Mobile phone for a 7 year old

mro85

Hi,

My daughter lives 350 miles away from me and the mother makes contact difficult.
I'm in the process of getting a formal contact order part of which would involve a mobile phone.

I would mainly want to use Google hangouts and WhatsApp and would want this to be an android phone.

I'm undecided between contact and PAYG. (PAYG is the preference)

Are there any tariffs anyone would recommend...
I would want the account capped so there is a max spend. Most of the usage would be through WiFi at her home.

Anyone good deals on handsets? My budget is £100 for the phone and £5 — £10 per month on credit or contact.

Thanks

Mr I.

[Deleted User]

Moto E or Moto G phone and 3 pay as you go (3-2-1) would be my choice for a child that age.

ballyblack

Moto E now £79




http://shop.tescomobile.com/pay-as-you-go/mobile-phones/motorola/moto+e?deal=14873

warehouse

Does your Daughter know you're doing this?

PasturesNew

Why not write nice letters 3x a week. Or 2 postcards and a nice long letter to arrive at the weekend?

mro85

Not yet but I know she wants one.

Just researching at moment.

grumbler

mro85 wrote: »

I'm undecided between contact and PAYG. (PAYG is the preference)

Are there any tariffs anyone would recommend...
I would want the account capped so there is a max spend. Most of the usage would be through WiFi at her home.

You are right. Uncapped contract and a 7 y.o. child are incompatible things.

Tesco Mobile are the best for capped contracts. Three is probably the only other provider doing this, but make sure it's a proper cap, not some 'credit limit' that can be easily exceeded.

Three 321 and Giffgaff are the most popular PAYG options for smartphones.

I agree that Moto E suggested above is possibly the best option.

mro85

PasturesNew wrote: »

Why not write nice letters 3x a week. Or 2 postcards and a nice long letter to arrive at the weekend?

Yes your right, I'll become Penpals with my daughter rather then have a conversation with her or be able to see her.

Buzby

A 7yo and a phone don't go well together. It still isn't a toy and an appreciation of what it is worth will rarely be appreciated until they reach 10-11.

A contracts isn't an option I'd even consider. PAYG protects you from financial loss should it be stolen and misused - or forgotten about. I'd also consider a special kids phone that has protections on who can call it and blocks texts from unapproved senders.

A standard phone that offers voice, texts and data access with no restrictions is asking for trouble, even if child's safety isn 't a consideration.

grumbler

If it's mainly at home and wify, why not just use a PC and, say, Skype instead for seeing and conversations?

CharleneUK

Tesco mobile are the best for capped contracts. My 11 year old is on a plan which costs only £7.50 per month and that includes 250 minutes, 5000 texts and 500mb of data, all capped.

At the time, it was a rubbish Android phone, but check out their site, there may be better out there now. She only uses it to text/whatsapp me to let me know she's at school, but I'm sure it has capacity for hangouts as well. It was a HTC model. You can also have Tesco put a parental lock on the phone, preventing her from accessing certain websites.

Best of luck.