isn't asking her classmates to send her nudes or chatting to strangers on snapchat like theirs have done since being given a phone.

My way isn't the only way, it's the way that's worked for me.

My eldest is 6 and I have no plans to get him a phone anytime soon . I think it will be clearer when his friends get one and he is going out to play for longer periods.

He's 9 and doesn't have one yet - there's no reaason to until he is old enought to go out on his own and when he does it will just be a bsic one for calls and texts so it doesn't matter if it gets lost, brokens or stolen