First Cell Phone for Child

We have tried many different types of phones since my son was 8. We landed on iPhone, but he is now 15. What I will recommend is buying second-hand and see how responsible he is with it. My son has been through 10-12 phones while I have had 2. The data thing is a huge issue. Kids do not understand that watching a movie or video on Youtube just sucks the data. Snapchat and texting pics also are data sucks. My son ran me $250 in data charges because he didn't know and AT&T didn't and doesn't have data limits that you can set.
Good luck!
S.

ETA: At Rocio.. boy aren't you a piece of work. You actually think because people who do use and love Apple products try to convert kids to sexting? Gees, from your response, you'd think we are Jehovah's Witnesses here. To each his own for any product one chooses but get real woman. We are not promoting sexting for children. Get your head out of the sand

Well we are an Apple "groupie" family and we all carry IPhones.

When we first gave daughter a phone when she was around 11 it was a Motorola until IPhones came out.

Personally, I do not and would not use tracking devices on my child. We have a solid relationship and we had rules to abide by when she lived at home and had a phone. Break the rules, lose the phone. I know a lot of people secretly track their children and I don't like that... especially when the parents are secretive about it.

I trust that I raised a good kid and I don't need to know her every whereabouts.

Good luck finding what you are looking for!

I use an LG Cosmos 2 (got it in 2012)- basic phone with a slide out qwerty keyboard.
You can still buy them but I think there's an LG Cosmos 3 model out now.
It's great for texting, and you don't need a data plan.
Our son (he's 15) loves his!

No reason not to get an iPhone unless you are opposed to data....which we are for our 11 year old. She has had a phone for several years now though. She recently got the LG Extravert 2. It will allow her to use data on wi-fi, but doesnt' give her access outside of that.

We don't track her on her phone. We trust her to be where she says she is and call if she needs our help.

I think a track phone is a great first phone. That is what we bought for DD when she turned 12. Now she is almost 17 and has a smart phone. We pay for the service but she is financially responsible for her own contacts, her feminine hygiene provisions, gas in her car and her own lunches at school. (she has open campus now that she is a Junior)

I guess I'm an Apple "groupie," because the iPhone has been a great choice for our 11-year-old. Sorry, no other ideas for you.

We have not yet gotten a cellphone for our 12 1/2 year old, so I can't give you anything based on experience. I was just thinking about that question, however, because he has been asking and I do think once he gets to high school, he will finally need one. One option might be to go with the very low-end TracPhone (what I have). It is cheap and pay-as-you-go, so there is no risk of getting hit with an unexpected huge bill. I buy 200 minutes at a time and with the automatic double-minutes feature, that gets me 400 minutes (1/3 minute per text). That would limit his usage.

Just a thought. Good luck!

We got our girl a plain smart phone with talk and text only. She can still access the internet on it with any wifi though. We do have a parent center on it so she can play some games she likes and she can do more of course but with the parent center on it she can't access anything we don't want her on and if she tries to go to any sites that aren't appropriate for her it won't let her load it without a password.

Again, we don't pay for her to have data on our phone plan but any device can pick up any wifi signal and connect. That's why the parent center is important to us.

We got our now 13 year old a TRac Fone also this past Xmas. He can call and text . We also buy the 200 minutes at a time and his phone came with the double your minutes. It's nothing fancy but it does the job

Not sure why you're against iPhones, but that is exactly what my daughter has. The iPhone 4 is inexpensive (with a 2-year contract, I paid $1 for the phone), has all kinds of great, kid-friendly apps, and I'm able to use the "track my iPhone" app to verify where she is at any time. She uses it as her alarm clock, she listens to music on it, takes pictures with it, and of course texts her friends, calls her grandparents, and when she was at camp this year, we were able to FaceTime with her and see her happy face. ;) It has been a great phone for her.

I guess if you want to track your kid, don't get a phone. He will have to be where he says he will be. One phone call to confirm he is there. If he absolutely had to have a phone, an inexpensive Trac-Phone Prepaid from Walmart. Just my opinion.

Trac-phone

Texting is additive and and should be for older kids.

I'd go for an old school flip phone. My friend has one, it allows him to make calls and text. It has a slide out side keyboard, and looks a bit like the Motorola Slide phone. He said he doesn't care for web browsing, selfies, and emails (he's an English literature college professor), and having the ability to make calls and text is all he needs. He was able to get it for free with Verizon. They're called "basic phones" rather than "smart phones". I'm sure your carrier also has these phones.

If not, here are some other suggestions: the Kajeet phone has a tracker location for knowing where your kiddo is in cases of emergency (kajeet.com), and you can bring your own phone if you don't want to purchase one of theirs, and the FiLip phone is similar to this as well (www.myfilip.com). I'd compare options and pricing to see which is the best value. This article will also give you other suggestions as to the best phones for kids by providing a gallery of slides naming each option, their features, and even includes YouTube videos of the phones in action if you're more visually inclined: http://mashable.com/2013/07/25/phone-for-kids/#_

Hope this helps!

I would start with a $10 TracPhone. They make flip tops so they are durable. I don't know which phones track, but you may not need that until they are older. My 17 year old has a Tracphone, and it keeps her from using technology too much. Smart phones just introduce things to the kids they are not mature enough to handle. Just one mom's opinion! Good Luck!