First mobile for kids?

kiwichick

Hi All,

Am after some advice please. My daughter will be moving up to secondary school in Sept and I want her to have a mobile so shes able to contact me in case of emergencies etc. I am currently with Tesco Mobile so would like to get her a contract through them but dont know what I need to be looking at. It doesnt need to be all singing all dancing fanciness, just needs to be practical (and not pricey!). Any ideas?

Thanks,
Al.

pepdavies

The best idea is don't get an eleven year old a contract. Loads of great deals on payg these days.

tyllwyd

pepdavies wrote: »

The best idea is don't get an eleven year old a contract. Loads of great deals on payg these days.

I don't necessarily agree - with Tesco Mobile you can have a capped contract (if you go over the limit you top up like pay as you go), which is great for teenagers.

What is your budget either monthly or to buy a phone on PAYG or sim free?

kiwichick

Thanks guys,

The advice I've had from other parents is to go for the capped contract. I dont really want to be spending more than £10-15pm but dont know if you can get anything for that price?

I know Tesco also do the triple topup deal where if I was to buy her a phone upfront and do PAYG, if I put in £10 each month then Tesco triple it to £30 of credit.

Really dont know what is best and dont want to muck it up!!

Al.

Im_just_careful

Buying a phone and using Giffgaff would be worth considering.

http://giffgaff.com/index/offer

flea72

My DD started secondary in september and the favoured phone is a blackberry. Girls love to chat so bbm is essential.

My DD is on payg through giffgaff. For £8/m she gets bbm, 300 texts and 60mins, with calls and texts to other gifgaff users being free

tyllwyd

I wouldn't be so fussed about the triple top up - if your DD is anything like mine, she texts not phones, and she never gets anywhere near the 5000 or so texts that she would be allowed. Are you happy for her to have a smartphone with internet access? If so, I would say that any of the £7.50 - £12.50 smartphones on the Tesco Mobile site would do the job. Is there one that you would lean towards (and does your DD have a preference?)

Edited to say - my DD wanted anything except a Blackberry - none of her friends have them. I guess it depends on what's fashionable in your area!

sillygoose

Sorry but I think taking a contract for a child/teen is a really bad idea.

In effect your buying a phone on long credit with some airtime allowance thrown in with it.

Kids are not the best for taking care of stuff or not losing them. Even if they are they inherently mix with company that may not be so good or honest. So halfway through a contract you have to go out and buy a new phone and you still have a long time to go paying for the broken one in a contract its impossible to get out of. Also a lot can happen in 24 months, needs can change.

Much better to buy a sensible phone up front and go on a payg. For example a Giffgaff account can be made to look like a contract with automatically renewing purchases of allowance packs, but as long as auto top up is not set 'on' the financial damage that can be done by the kid or someone else if the phone is pinched/found is minimal.
Normally you would buy recurring 'goody bags' of so much call/texts/data plus you buy a bit of emergency credit left sat on top (say a £5 which would not normally be used up).

Once the goody bag allowances are used up the the £5 would be used up and then that's it, end of the line, no shock bills.

You are free to buy, sell, change phones whenever you like, there are always good handsets to be had for a bargain subsidised by the networks.

kiwichick

Thanks everyone,
Not sure what she prefers as shes not been given a choice about it before now, she knows she'll be given a phone for secondary school and knowing DD she'll be chuffed whatever it is. Blackberry is very popular amongst the older girls where I live, I dont know what BBM is tho (feeling very old now!). More research needed me thinks!!

robbies_gal

also just to note alot of insurance companies wont cover u if your child loses a phone

as per some recent threads on here so dont rely on that in a contract

mattyprice4004

kiwichick wrote: »

Thanks guys,

The advice I've had from other parents is to go for the capped contract. I dont really want to be spending more than £10-15pm but dont know if you can get anything for that price?

I know Tesco also do the triple topup deal where if I was to buy her a phone upfront and do PAYG, if I put in £10 each month then Tesco triple it to £30 of credit.

Really dont know what is best and dont want to muck it up!!

Al.

A quick look on Tesco Mobile's website would suggest you can get something for £10 a month, have a look.

HTC Desire C seems good, £10 P/M.