Safe(r) mobile for kids?

skipinderjit

My 11 year old has started secondary and it would be convenient to get a mobile so as to organise afterschool clubs, friends, social etc. I've seen a deal offering £10 pm with 75mins talk and unlimited texts for 18 months...kids are always on text!!! I'm jittery re the internet access etc. Anyone got any advice and where I can get a good mobile deal with just talk and text. Thankyou

elisebutt65

Is it for your eleven year old??

Don't even think about a contract phone!!!! There are a few posts on here after kids have run up bills and parents having to pay them

I got both of mine cheap PAYG and I top them up once a month so if they over spend then they have to wait until it's the end of the month. If they were on contract, then they would just carry on using it.
Orange give you free texts when you top up by a a tenner and I thinkO2 do something similar.

There are alternatives out there to a contract for kids - otherwise you may be on here in a couple of months posting how your child ran up £800+ using the internet

[Deleted User]

Dolphin Pay As You Go on Orange gives you 300 free texts and 50MB free internet when you topup £10 a month.

anonymousie

elisebutt65 wrote: »

Is it for your eleven year old??

Don't even think about a contract phone!!!! There are a few posts on here after kids have run up bills and parents having to pay them

I got both of mine cheap PAYG and I top them up once a month so if they over spend then they have to wait until it's the end of the month. If they were on contract, then they would just carry on using it.
Orange give you free texts when you top up by a a tenner and I thinkO2 do something similar.

There are alternatives out there to a contract for kids - otherwise you may be on here in a couple of months posting how your child ran up £800+ using the internet

WSS!!! REad the threads on here posted adults who don't understand all the details of contract phones and then just think about apply those T+C to a tweenager, yes some are fine, but it's a recipie for disaster waiting to happen.

I have 3 kids, on O2 like me (the deal that, if you top up £10 you get a month unlimited txts and they are on the "o2 family" bolt on too). THe girls have a little gem of a phone- the alcatel 1 touch mini- £25 plus top up to buy for a really quite neat, well specd phone that even the 16yr old is happy with, yet it isn't a mugger magnet and I'm really not fussed if they loose it or get it stolen. (youngest hasn't lost a phone yet but she's at primary- the older one had her phone stolen from a cathedral undercroft and the lad managed to drop his when getting a lift home one dark rainy night! Actually as the older 2 are 16 and 14 that isn't bad going).

I also rather like them NO having mobile internet- they have access at home and at school.I can keep a "weather eye" of supervision if needed.

Sagz_2

Another vote against getting a contract phone. I learnt the hard way - DSS got a mobile for christmas, and by Dec 28th I owed £280.

The phone stayed blocked - costing me 20 quid a month - until luckily Orange changed their T&C's and I managed to end the contract. If I hadn't I'd have been paying for a phone I wasn't prepared to unblock for 18 months!

skipinderjit

These replies are great and it wont be a contract for my 11 year old. Now just to figure out which phone. Ideally I'd like the unlimited text and talk time that simply runs out when the money runs out. I feel a visit to some mobile phone shops coming on and will look further into Orange. THANKYOU and any other advice is most welcome. Dont want my child having internet access on mobile...internet at home in my front room will do!!!

elisebutt65

I don't know who your contract is with, but I picked Orange for the kid as I have Orange on contract and I've made them my magic numbers so I can call them for free any-time

O2 do a similar thing - i think another poster has mentioned it above as my BF has put all his kids on O2 with him so they can all call each other for free.

Don't really know about the other companies.