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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does anyone try to start out with like a basic flip phone, essentially calls only and maybe slow texting? It is that not really an option any more?[/quote]

We did in 6th, so she could prove she could use it responsibly. Not lose it, not text inappropriately or excessively, etc. She did great, and at the end of 6th grade she got my old iPhone, with full parental control over downloading apps and monitoring web browsing. The condition was that if she abused the smartphone features, we could send her back to the flip phone at any time.

I will say that if you have a kid who’s sensitive about being different, or being teased, you might look for a smart-looking “dumb” phone, or start out by disabling certain features on an older smartphone. My kid isn’t too worried about that stuff, and just laughed it off with a joke about being “old school,” but even in our mixed-income, high-FARMS middle school, she was occasionally teased about her flip phone. I can only imagine it would be much worse in schools where everyone competes to have the latest and greatest.

Also, it is harder to find a basic flip phone these days. Verizon only had a couple of options, one a pretty expensive waterproof and shockproof model with walkie-talkie features like a construction contractor might use, and that was a few years ago. [/quote]

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