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Teenagers

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

Original poster

Can I ask what type of phone your teen has (for 14 year old) and roughly how much it cost please?

103 replies

Sweepingchange · 22/04/2017 14:48

We have a phone battle going on at our house atm.

The old phone that dd has inherited from me and previously from dh has died (it was a Huawei); well apparently it doesn't receive Instagram any more which is tantamount to it dying apparently Confused.

We are looking to buy dd a new phone but don't want something outrageously expensive or something that will attract thieves when she comes home from school on public transport.

I would be so grateful for some ideas about models and price ranges please (and all the ones dd has shown me on-line seem very expensive indeed) because I am clueless about this sort of thing and I don't want to be hoodwinked in to buying something that apparently "all her friends have".

Want to go in to this battle informed. We are not doing pay as you go because we run our own business (and live abroad anyway) and phone will be bought as part of office package ifyswim.

Thanks you very much for your help.

OP posts:
Chewbecca · 22/04/2017 15:11

Yes, I worried about him having an expensive phone making him vulnerable to thieves /muggers etc.

He convinced me he'd be careful & not flash it around too much, say when walking down the road. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt & to be fair, he had managed to look after his 1st phone well for 18months & I hadn't had any first second hand experience of kids getting mugged for their phones. He tells me he won't as everyone has a good phone anyway.

fuzzywuzzy · 22/04/2017 15:16

Computers for students does second hand or refurbed iPhones if you want one cheaper than £600 (understandably).

My DC has a cheap non internet one for school she does home work and stuff with friends on laptop and they chat through google hangouts.

But I'm a meany mum.

Badders123 · 22/04/2017 15:16

Ds1 has my mums old iPhone4
It cost £5 for a sim only contract from virgin

ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander · 22/04/2017 15:16

I'm a lone cheapskate as my DC have 150 quid Moto G4 and 200 quid Samsung J5. Both of which are perfectly good phones and will do everything required. They are both terrible losers/breakers of stuff and in fact one of them only ever takes a ten quid dumb phone into school and keeps the smartphone at home.

fuzzywuzzy · 22/04/2017 15:18

here, they come in various grades with a guarantee.

I must say apart from being evil I am mainly worried about DC being mugged for her phone, I know she feels grown up and responsible. But I don't feel it's safe for her.

Mylittlestsunshine · 22/04/2017 15:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MissWimpyDimple · 22/04/2017 15:20

DD is 10 and has an iPhone 5C. She had an iPhone 4 before that. Both were my mums olds ones

Problem with apple is that they stop updating and supporting models bit by bit. As far as I know the 5C won't take the next big update so the minimum would be a 5s

Can you look at the iPhone SE? It's got the same spec as the 6S but it's usually cheaper

MaisyPops · 22/04/2017 15:20

Lots of my students have new iPhone 7s and Samsung s7s and you know what you see/hear about more bloody cracked screens than I know what to do with. I think some parents have lost their heads buying kids new phones worth that much.
That's before the Fallings out over who did/didn't say what share something etc on Snapchat etc.

because dd does a lot of group project work at school and her friends need to be able to contact one another easily
I call bullshit on the group projects at school. The apps that allow kids to work collaboratively cost money and schools can't expect every child to have a device, then buy the app and then have all the devices linked up to the school network to work properly. DC is absolutely having your life with that argument.

Having apps is nice as seemingly nobody texts anymore haha. But an iPhone 6 should come up reasonable now the 7 is out. Or go reconditioned and then get a simple only plan.

averythinline · 22/04/2017 15:21

I think the reason that most of dc phones have fancier phones than me Grin as they are not bought outright tey are either hand me downs on parents contract upgrade....and those that are are cex/2nd hand or reconditioned but contracts as a main so leased effectively....

The car market is going the same way here (they have stolen the model from the phone market) .It is also to do with the way credit is available here as opposed to other countries

BackforGood · 22/04/2017 15:23

Well I must be living in a different world then Sweeping.
My dc are now 20, 18, and 15.
None of them have iphones.
Nor do any of my nieces, nephews, Godchildren.
As far as I'm aware (obviously I don't go inspecting their phones, but from conversations with my dc over the years) - the only ones who have had the more expensive phones have been people whose parents get a yearly up grade, and they get the 'hand-me-down'.
Obviously now my older two are funding their own and many of their their friends are working, then it varies a lot more, but at 14, no, people had all sorts, but nothing top of the range like that.

UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 22/04/2017 15:24

Yes sad to say most have iPhones or the equivalent today.
Ds1 is 19 and works so has an iPhone 7 on contract that he pays for himself.

Ds2 is 15 and has a 6s brought reconditioned from smartfonestore.

Dd is 11 and just got her first smart phone for her birthday. Again she got a 6s from smartfonestore.

They were around £250 and they are both on giffgaff ds2 is £15 a month as he uses s lot more data. Dd only got hers 6 weeks ago and is on the £10 a month deal.

They are both insured which is fairly expensive to be honest but I could guarantee that they'd lose it or be stolen at a time of the month when I couldn't afford to replace it.

I'd say we were middle of the road income wise but due to living in the south east and high housing costs not much left over each month.

However justify the iPhones as they already had iPads and iPods anyway so music photos etc already in the Apple cloud etc so seemed silly to spend £100 on a generic smart phone.

You can buy the 5c which when ds2 had it seems virtually indestructible or the 5s for less than £100 reconditioned. I'd go with smartfonestore as you get a guarantee with it.

NatalieRushman · 22/04/2017 15:24

12 yo has a Samsung galaxy 7, and most of her friends have the latest iPhone or close. Incidentally, I was peering over her shoulder at Snapchat the other day and asked if everyone had Snapchat nowadays, and it turn's out one girl in her year has a phone that can't install Snapchat and "it's sad because she can't take part in the group chats". Not having the latest phone isn't a problem - not being able to communicate with your friends is.

ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander · 22/04/2017 15:24

I think they do need smartphones because all teen social life is carried on on whatsapp, and lots of teachers do make use of the fact that every child will have a decent camera in their phone.

averythinline · 22/04/2017 15:24

I to am a meany so ds has a basic moto ...but ds is a bit younger - he has form for losing stuff so keeps his smartphone at home...his school also don't allow phones at all ....

ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander · 22/04/2017 15:26

But that doesn't have to be 600 quid of nearly new iPhone or top of the range Samsung

christmashope · 22/04/2017 15:27

Mature aged 12 son has an iPhone 6
I have an iPhone 5

reallybadidea · 22/04/2017 15:29

Another cheapskate here, mine also have Moto G or equivalent. DH and I don't have expensive phones, so no hand-me-downs here and quite honestly I'd rather save the money and give them more help with university fees.

Chasingsquirrels · 22/04/2017 15:29

My 14yo has a Samsung J7 which cost £200 and which he had for his 14th birthday. He has a £5 per month contact which he doesn't exceed - and which he pays for if he does.

Before that he had DH's old iPhone 4 for a couple of years, 1st year at secondary without a SIM to replace his ipod which just stopped working - he could use it on WiFi and took it to school so that people thought he had a phone, 2nd year with a v limited free SIM attached to mine.
11yo has another of DH's old iPhone 4 again with a free SIM attached to mine, he doesn't really use it but I anticipate he will when he starts secondary, he's not having a better one till he has demonstrated a period of taking care of it out of the house.

RJnomore1 · 22/04/2017 15:32

My 12yo has a 5s and will probably get a 6s or 7 for her September birthday unless she has something else she is desperate for.

My 17yo has a 5c but that's because she's odd and wouldn't let me upgrade it because she doesn't like change. Of course now she's moaning it's going wonky 😕

yikesanotherbooboo · 22/04/2017 15:32

iPhone 7 .... he is 15 and got it when his old phone died( that was also an iPhone can't remember which one ) ... we have it on contract and it is his second phone ( third if you count the cheapie that fell under a train aged 1 week) current phone given as a birthday present in view of expense. Almost all his friends have iPhones

MaisyPops · 22/04/2017 15:35

and lots of teachers do make use of the fact that every child will have a decent camera in their phone.
And they shouldn't!

It assumes kids have "decent" phones.
It highlights those who don't have a phone or have an old brick.
It puts pressure on parents to allow their child to bring a phone to school when they may not want to.

If you want technology for a lesson the school should provide it. Eg. A set of tablets etc.

Sadik · 22/04/2017 15:44

DD is 15, but bought her phone when she was 14. She has a Wileyfox Swift, it cost her £100 from Amazon last summer. I then bought myself a Swift 2 a few months back when they came out which costs £150 but is slightly higher spec. All the various apps work absolutely fine (for dd & me).
I'd say at dd's school 'iphone' is very likely to mean 2nd hand iphone5 from ebay! (obviously some have the latest and greatest whether provided by parents or with the aid of a saturday job)

WhiskeySourpuss · 22/04/2017 15:48

DD (15) has an iPhone 5s at around £25 a month - most of her friends have some sort of iPhone from the 5s upwards

dalmatianmad · 22/04/2017 15:48

Dd16 has an iPhone 6 on contract and ds 13 has an iPhone 5s also on contract, I think I pay about £50 per month for them both Smile

ToffeeCaramel · 22/04/2017 15:49

Iphone 5c.