Most parents spend the decision on which phone and very little on which plan — and then get a surprise bill. Get the plan and the controls right and almost any recent handset will do.
Start with pay-as-you-go or a rolling plan
A pay-as-you-go bundle has a hard ceiling: when the data is gone, it stops, and you top up if you choose to. A rolling 30-day SIM-only plan is nearly as safe if you set a spend cap of zero, and lets you adjust the allowance month by month as you learn what they actually use. Avoid a 24-month contract for a first phone; children's needs change and phones get lost.
Before you hand it over
- Spend cap at zero. Every UK pay-monthly plan must offer one. It blocks anything outside the plan — premium numbers, out-of-allowance data, roaming.
- Bar premium services. Ask the network to block premium-rate numbers and text shortcodes entirely.
- Adult content filter on. Networks apply this by default to pay-as-you-go and can apply it to any plan; confirm it is on.
- Screen time and app controls. Apple's Screen Time and Google's Family Link let you approve app downloads, set time limits and see usage from your own phone.
- Location sharing, if you want it, set up through the same tools.
Choosing the handset
A phone that is a couple of years old, bought refurbished or handed down, is the sensible first phone: cheap enough that loss or breakage is not a disaster, still getting software updates, and identical in daily use to a new one for a child's purposes. Put it in a rugged case. If buying new, the budget end of Samsung's A series, Motorola's G series or a second-hand iPhone are the usual candidates.
How much data?
Less than you think if there is Wi-Fi at home and school. Start with a small bundle and increase it if it runs out; the point of a rolling plan is that the mistake costs you a month, not two years. Compare pay-as-you-go bundles and rolling SIM-only plans side by side.