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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My son is 5 so doesn't have a phone yet & I intend to hold this off as long as possible!!
I think as a line of communication - a phone is great for older children to touch base when out with friends, etc.
However, the idea of a child having a phone with internet connectivity & being exposed to adult material at a young age is really unsettling.
I know this is the world we live in now & encouraging frank, open discussions & managing technology in a controlled way is likely part of that.
Ideally I'd like to hold off on my son having a phone until he is at least 10. When he reaches that age - we'll discuss how it will work & the capabilities the phone will have.
I'd be happy for him to have a basic refurbished phone - I think it's mad to see kids with the latest phones when most of the adults I know can't afford them!! :)

DD is 7 and I don't want her to have a phone for a few years yet. I think secondary school is about right.
She's very tech savvy - knows her way around my iPad better than me, and now has her own Kindle Fire for Kids. But a phone just seems like something she doesn't need for a bit yet. Apart from Brownies she is either at school or with us!

10 year old has one but only to play pokemon on and use google for homework etc, he doesn’t go out on his own but when he starts to he will be allowed it

My kids are too young but in thinking when they start secondary school and basic phones? I'm being naive though!!

My two only got phones once they were at college and then they had one of my old phones until they could prove that they used the credit responsibly or could afford to buy one themselves.

My son is only 8 so still to early for a mobile phone, but we are buying him a refurbished iPod touch for Xmas as I couldn’t justify spending a lot of money as he wouldn’t understand just how expensive they are! x

Very first phone bought for dc they were 9, and it was a £10 "brick" type thing from vodafone - basically - it could only make calls to 10 numbers and receive calls and couldn't do texts at all.

Simply was an emergency device should dc be lost / stranded / something happened.

Second phone, 12, refurbished old iPhone (several specs behind the current version of whatever was new at the time) DC were aware of how lucky they were to be given a smart phone, and it was strictly monitored. Any rudeness or laziness with chores and the phone was taken away.

from 14 onwards, they were allowed to save up their pocket money and DH and I would contribute the remaining half up to £250 to put towards a phone of their choice.

I'm so nervous about giving my kids mobile phones. We have an agreement that they can have mobiles when they go to secondary school because I need to be able to get in touch with them and vice versa especially with the increased independence. They know though that getting a mobile comes with strict rules and responsibilities and I have told them I will have no qualms about taking the phones back off them if they don't follow the rules.

Well, my baby is 26 but I have just bought him a refurbished iPhone from Music Magpie via Amazon for Christmas and it looks very good and like new, I am sure he will love it. I bought him this as this is what he wanted and they don't make this model any more.

This obviously is not his first mobile phone but smartphones were not around that much when he was young, if they were I would have probably got him a refurbished one.

My eldest is 9 (almost 10).

He put a phone on his Christmas wishlist and the immediate response from my wife and I was "no chance".
However we have now seen the number of his age group peers (and younger) at school that have their own phones and have reconsidered to an extent.
There is research on the internet that suggests that the average age that children get their first phone is younger than he is and the age keeps dropping.
We have found the monqi (pronounced monkey) phone and it seems to cover almost all of the possible concerns that we had about him getting a phone. The deal that I found was a 2 year contract, so he will only be getting one on the explicit basis that it will be his main birthday present for next January and the one after.

my 9 year old doesn't need a mobile yet so we haven't bought her one but maybe when so is older and walking to school on her own we will get her one but it will be that she is borrowing it from us.

We use refurbished phones, for all the family.

I bought a brand new phone on contract for my son as he is a very responsible 16 year old and I got my daughter aged 12 a new pay as you go phone as she is very frillalous and would run up a big bill.
My son got his first phone staring secondary school for safety purposes. My daughter had her first refuted older iPhone at age 10 because her friends all had a phone and I didn’t want her to feel left out.

We have software on my daughters phone to monitor what she does and limit her usage. She has an Instagram account and a YouTube which I monitor, I also monitor what she views on there as she i# very impressionable.

My son I trust and he has freedom.

My tips are you know your own children and you do what is the best for them. My son and daughter are like chalk and cheese but they both know not to try and get pas5 m6 rules as I will just take away everything and it works for us.
Be firm but fair.

Ds is 5, so doesn't have a phone yet, although he does have a tablet for his own use.
He hasn't asked for a phone yet, but when he does, we will give him one, and one we deem appropriate for his age and what he thinks he will use it for eg. Phone calls, games, texts
From work colleagues information, many of their children have asked for phones around 7years, so I am expecting the same.
Ds will get either one of our old phones, a refurb, or cheap new phone. I will probably have him on my phone contract, but haven't given it too much thought yet.

My two got phones when they started secondary school as it is in the next village along from us and they need to be able to contact us. They both have had refurbished iphone 5s they are looking to upgrade in the new year so will be having a look. Most of their friends do have more updated models. I didn't realise Music magpie did phones so will have a look.
I just feel happier them having a less extravagantly priced phone as apart from the cost buying it , it is a lot of pressure for a young person to have such high value items which can be stolen, dropped , broken and lost. I am not overly fussed in what kind of phone I have but to teenagers it matters that they have the 'right' phone so being able to get a great condition one at a more reasonable price is very appealing !

Mine is too young yet but I do wonder about when it will become necessary. Can't see a need for a few years yet as she doesn't need to contact us really but I also don't want her to become the odd one out at some point. It's strange as it wasn't a thing when I was young so I've no experience of it happening to me.

I would definitely give my contract hand me downs on a PAYG basis to my children when they are old enough.
I am bad enough for breaking phones and they are easily lost and I think owning a £1,000 item is a lot of unnecessary stress and responsibility on a relatively young child, so would definitely not be buying my children a new, expensive phone.
I have thought an appropriate time for a phone would be high school when they are no longer being taken by a parent or grandparent.

I got my first phone when I was 13- one of the old nokia bricks. Loved it. I was the last of my friendship group to get a phone so I remember how it felt to feel a bit left behind.
But smartphones are something else, aren't they... Fortunately DS is only 4, so will not be getting a phone anytime soon. I'd love for him to grow up without it tbh, but I know that it will give me reassurance as he's older that he's able to contact us and I can get in touch with him.

I've never had a top of the range iphone or anything, I don't want one either as they're too expensive and I'm not really into shiny show-off gadgets with all the upgrades as a 'status symbol' as I think it's a unnecessary waste of both money and resources. I will probably be a boring old fart about this when it's time for DS's first phone- if he wants something more upmarket refurbished will be the way to go! But first I think a basic cheaper phone so he can demonstrate that he can look after it and use it responsibly first.

It'll be when they start going places independently and using public transport alone.
Absolutely no intention of buying new devices. I've had second hand, eBay and gumtree suit me and would do for my children. There's a slight premium on buying refurbished, obviously for the checks and a guarantee the device is working as it says it is. I may consider music magpie amongst others but it wouldn't be my first place to go.

What age did you decide to give your child their first phone? My dc are younger. My 5 year old asked this recently and agreed that she does not need one until she is at least 12 and in high school and making her own way home/going out with friends.

Or was it more about them starting secondary school or walking places by themselves that was the deciding factor?
Yes this will be the case.

Have you/did you ever consider getting them a second hand/refurbished phone?
I actually hadnt but think its an excellent idea. I suppose I might give one of my Dc my old phone.

If you did was it a hand-me-down phone from yourself or did you purchase a refurbished one? If I didn't have a suitable phone to hand down phone would 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? Probably pay as you go and limit data
Have you put any rules in place surrounding the use of their phone? Yes have to hand over at night time and meal times
Do you have any tips on where to shop for their first phone? Somewhere with lots of brands and different tarrifs

My eldest is six so I think we're a while off thinking about mobile phones but I'd be happy to start with a no frills refurbished one.

I bought second hand phones for each of mine when they started going out alone aged approx 9 (except asd son who doesn't leave the house alone). Wouldn't buy anything expensive or new as they would more than likely end up lost/stolen or broken. As they got older I upgraded them to newer phones but still no where near the cost of some of the latest ones.

I had to force my eldest into getting a basic brick phone when he was in his mid-teens. The youngest is a similar age now and has also had a brick phone, but for a couple of years. Neither are especially interested in keeping up with phone trends, and DS1 was in his 20s before he finally relinquished the brick phone in favour of a contract and a more sophisticated instrument. I wouldn't dream of spending four figures on a phone. Probably not even three.

Mine are too young and when i do buy them one they are getting a basic phone to call me if they need to. No iphone for them!

get something cheap