First phone for tween?

[minnie1012]

I am going to get my DD (11) a phone for Christmas. I didn't plan on getting her one this early but her middle school is lacking in the communication department. They want them to be independent so they sign up themselves for the late bus which the times vary and I never know what time she will be coming home from after school clubs or if the clubs are cancelled that day. So I want to be able to know where she is! So I decided to get her one. As it is she is the last of her close friends to get one. She of course wants an Iphone and says a flip phone would embarrass her!

Just wondering what is a good first phone that won't embarrass my 11 year old??? Do 11 year olds have smart phones?

 

[scrapquitler]

I am going to get my DD (11) a phone for Christmas. I didn't plan on getting her one this early but her middle school is lacking in the communication department. They want them to be independent so they sign up themselves for the late bus which the times vary and I never know what time she will be coming home from after school clubs or if the clubs are cancelled that day. So I want to be able to know where she is! So I decided to get her one. As it is she is the last of her close friends to get one. She of course wants an Iphone and says a flip phone would embarrass her!

Just wondering what is a good first phone that won't embarrass my 11 year old??? Do 11 year olds have smart phones?

Mine does.

We bought an android smartphone that cost like $150 and uses TracPhone service. He gets 'triple minutes for life' so every phone card we buy is tripled. As it ends up, we spend about $25 and get a card that is good for 180 texts, 180 minutes and 180 megabytes of data (times three) and needs to be topped up at least every 90 days, and unused stuff rolls over and accumulates, I think. He never uses the data, but he does use the apps that we put on there for him on Wifi. He does not have the password for the google play store.

The reality is that he barely uses it, but he has it if he needs to contact us. We have been very clear with him that the phone is not for HIS convenience, it's for Mom and Dad's convenience and peace of mine, and we've never had a problem.

 

[descovy]

I am going to get my DD (11) a phone for Christmas. I didn't plan on getting her one this early but her middle school is lacking in the communication department. They want them to be independent so they sign up themselves for the late bus which the times vary and I never know what time she will be coming home from after school clubs or if the clubs are cancelled that day. So I want to be able to know where she is! So I decided to get her one. As it is she is the last of her close friends to get one. She of course wants an Iphone and says a flip phone would embarrass her!

Just wondering what is a good first phone that won't embarrass my 11 year old??? Do 11 year olds have smart phones?

If you're getting her a flip phone, don't do it as a Christmas gift. You are getting the phone for you (wanting to contact her). And if she'll be "embarrassed" by a flip phone, at least she's not being embarrassed by her Christmas gift. Just give her a flip phone now, and let Christmas be for the good stuff. There are many inexpensively pay as you go options out there.

To your other question, yes 11 year olds do have smart phones. My kids' school encourages them to bring their own device to use in class (over wifi). Homework is posted online. Kids take pictures of the chalkboard to study from. QR codes are on school posters so kids can get more information. All this is handy from a smartphone. I also like the iPhone in particular because of the find my friends app. I can locate where they are (helpful especially when traveling far away and trying to arrange pick up)

In my household, we carry a mobile share value plan. To add a child costs me $15/month more. It works for us because we are already a smartphone family. It would be more cost prohibitive if we were just starting 1 iPhone service from scratch.

In fact my 10 yr old 5th grader is getting an iPhone 5c for Christmas. Her old iPod has been very well cared for 3 years but the battery no longer holds a decent charge. She will be in middle school next year, when I would likely hand me down my iPhone to her. Didn't want to spring for the cost of an iPod. And an iPhone is the one only thing she is really asking for.

In my situation, I will be paying $15/mo for the data, and $15/mo for 2 years for the phone. And I get a $150 bill credit for adding a line this month. I can afford this and it will make her happy.

So I say get a flip phone and give it to her now. But if saving for Christmas, get her the phone she really wants.

 

[havaneselover]

Almost all of my DD's friends got Iphones for 5th grade graduation.

My ex thinks she's too young for a phone and I can't die on every mountain. She has an Ipod touch and can text with wifi.

 

[mjkacmom]

Every single one of dd11 and ds11's friends have iPhones. They are getting them for Christmas. They start middle school next year, and pretty much all middle schoolers have them. Ds goes to the park or to a pizzeria almost every day after school - can't wait until he has a phone.

 

[LUVDisney1975]

Almost every 11 year old (except mine) in my daughters class has a smartphone. Some of them had an iPhone 6 before I did. Crazy but true!!! It is whatever you are comfortable with. My older daughter got an iPhone when she was 13.

 

[disfanforlife]

My 14 year old son has a tracfone. He is one of very few thst don't have iPhones. He does have an iPad mini and an iPod that he uses at home with wifi. He doesn't use his phone much at all.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter had a flip phone in 5th grade and in 6th she got an iphone- hen the teacher puts the homework on the smart board all the kids whip out their phones and take a picture of it so they don't have to write it down. In 9th grade they all used their phones with internet for assignments in class- it was a pain for the kids that didn't have them, they had to find someone with a smart phone that would share with them.

 

[xlxo]

We always hear students crying poverty.... how are they able to scrape together funds for a fragile phone (is your daughter likely to drop things?) and monthly data plans. Also how safe do you feel when she starts waving a $700 phone around.

Just tell her flip phones are kewl again.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...n-of-a-most-unfashionable-device-9863479.html

If you just want to know where she is, you can get her a GPS pet tracker and LoJack her favourite backpack or purse.

 

[minnie1012]

Thanks everyone! It seems from the comments the boys don't use their phones much! Having a girl and the way she is attached to her Ipod touch I know she will use it! I better make sure I get unlimited texting!

The using them in school benefit isn't a factor because the district got them all Mac's this year so they use them in school so the phones aren't allowed in class.

I'm definitely not paying a fortune for any phone. I was worried about the screen breaking on the Iphone because everyone I know has broken their screen (including myself). I'm going to head to Verizon at the end of the week and see what kind of deals they have on phones and then try to make a decision from there.



Thanks again!

 

[robinb]

I think it's practically impossible to get an old-fashioned flip phone. I would go ahead and get her s smart phone. My DD had a Droid when she was in middle school and she just chipped in 50% to a new iPhone 6.

Frankly, the cost of the phone is minor compared to the cost of the service. This site will help you choose a plan: http://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Cell-Phone-Plans-Buying-Guide.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We're on a data sharing plan with my parents & it was actually cheaper to go with a smart phone than a flip phone for DD. We went with IPhone 4s which was $100 at the time (2 years ago). DD still loves it.

And the flip phones that are available now are pretty much junk. Flip phone technology peaked about 6 years ago & the ones on the market today aren't even as good as those from that timeframe.

 

[clm10308]

No smartphone for kids here, not that they wouldn't like them. My DD got a non-smart phone that has a sliding keyboard. We got it "free" with the contract. My DS is using his sister'&as old flip phone. We have a family plan. So the extra phones are $10 a month each

 

[StitchBuddy]

If you get her an iphone, just don't get the newest greatest out there. You can get an iphone 5 for a lot less then the new 6. Then, buy a good case. We are hard on our phones, but have never cracked one, because we have good cases. The kids at our schools use them all the time.

 

[kymom99]

My 15 year old son still has a slide out phone. Half of his friends have them as well. He is getting an iphone for Christmas because his very old ipod won't hold a charge anymore. I refused to get him an iphone at first because I didn't want him connected to the internet constantly and I was afraid we would go over on our data. Now I think he is ready for it. He had absolutely no problem with his "dumb phone". I guess if he would have been embarrassed, he wouldn't have gotten a phone at all.

 

[wishesuponastar]

My daughter who is 13 now still has her first phone from age 10. It's a Pantech but looks like a Blackberry. She's not asking for an IPhone and in our family you don't get a smartphone until you have a job that you can pay $20 towards the data fee. Other daughter was 16 when she got an iPhone . I don't fall for the everyone has one.

 

[crazelion]

All three of my kids is getting this phone right from Tracfone

http://www.hsn.com/products/lg-opti...3X1434486X6baaa15cbc0cc2b88d1ec69d4bb41576-NA

. I got for 19.99 each.

The kids get 180 minutes, 180 text, 180 data for 20.00 with triple minutes for life. I think they use TextNow text for free over wi-fi.

If the kids want Iphone's you must pay for own phone. I have nothing worry about because all my kids have android phones. My problem is they rooted phone wrong they bricked phone.

 

[StephMK]

Yes, most kids have smartphones in middle school. DD14 is now in HS and wants nothing but an iphone. She cares about what kind she gets. Virgin Mobile has the best prices for iphones that I've been able to find outside of ebay.

DS12 doesn't care and has a Moto G through Republic. It's $10 a month for unlimited talk/text and wifi only. We did have to buy the phone from them but it's been great for the several months that he's owned it and he uses it allll the time. I'm not paying a ton for him to have data when most of the time, he has access to wifi.

 

[havaneselover]

Yes, most kids have smartphones in middle school. DD14 is now in HS and wants nothing but an iphone. She cares about what kind she gets. Virgin Mobile has the best prices for iphones that I've been able to find outside of ebay.

DS12 doesn't care and has a Moto G through Republic. It's $10 a month for unlimited talk/text and wifi only. We did have to buy the phone from them but it's been great for the several months that he's owned it and he uses it allll the time. I'm not paying a ton for him to have data when most of the time, he has access to wifi.

Check out Boost Mobile and Straight Talk too if you haven't already.

 

[lauradis]

you can get iphone 4 pretty cheap.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iphone/iphone-4-iphone-4s/pcmcat305200050003.c?id=pcmcat305200050003