Kids and mobiles

[4 boys]

My son is 12 and will be 13 in February. He has a samsung galaxy ace which he uses for school (emergencies ) or playing games.. I don't allow him to use Facebook or other free message/talk apps...he's wanting a new phone for his birthday but don't know if to or wait

What age would you give your child a mobile?

What type? And how much would you buy it for??

Thank you all

 

[4 boys]

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

When my children go to secondary school they will be given a phone purely for the use of emergencies. Having said that it won't be an up to date phone as I would be csared they would be targeted and be mugged for the phone. As long as it can make calls and send texts that's all they need x

 

[suzib76]

Leah is 12.5. She got iphone 5s for Christmas

 

[kerrie24]

Nathan got a cheap mobile for his 11th birthday,it barely got switched on as he never wanted to spend his money on credit and as it didnt do apps etc he found it boring.
He is twelve on friday and we have got him a nokia lumia ona capped contract (£10 a month).He's not allowed it at school but if he goes on a trip he will be able to take it to keep in touch.

 

[JASMAK]

My son is 10...no thought of getting him a mobile. I just don't have an answer for ya.

 

[RachA]

I'm kind of confused if I'm honest. You appear to be asking what age is suitable to have a mobile but he already has a Galaxy Ace.

We don't have the issue yet as DS is only 6 but as far as we are concerned neither of them will have a phone until they start secondary school. At that point they can have a basic phone. Once they have proved themselves responsible I would consider getting something a bit fancier on a capped contract. If they insisted on something like an iPhone then it would have to come out of their pocket money.

 

[4 boys]

RachA--- yes he has a phone but wants a new one like Samsung S3. iPhone 4 the more expensive phones?
I said maybe for his 13 birthday in feb?

 

[KayBea]

i wouldnt get an expensive phone if im honest, its oy going to get lost, nicked or damaged etc.

id just stick with a basic call & text one.

x

 

[Yo_Yo]

I wouldn't spend a lot on one for a kid that age-saw a girl about 12 with an iPhone the other week-I wouldn't want anything that could attract being stolen.

 

[suzib76]

RachA--- yes he has a phone but wants a new one like Samsung S3. iPhone 4 the more expensive phones?
I said maybe for his 13 birthday in feb?

Tbh there isn't a huge difference, you can do with a galaxy ace what you can with an s3/iPhone - granted these are better phones with more functions available but the galaxy ace is a decent wee smartphone and they can access the net, facebook and all the apps just the same

 

[4 boys]

I know there's not much difference it's just his games

Galaxy ace internal memory is 156 mb and says you can add memory card so I got a 16gb so he cud store all on there but it won't allow it I even contacted samsung they said everything on phone uses internal mem and was pointless buying the new mem card..
He has 2 games and a couple of photos and internal mem is full,but has free16gb that he can't use..

If I'd have know I'd never had bought it but was going to buy a phone with higher internal memory ..

Brand new s3 is about £300 but was looking at second hand but it's a risk if they've done anything to it..

 

[suzib76]

Have a look around some phone forums, there is a way round that

 

[suzib76]

But to answer your question, it depends how much £300 of wrecked phone would bother you? Because the chances of it happening are huge at that age. Leah has trashed god knows how many phones

 

[RachA]

But to answer your question, it depends how much £300 of wrecked phone would bother you? Because the chances of it happening are huge at that age. Leah has trashed god knows how many phones

This is very true. I have nieces and nephews who have phones and all of them have cracked the screen in their phones. Obviously I'm not their parent but if I was I wouldn't be buying them a £300 phone for them to wreck. My eldest niece cracked her iPhone 4S within a month of getting it!

 

[Erised]

Personally, my children will be getting a phone from around 10 onwards which will be capped and only used for emergency calls. They won't be getting an expensive phone until they can afford one themselves, same rules as we had for both DH & I growing up.

I'll admit the Galaxy Ace is awful for storage, it's driving me batty. I'd perhaps get him a new phone for his birthday, but there's no way it would be an expensive one like the ones you mentioned. Perhaps you can take out a relatively cheap monthly contract (I'd say no more than £15 per month, which is basically what I'm on myself) and get him to pay towards monthly insurance costs on it himself?

 

[suzib76]

I'm against contracts for kids, the chances are they will want/need a new phone long before your 2 year contract is up

 

[going_crazy]

My 12 year old has a galaxy ace and to be honest the memory is very annoying, but it does her just fine.... she had a couple of games, her photos go onto her memory card and a few apps she has can also go on the memory card. I am not even thinking of buying her a new phone.... She can text and call me when needed and she can keep in touch with her friends.... Thats all she needs x

 

[Missnurse]

Ah I remember my first mobile phone, I got it when I turned 13, I'd harped on and on to my parents about getting a phone and what did I get? A massive Motorola with the Ariel you pulled up to make calls haha. After that I did get a smaller Nokia a few years later but if I wanted anything more expensive I had to buy it myself, I had a wee job though so it wasn't as bad.

I'm going with once the kids start secondary school they will get basic PAYG phones to make calls/texts, if they want anything fancier ie iPhones they will need to save up, we simply could not afford that amount on a present and I believe kids learn it look after their things and value them when they have had to save up for it themselves

 

[4 boys]

He's saved most of his money so he's going to put it towards as I honestly can't afford a expensive one. It's either go second hand or buy a cheaper phone in budget but he wants a good one trouble is there all the same.


What's is a samsung s3 mini like ie internal memory ..this is his problem he wants temple run and all the popular app games cos galaxy ace ain't compatible ??