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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

Mobile Phones for Year 7s

36 replies

whitecloud · 08/03/2006 18:40

My dd is 10 and will only just be 11 when she goes to secondary school. She says that all her friends are getting mobile phones for their birthdays. I can believe it because one or two are flashing them round already. Obviously I will consult with other mothers I know about this to see if it's true or just talk by their dds. I don't want my dd to appear different, but am concerned about unsuitable conversations, porn etc which could come from older children. Any opinions or experiences please ? Feel this generation are entering teenagerdom far earlier than in the past and it concerns me.

OP posts:
soyabean · 09/04/2006 17:29

C975 in second row RTKM Yes its on 3.
Janh I know £5 is not much, but he hasnt been bothered about not having one and says he wont use it much..I know that once his friends start ringinga nd texting him he'll want to reply but much over and he'll have to add credit himself I think.
So is 02 cheapest deal?

Milliways · 09/04/2006 17:45

£5 goes nowhere??

I put £15 a time on DD's`phone, and that is about once a term if that. She has not had anything this year yet & has £8 left :)

She talks on MSN on the time instead Grin

She knows I will happily pay as long as she uses it for emergencies, returning from school matches etc. At home she can use our phones or MSN. At school it is switched off. She receives lots of texts & replies now & again but would rather save her money.

soyabean · 09/04/2006 17:47

Milliways thats my view re use of the mobile too. Its for keeping in touch not for long conversations etc

Milliways · 09/04/2006 18:01

DD has Pay as You Go Vodaphone. Get 10% free when top up with £15. Calls get cheaper the more you make & has best coverage. SOme of her friends got the cheap Tesco mobile but often can't get a signal.

006 · 09/04/2006 18:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

soyabean · 09/04/2006 18:12

Btw ds is 14 and this is his 1st phone, dd about to start sec school but dont think we will get her one straight away. Ds is out and about a lot on his own now and we feel the need to be able to contact him, and vice versa. Dd will be travelling with friends and getting lifts etc for the first year I guess.

JanH · 09/04/2006 22:15

Texts are 10p each as a rule - even if only one word replies to things or, eg when DS2 lost us at Bonfire night "mum where are you?" (I still have that one, it's classic!) Calls can be 40p per min though (depends who to, and you can't tell which network you're calling), hence £5 not going far.

With O2's deal, for your monthly £10 you get 100 minutes (or a mixture of minutes/texts) plus the £10 of normal credit on top.

How much your child will use it depends on the child itself, how much their friends use their phones, whether they text each other a lot etc. If you know your child will hardly ever use the phone then £5 is probably enough.

DS2 buys his own credit and his own phone (paper round, £22 a week Shock) so it's up to him how he uses it. Even having much older sisters and brother he was still late among his peers in getting a phone and I think the others use theirs more.

quanglewangle · 10/04/2006 00:22

Around Xmas I got a motorola pay-as-you-go phone for £15 from carphone warehouse. It has very long battery life. Nothing fancy, but a neat little phone and only needs charging once a week. Good enough for me.

rosiesmumof4 · 04/05/2006 10:32

My 2 oldest are in senior school and still don't have phones, although DS1 - 12 tells me he is the only child left in class without one. i don't want him to stand out but i'm horrified what they use the phones for - not just smutty jokes, but unkind messages, and getting rung all the time, then when you answer the caller has hung up.
friend bought her son a T mobile one though - said was good deal for teenagers - i think it's rate x for a certain no of mins/txts/monthm, and then it reverts to pay as you go if they spend more than that.
most of the boys alwasy seem to have theirs switched off when their parents need to contact them anyway.

HungryLion · 21/07/2011 13:32

just got my 11 year old a mobile and already regret it. She has donwloaded an app today which is unsuitable. Ive taken the phone and will contact the provider to get all parental controls I can in place. I assume they are not or this app would not have downloaded. In addition, I want to go through all the dangers and difficulties of having a phone with her before giving it back but in a non-preachy way. Has anyone found a good booklet or checklist..Ive looked online for a bit but not finding much thats inspiring. Ideas?

exexpat · 21/07/2011 13:49

This thread is five years old.

HungryLion, you'd do better starting a new thread if you want some advice.

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