My eldest starts high school next year and apparently, they should have a mobile phone. What is the best plan for school kids?
Phone plans for school kids?
L[Deactivated] on 15/12/2013 - 19:32
Comments
Apparantly isn't the truth :)
Unless they catch a bus and need one for emergencies they will live without one.
Our 14yo does have one and we are with iinet for home phone and internet and they had a $10/mth mobile plan which was just perfect. It ended up cheaper than prepaid and WAY less hassle.
I believe they no longer offer the $10 plan and it's now $15 which isn't as good but still attractive
Plus, if your kid ever goes over and racks up a big bill, you can call customer service and probably get it waived at least the first time.
We have our son on the Telstra simplicity pre-paid. After doing a bit of research we found it to be the best. http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/offe…
Vaya's $16 Power Plan is more bang for buck
http://www.vaya.net.au/?option=Mobile&4Gsimonly&plan=Power%2…
Amaysim PAYG (12c/m, 12c/txt)
or
Dodo PAYG (11c/m, 11c/txt).I have both, probably go for Amaysim.
Both on OptusVodafone 365 Day prepaid is also an option, credit only expires after a year and minimum recharge is $30. So your child could use only $30 a year ;)
Buy them a prepaid SIM first, such as a Pay-As-You-Go Amaysim service or even Lycamobile.
If they manage to burn through a lot of calling or data credits in the first month (i.e. spend more than $20 bucks) then you should buy them a post-paid plan. I doubt this will be the case as kids don't usually call so much — they're mostly reliant on SMS messaging and a bit of data.
If you give them a smartphone make sure to set it up so that 3G connectivity is limited or use a 3G metering setting (Android Jelly Bean has this) to limit monthly downloads.
My daughter (16yo) has a TPG $15/m plan with $550 of credit and 1.5GB of data. She's had a phone from the age of 6 and she has only ever downloaded a couple of those $5 ringtones ever and we jumped on that pretty quick and she's extremely smart about phone use…doesn't see it as a toy.
I'm much older and see the phone as a toy with a few extra call+txt functionalities. :P
TPG plans are now different. Check website.
I started high school without one and lived 15klm from school. I also went to one 20klm away and didn't need one either.
The 365 voda seems good, but end of the day your kids gonna text their friends and it will be gone in a month so I would say go with amaysim. They can also learn to budget!
If you listen to your kids, they are also going to need a smart phone when they are 13…
Consider this, I ran a business with a $10 amaysim prepaid for ages on a non smart phone and was only recently given a smart phone because the mrs upgraded. And I still don't have data. If im out and need it, I used a wifi hot spot, the difference between shit slow and slow isn't much.
I recently got locked out, no phone, keys or wallet. I took my arse to DSE and used their tabs for 2 hours to do some work while I waited for someone with a key. After 2 hours it got a bit suss so I went to JB for an hour.
The best thing you can do for your kids in this day and age is set reasonable limits. They will learn to life hack and it will make them a better person in the long run. Handing stuff they demand doesn't teach them anything.
Aldi prepaid service is very good value and uses (part of) the Telstra network and has excellent coverage (tested recently Melbourne-SA-NT). Prepaid is the only way for kids, it saves any surprises with big bills and it teaches them self control and accountability…valuable life lessons!
Aldi sim is $5 and good for a year with $5 credit. The best for emergency only phone.
Personally I'd go prepaid for my kid.