Mobile phones for kids

[filka]

I've been living abroad for about 20 years and am about to return permanently with a 12yo boy & 14yo girl.

Abroad the kids are in private school surrounded by very rich kids and the peer pressure is intense. So my daughter had an iPhone 8 Plus, much to my discomfort, and recently my son got the same after his old Samsung S6 died. Some of their peers have already got iPhone 10 XS (excess??).

But it's a pretty safe environment on the streets, very little theft or intimidation etc. However, on a recent trip to the UK my daughter's phone was pickpocketed in Primark so I'm pretty nervous about them having expensive phones. I haven't replaced it yet but will have to provide something when we get back to UK.

In the UK they will go to a regular comprehensive school in a predominantly professional area (mainly detached houses).

What sort of phones can I expect their peers to have - latest models, top of the range, or lower models, hand-downs etc? Sorry, another piece of string question...

And how safe is their phone at school? Is there much pilfering?

Thanks

I don't live in an affluent area at all, DS has a Samsung Galaxy S7 something but is nearing the end of his 2 year contract.
Most of his friends have the latest iPhone.

Definitely a piece of string question sorry OP

Depends on the area you live in, however the majority of my sister's friends have iPhones or at least samsung galaxies, generally a S7 (middle of the income spectrum school). But it is a smart phone / touch phone of some sort.

No flip phones lol

We live in a west coast scottish town, kids from deprived areas in ds's secondary school is around 48%.

the norm for the majority in his school, is an iPhone but any model will do, some have the older iphone 5, or the SE which is considerably cheaper (both can be bought second hand). ds has had an iphone 7 for the last couple of years (used savings, xmas money etc to buy) and isnt interested in a new model yet.

add the phone to your house insurance.

My son is 10 and has a 6s. I share my data with him so pretty much unlimited. I would have bought him a better model if I had found a good deal. He will have it for 2 more years by which time it will be practically obsolete.

We are relatively affluent but most kids he is at school with have a 5.

I don't see anything wrong with an 8!if you can afford it.

Maybe, but I am getting some valuable insights from the responses - and learning that I will face peer pressure from DD again...

Personally I am very sceptical about kids walking around with £900 mobile phones but it seems to be almost normal despite the risk of loss or theft.

If you don't want to do it you dont need to, it may be the favoured phone, but if you are not comfortable with them having one or a cheaper SE model then get them something else.

The kids I know all have cheapish smart phones. Lots have Motorola ones or older iPhones. I agree that it's ridiculous for a child to be carrying around several hundred pounds worth of breakable/loveable/stealable kit

We're a techie household generally but ds - 14 - and I both have Motorolas because there's no point spending more than that.

This year the school's also decided that no phones are to be used at any time on school premises, so there's no comparing happening anyway.

A friends son was mugged on his first day in the new secondary school and his brand new phone was gone. Probably safer to get them an older version. If you worry about there safety when they are out and about you could try this app: www.northernmum.com/2018/10/teenage-safety-is-no-panic-with-pom/

Ours isn't an affluent area at all but my first year DD has an iPhone 6S. Many of her mates have iPhone 5-8's.
It's a real mixed bag. Some can't afford the latest ones but that doesn't stop those who can afford them from owning them.
I have ensured that DDs phone is traceable, passworded and protected so if it does ever get nicked it will be as much use as a piece of plastic to the thief.

All kinds - oddly the kids at the rough school mostly have the better phones!

Mine don't, I buy them outright unlocked and get giffgaff sims, android so far as they are cheaper. Ours are unlocked too, iPhones from Argos - again with giffgaff sims. She needs a lesson in don't put phones in back pockets - I'm forever lecturing my dd on that, pickpockets operate all over the world alas

We live in a well-heeled village on the edge of a cathedral city about an hour out of London by train. DD11 just started state secondary. She has a vodafone smart mini7 - it was very inexpensive and after she'd finished the initial 30 day rip-off vodafone rates we switched her to PAYG with 3. Its biggest drawbacks are a serious lack of internal memory (can be fixed) which means that it has no room for apps and that it's not an iPhone so can't iMessage, etc.

DH has a iPhone4 he bought from a colleague for about £20 and I have an iPhone5S I recently bought off e-bay when my iPhone4 died.

Other kids in the village have a range of phones, mostly cast-offs from their parents. Her school has a 'no phones at school' policy but in practice she often is allowed/encouraged to take a photo of h/w assignments on the board.

She is aware that there are newer, fancier phones (she told me our neighbour has the aforementioned XS and his children have various hand-me-downs) but has not mentioned any other pupils discussing phones or mocking each other.

DH & I agree that kids carrying around expensive kit is pointless and, as you have sadly experienced, asking for trouble.

DS is 14 and has an 8 Plus has since May. We have insurance on it and some rules such as its needs to have a case which were happy to buy him. He’s quite into his tech but doesn’t mind having a year old phone really as he doesn’t really like the new iPhones anyway so we are lucky!