Thinking about getting my daughter her first phone for safety reasons since she's doing more activities. Don't want to go full smartphone but also don't want some ancient flip phone. Been looking at the basic iPhone SE or maybe a used iPhone 11. Other dads recommend against it until 13 but we live in an area where she needs a way to reach us. Any experience with this?
That's smart thinking about safety first. I'd say look at the parent-controlled options out there - gives her what she needs for activities without all the distractions.
We went with a basic phone for our older son at that age - just calling and texting, no internet. Kept him safe without opening up the whole app rabbit hole. Worked great until he was a bit older.
Just got our oldest her first phone last year. Pro tip: whatever you get, set up screen time limits and app restrictions from day one. So much easier than trying to enforce it after the fact.
We went with a basic iPhone SE for our daughter at that age. Does calls, texts, and has Find My Family which was the main safety thing we wanted. Avoided the fancy stuff since she's still learning responsibility.
Fair warning - once they have a phone they'll want unlimited data and their own Apple ID. We underestimated how fast that escalates.
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What activities is she doing? That might help figure out what you actually need versus what she's asking for. My kid wanted a phone mainly because her friends had one, not because she needed it for safety.