Which mobile for new y7 boy?

(55 Posts)
MrsRichards Wed 31-Jul-13 22:20:46

He's not had a mobile before and I said I'd get him one when he starts year 7, this September as he'll be travelling alone.

Where do I start? PAYG or pay monthly? Blackberry or other? (NB he's not having an iPhone!)

Any useful advice welcome, thanks!

Marmitelover55 Tue 06-Aug-13 17:14:03

I have also given my old iphone 4 to DD1 who will be starting year 7 in September. My contract expired at the end of last month, so I upgraded to an iphone 5 and she has a contract which costs £7.74 per month, so this seemed like the best deal. I do hope that she doesn't attract any muggers though. She didn't really want my old phone but wanted a galaxy ace like lots of her friends, but this was the cheapest option.

pointythings Netherlands Mon 05-Aug-13 22:11:14

Takver you've just perfectly summed it up. DD1 has always used her phone exactly as it was intended to be used - texting me on school trips to let me know she was going to be back late and keeping me updated on ETA, letting me know when her younger sister was late back from school on a day she was not scheduled for an after school activity, generally keeping me in the loop. She's a very mature 12yo (most of the time) and sees the phone as a communication tool, not a gadget.

racingheart Mon 05-Aug-13 10:41:08

Our DC swear that everyone has a smart phone and then get all hoity when I name some names who turn out not to.

Where we live, everyone has to travel on public transport to secondary and there have been incidents of children having smartphones whipped out of their hands by people jumping off buses and trains. So I told DC Nokia PAYG for the first term and if they feel really comfortable with it and never lose it, then we'll move on to a smart phone at Christmas.

You can get good Nokias online for as little as £5 on a PAYG contract. DS1 is on his second top up since November (spent about £30 in 9 months) and DS2 is still on his original £10, but he has an I-pad and skypes and facetimes people on it, so needs the phone less.

Takver Mon 05-Aug-13 10:20:06

Sorry, should have said she is just out of yr 6, going into yr 7 next year.

Takver Mon 05-Aug-13 10:17:26

Just one addition - unless it is very different where you all live, its not going to be like the new yr 7s are all totally phone aware and having strong views about them. Although quite a few of dd's friends have phones, definitely not all, and in my experience at least half of those that do don't actually ever use them (or like dd's yr 8 friend 'he's got a phone and he plays games on it but he isn't allowed a SIM til he's 13' grin ).

DD uses DHs old (£10 Alcatel brick) when out and about, and its certainly not a cause of any embarassment, in fact she's probably the one who will actually know how to use it and make the phone call when they need picking up or whatever.

MrsRichards Sun 04-Aug-13 20:57:57

Okay, took DS shopping today. Bought him a Nokia 105 for £20 and a 12 month sim only contract (added to my own account) for £8.50 a month for unlimited texts, 1,000 mins of calls and 250mb data (which he won't/can't use as phone doesn't have internet). It was impossible to get something without data but this was the best deal I could find and gives ample texts/calls

He was v excited by it smile

zipzap Sun 04-Aug-13 16:11:03

Look on moneysavingexpert.com to see if there are any phone deals around or hot deals uk.

I spotted a deal on MSE which was for a refurbished old nokkia, cost me a penny plus a tenner in a one off payg credit. I just top it up as needed rather than have it on a rolling contract as currently it's just a family phone - ds1 is only 8 so doesn't need his own phone but when he went to watch a rugby match with his dad it was nice to know he had a phone with him so if the did get separated he had a phone on him with the right numbers plugged in.

Obviously he didn't need it and it just got used to call me to say they were there, they had found their seats, they were on their way home... But it was nice to know he'd got it and that it was cheap enough not to matter if it got lost.

And separately as both dh and I have smartphones that lose charge much too easily and this phone holds it's charge for about 3 weeks I leave it lurking at the bottom of my handbag for when I need to make a phone call and my phone has gone flat grin

Ds1 will get it when he's old enough but in the mean time I wish I'd got a couple of them at the time!

minesawine Sun 04-Aug-13 15:23:15

I got my DS an older version blackberry at the start of Y7 so that he could BBM, which worked out much cheaper.

He was awarded the Year 7 Academic Excellence award so as a 'well done' I have got him an iphone 4 on a £13 monthly contract. . Not as tempting for the thieves as an iphone 5! This is because he did so well and I am incredibly proud of him - grades means prizes wink

If he has an excellent y8 then he will get an iphone 5.

DS1 has had a house key since he was ten and is now finishing Y8; he hasn't lost it yet, despite being quite absent minded.

DS2 has had a key for 18 months and also hasn't lost it yet.

In Y5/Y6, I attached the key to the inside of the schoolbag with a piece of strong elastic.

In Y7/Y8, DS1 has had his house key, locker key, USB stick and a metal nametag on a chain (like security guards have) which attaches to his trousers with a clip. The chain etc live in his pocket, but when he gets them out they are still attached. I wondered if he might get teased for this, but he said it was seen as "swaggy" which is apparently a good thing. Since he turned 13 he has started keeping them in his bag, which is fine as he's less forgetful now.

Theas18 Sat 03-Aug-13 01:01:04

completely off topic but recent to kiss having house keys...

if you have a game luck on the front door go now at your leisure and But a replacement l ock barrel Ann's get some spare keys cut.

it's easy to replace the barrel. a few quid invested now means when you have to do it you have what you need in the house. at least one child will at some time have a key related incident !

we have changed the luck for mislaid keys a couple of times but are back to the first lock now as they keys were found!

tiggytape Fri 02-Aug-13 20:10:53

I sewed a tape in too - like a lanyard with his keys go on the end long enough to open the front door without having to remove them.
I tell him to clip his watch on it too when he takes it off for games.

BackforGood Fri 02-Aug-13 19:37:56

With my ds, I resorted to sewing a long tape to the inside of his bag (with the key on the other end), so at least the keys could only be lost when the whole bag was. Unfortunately only thought of this after he'd lost the first 2 sets.
Another thing I tried was labelling the keyring with his initials and the name of the school in the hope that someone might get them back to the school and then he might be reunited with them.

I wouldn't worry about the screws - I expect the school would be SO delighted to find a Yr7 boy with his head screwed on, they would forget to call SS wink

MrsRichards Fri 02-Aug-13 19:17:55

What a lot of replies, thank you everyone!

I think I will take DS to car phone warehouse and buy him a cheap brick with PAYG. I need him to be able to ring someone if he needs to and send texts etc. Nothing more.

On a related note, I can't imagine how he will manage to keep track of a mobile, house keys and travel card. He'd lose his head if it wasn't screwed on. Note to self - remove DS's head screws before he goes to secondary school or social services might come calling...

pointythings Netherlands Fri 02-Aug-13 18:24:35

So glad I'm not the only one teaching their DCs that they don't have to conform to everyone else or 'be cool'....

Anthracite Fri 02-Aug-13 12:56:36

My new Y7 got a Samsung Galaxy for her 11th birthday.

It seems now that teens are moving away from Blackberry and onto Samsung.

gazzalw Fri 02-Aug-13 12:17:51

At DS's super-selective in London, the parents are told to only buy their DSs the cheapest PAYG phones available. This then means that up-to-no-gooders know that it's not worth mugging them as they won't have anything worth stealing/coveting on them!!!

However, some boys (and parents obviously) ignore the advice and there have been a couple of incidents involving IPhones recently. Apart from endangering themselves it also puts all their fellow pupils at risk too....

tiggytape Fri 02-Aug-13 11:36:24

We're in London so the main consideration is nothing so flash that you'll get mugged for it. Not by fellow pupils really (although some do go missing from bags) but on the way home by older teens from other schools who recognise certain uniforms as belonging to kids more likely to have smart phones.

Some children still have smart phones of course but it isn't as widespread - the school recommends the cheapest Tesco one you can get.

Julezboo Fri 02-Aug-13 11:01:17

DS also starting year 7 in Sept has a Samsung Galaxy Ace, he did get it for Christmas though. He has a rolling 3 contract with 100 minutes, 3000 texts and all you can eat data for £13 a month. I would worry with PAYG he will run out of credit and not be able to ring me if something was to happen.

He's looked after it well so far and has never used a single text from his allowance yet but I suspect that will change come Sept when he suddenly becomes a teenager grin

Theas18 Fri 02-Aug-13 10:59:12

simple phone on pay and go.

they don't need more and so much trouble comes from un monitored internet, sending photos.com, as well as the perils of loss and huge bills for You.

honestly they do not need the latest standard phone. my 17 yr old has a galaxy y. I offered to upgrade and he has chosen the extra 15/ month as cash... he texts a lot.

BackforGood Fri 02-Aug-13 10:46:45

Like MadeofStardust said - my dc think for themselves, that's how come they don't need to worry about another child making a snide comment about anything they own - they could answer that back pretty easily.

MadeOfStarDust Fri 02-Aug-13 09:54:31

my kids think for themselves too - so they don't give a damn what other kids think about their phones - and if someone says something they joke that their phone is "retro"...

they know they are crappy, they know it is because they may get lost/broken/stolen, they need to be shown they can be trusted with them etc etc....

But in our family the phone gets used when it is needed.... for communication.... some days weeks I don't use the phone at all... the kids have been using their bricks more these last 2 weeks to keep in touch with friends in the holidays - not the "OMG", "send this to 20 people or die" type stuff their cousin gets involved in - but the "I'm going to town, do you want to meet up" stuff...

exoticfruits Fri 02-Aug-13 09:09:36

If they wouldn't be seen dead in public with it then the choice is theirs and they can do the alternative of no phone. I would never pay out beyond the basic and PAYG- anything else they get themselves.

harrietspy Fri 02-Aug-13 08:42:26

My ds is getting my old basic text/call Nokia with a PAYG sim. He's actually excited about prospect of any phone at the moment. I suspect this may change when he actually starts high school next year, but I'm happy to go along with cheap brick for as long as possible.

He 'went along with' having a text/call only phone for the first term and a half because it was that or nothing and he knew that there was likelihood of an upgrade if he demonstrated responsibility.

He did use the text/call only phone when there was a change of plan (staying later at school for a club) but I very much doubt that he got it out at school to show it off to his friends! grin

lljkk Netherlands Fri 02-Aug-13 08:26:14

Do you know what, I taught my children my children to think.
That means they question authority.
They question mine, they question the government, and they jolly well better question MNrs.
So yes I expect some protest about things they don't like. I'd be ashamed of them if they didn't argue with what they don't agree with.

As it happens * I * only spend £15ish for used tiny folders/sliders I buy on Ebay (does include a camera, I suspect pawn shops are only place nowadays where you can buy camera-free phone for under £15), and DC can pay for own phone if they want something nicer. Problem I've encountered is they will not use naff phones (friend has said same for her DC). They don't take them out, they don't check for texts, they are afraid to be seen in public so they simply don't ring, they don't bother to recharge, they don't keep track of where it is so lose it for weeks at a time (never lost out of the house because it would never be out of their pocket when out of the house), they don't let me know when credit runs out, they come home moaning how embarrassed they are because everyone else has a nicer phone (iffy whether that's true). On the plus side, this keeps down the phone bill and they rapidly learn where public pay phones are to use those instead. £7.50/month (£90/yr) still seems like an awful lot to me.

My phone is a small, genuine text only no camera item which suits me great. It brings out derisory giggles in DC and they would not, in public, be seen dead holding it. I would love to meet the many children who love their text-screen-only phones as much as I like mine.

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