Would you let an 8yr old have a PAYG Phone?

raven83

I admit, that my girls have a virgin media box in their rooms. They watch all their kids programs on them, if they didn't have them, they would fight over the tv down here, and not to mention, I couldn't cope with all the highly irritating american programs they watch, it would drive me crazy

mazza111

Sorry, I mentioned my dd having one around 12 yrs old.

My DS had one at around 8. Mainly because he found his own way to his father's after school (his father lived practically next door to the school) and I never knew when to pick him up because his father was being a prat. Say I was due to pick him up at 6pm, I would go and there would be no answer to father's phone or the knock at the door. At least him having a phone meant that he could let me know when his father had decided to go last minute shopping. It was all a control thing that my x has never let go of, he used to take great pleasure in me hanging around waiting to pick my DS up. My DS having the phone eliminated that pleasure for him

DS was also only allowed to use the phone for emergencies or to let me know what was happening. The rest of the time it was used for games We all remember snake on the old nokias right?

meer53

My daughter is 12 and has had a phone since she was about 6. Her Daddy bought one so she could call him whenever she wanted to as we were separated. It wasn't my choice but to be honest, she never really used it for much else. The novelty soon wears off at that age.

She uses her phone now to text friends and call me if she's out somewhere and will be late back or needs picking up. I bought her a Blackberry for xmas last year, her previous phones were all bog standard ones except for a 12 month period where her Dad got her an Iphone through his company contract. She hated the Iphone as all her mates have Blackberries now.

I put her on a SIM only contract with Orange for £7 per month which includes 300 minutes and 500 texts. She can also call me free as i'm on Orange too. I refuse to pay £5 per month extra for the BBM service. She monitors her usage and knows that when she's near her limit she has to watch who she calls or texts, so far she's kept within her limits, it's nearly 12 months now, she's done really well and understands that it will cost me more if she goes over, she's been really responsible. I thinks thats a good thing.

It's no big deal these days for kids to have phones, they nearly all have them. However, there is no way i will allow her to use Facebook or Twitter until she's older. We have more arguments about Facebook than anything else.

themull1

Janepig wrote: »

I think with TV I just want to know what they're watching. Especially as they're of an age now where they like to scare themselves stupid so gawd knows what they'd end up watching. DD's got a fear of sharks now for some reason, DS loves them, so they like to watch Shark documentaries and then DD can't sleep!!

Luckily DS is the boss of the TV downstairs (when I'm willing!!!) so their viewing tends to be limited to Mr Bean, Loony Tunes and Tom and Jerry, so thankfully the amount of American rubbish they see is very few and far between! DD will read for a while when she goes to bed and I'm happy to let that carry on.

Jx

Funnily enough, my youngest daughter whose 10, will not watch anything remotely scary as she freaks out at the least bit thing, she likes horrible histories though!! older daughter -13 likes love story films etc, especially anything with Colin Firth in. She always asks whether she can watch a film if its a 15.

spendaholic66

Why would an 8 year old need a phone? Surely they don't go out on their own so wouldn't need to call for lifts or in case of potential problems? If anything happened at school it's the schools responsibility to make sure a parent is contacted.

8 years old is so young to even consider such a gadget. Man alive at 8 I unwrapped a tiny tears doll on christmas day and was over the moon!

geoffky

I hate mobile phones and all the crap they bring to the table like "where are you?"
I have managed to not have one for the last ten years now and refuse to have one...My life has not been affected in any way due to not having a mobile.
As to my views of whether a 8 years old should have one,
Well what do you think?
Its Pathetic...

j.e.j.

geoffky wrote: »

I hate mobile phones and all the crap they bring to the table like "where are you?"
I have managed to not have one for the last ten years now and refuse to have one...My life has not been affected in any way due to not having a mobile.

I used to think the same. I eventually relented when I got so fed up with the state of public call boxes (they were either out of use, vandalised, used as a public lavatory by drunks, etc..) and my colleague offered me her mobile phone as she was upgrading!

I do find other people's loud mobile phone conversations intrusive.

pulliptears

spendaholic66 wrote: »

. Man alive at 8 I unwrapped a tiny tears doll on christmas day and was over the moon!

And before that a kid would have been happy with a peg doll but times and society change.

Dont see the harm in it at all personally, as others have said get her a cheap phone with a blinged cover.

As to why an 8 year old would need one, well, why not? She can text granny, text Mum or Dad if they aren't there, Auntie, Uncle etc. Would you object to the 8 year old picking up the home phone and calling Gran?

GobbledyGook

I wouldn't let an 8 year old have a mobile, I wouldn't give my 9 year old one either. They are too difficult to monitor closely imo. I think phones (especially BBM) and MSN are too rife with problems for me to feel comfortable with her using them.

That said she does have a Facebook account to keep in touch with people from school due to the distances involved in the catchment area and also with my cousins children as they live far away. She doesn't have/know the password though so I have to log her in. It's also linked to my email account so I get notice of friend requests before she does. She knows that the first time there is any bother with/over it then it's gone. She also knows that me having the password is non-negotiable. She's not allowed on the chat feature so she and her friends use their walls for chatting on. It means the other Mums and I can keep an eye on what is going on.

emsywoo123

This was done 4 months ago https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3925143