Quick answers, the questions parents actually ask.
Straight answers to the questions we get most about a child's first phone, each with a link to the full page. Looking for something specific? Search the site, or ask the assistant in the corner.
Which simple phone should I get for my child?
Most families start with the Nokia 3210 (2024), about £79: calls, texts, Snake, three days of battery, and it looks cool enough for the playground. On a tighter budget the Nokia 235 4G is about £40. The ninety-second picker will match one to your child.
What's the cheapest simple phone for a child?
The Nokia 105 4G is the cheapest at about £24: calls, texts, a torch and weeks of standby. The Nokia 235 4G at about £40 adds a little more. Both are easy to replace if one goes missing on a school trip.
What age should a child get their first phone?
There is no single right age, but there is a sensible way to think about it. This note helps, plus the social media age limits.
What phone is best for walking to school?
If the trigger is the walk to school, a simple phone covers it nicely. Here is the thinking.
Where can I buy a simple phone in the UK?
Most of the phones Ansa-Phone recommends are on Amazon UK: the Nokia 3210 at around £79, the Nokia 235 4G at around £40, the Nokia 105 4G at around £24. The Light Phone III ships direct from Light. Every phone on the ranked list links straight to where to buy it.
What's the best phone for an 8 year old?
For an eight year old, a first-ever phone usually means the basics: the Nokia 235 4G or the Nokia 105 4G. Here is the page made for that age.
What's the best phone for a 9 year old?
For a nine year old, the usual pick is the Nokia 235 4G at around £40, or the Nokia 2660 Flip at around £55 for something sturdier. Most nine year olds are in Year 5. Both do calls, texts and a torch, with no apps.
What's the best phone for a 10 year old?
For a ten year old the usual first pick is the Nokia 3210 (2024) at around £79: calls, texts, Snake, three days of battery, no apps. Most ten year olds are in Year 5 or 6, the run-up to secondary.
What's the best phone for an 11 year old?
Eleven often means the move up to secondary school. The Nokia 3210 is the usual pick. Here is the page for that age.
What's the best phone for a 12 year old?
At twelve the Nokia 3210 (2024) at around £79 still leads, usually in Year 8. If a school genuinely needs a smartphone, a refurbished iPhone SE at around £169 with Apple Screen Time set up is the considered fallback.
What's the best phone for a 13 year old?
At thirteen the Nokia 3210 still works, and for a teenager stepping back from a smartphone the Light Phone III at around £399 is the design-led option. Where a smartphone is genuinely needed, a refurbished iPhone SE at around £169 with Screen Time is the fallback.
What's the best phone for a 14 year old?
At fourteen the Light Phone III at around £399 is the design-led step back, the Nokia 3210 at around £79 the cheaper one, and a refurbished iPhone SE at around £169 with Apple Screen Time the route if a smartphone is genuinely the answer.
What's the best phone for year six?
Year six is the classic moment, usually ages ten to eleven. The Nokia 3210 tends to be the pick. There is a note written for exactly this.
What phone does my child need for starting secondary school?
Starting year seven is a big jump. Here is what the first week actually looks like, plus the phone picks.
Is the Nokia 3210 (2024) a good first phone?
The Nokia 3210 (2024) is our first pick for most families: about £79, three days of battery, Snake, FM radio, no apps. Here is the full review.
What's the best flip phone for a child?
If you want a flip, the Nokia 2660 Flip (about £55) is the one: satisfying to close, easy to use, no apps. Here is the review and the flip-phone guide.
Is the Light Phone III worth it?
The Light Phone III (about £399) is the premium minimalist option: an e-ink screen, calls, texts, maps, and very little else. It is pricey, so read the review before you commit.
What is the Pinwheel Plus?
The Pinwheel Plus (about £279) is an Android phone with no app store and a parent dashboard: more control than a dumb phone, more cost too. Here is the honest UK take.
Is a refurbished iPhone SE a good controlled smartphone?
If a smartphone is the only realistic option, a refurbished iPhone SE (about £169) with Screen Time set up properly is the sensible middle path. Here is how, and the review.
What's the best dumb phone for a child?
A dumb phone is the whole idea here: calls and texts, no feed. This page rounds up the best in the UK, and this note weighs it against a smartphone.
Should I get a smartwatch instead of a phone?
A watch can be enough for younger children who mainly need calls and a location, but it has limits. Here is the honest comparison.
Do I need a GPS tracker as well as a phone?
A children's GPS smartwatch suits a younger child where location is the main aim; a basic phone suits a child who is messaging friends or travelling alone. A basic Nokia has no GPS tracking, so for live location a watch is the better device. This note compares them.
Which SIM should I get for a child's phone?
For a child you usually want calls and texts and little or no data. ParentShield (around £9 a month, on the EE network) adds a whitelist of allowed numbers and a parent-facing call log; Smarty (around £6 a month) is the cheapest no-frills option. Any unlocked basic phone takes any UK SIM.
How do I set up parental controls?
On a basic phone there is nothing to lock down: no app store, no browser, no social media. On a smartphone, set up Apple Screen Time or Google Family Link before the child first opens it. These two walkthroughs cover both.
How much screen time should a child have?
There is no official UK screen-time number, because the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says the evidence does not support one. The better test is whether screens are displacing sleep, activity and time with people. These walkthroughs set limits on the device itself.
Is there a first-phone family agreement I can use?
There is a free, printable first-phone agreement. Fill it in together, no email needed.
How do I move my child from a smartphone to a simple phone?
The switching kit is the practical, calm guide to moving a child from a smartphone to something simpler, including what to say.
What do I do about WhatsApp and group chats?
The everyone-has-one worry is real. Here is how to handle the WhatsApp group, and what to do if your child feels left out.
How do I take a phone off a teenager?
Taking a phone off a teenager is a different job from a younger child. Here is how to do it without a war.
What does the research say about children and phones?
The evidence on adolescent smartphone use is largely correlational, not proven causal, but consistent: teenage anxiety and depression rose sharply from around 2012, as smartphones reached most 11 to 13 year olds, with the strongest signal for girls in early adolescence (Orben and colleagues, Nature Communications, 2022). The research page pulls the sources together.
What is The Anxious Generation about?
Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation is the book most parents are asking about. Here is a plain-English UK summary.
What are the risks of giving a child a smartphone?
The honest position: the evidence linking smartphones to adolescent mental health is correlational, not settled, but the direction is consistent enough to act on. 84% of UK parents whose child has no smartphone back a school-day ban (Parentkind, 2025). The risks page lays it out calmly.
Is my child addicted to their phone?
First, the signs are worth knowing rather than guessing at. This note covers what to look for and what actually helps.
What are the rules on phones in school?
From 29 June 2026, schools in England must have regard to statutory guidance that makes a phone-free school day the default. A basic phone in a bag, switched off, sits inside almost every school's policy. This page is the overview, and this note covers whether the bans actually work.
What are Yondr pouches?
Yondr pouches are lockable fabric bags some UK schools use: the phone goes in at the start of the day and unlocks at home time, at around £15 to £25 a pouch. Here is how they work.
What is the Online Safety Act, and what does it mean for children?
The Online Safety Act is the law parents keep hearing about. Here is what it actually means for children.
What does the DfE guidance say about phones in schools?
The Department for Education's February 2024 guidance asks schools in England to prohibit smartphone use across the whole school day, including break and lunch. It sets out four model approaches and leaves the method to each school. Here it is in plain English.
Is there a phone policy template for teachers and carers?
There is a section just for teachers and carers, including a policy template you can adapt for your setting.
How do I get other parents to delay smartphones too?
Doing it with other families is far easier than doing it alone. Here is how to start that conversation, and the parent pact idea.
Who is behind Ansa-Phone, and are you experts?
We are not experts, and we do not pretend to be. Ansa-Phone is a small UK site that gathers what the actual experts and reviewers say about first phones, so busy parents and teachers do not have to. The name has a story too.
How does Ansa-Phone make money?
Some links earn Ansa-Phone a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what gets recommended. Here is the full disclosure.
Where are the games and the fun bits?
Ah, you found the fun bit. There is a whole 1990s drawer to play with, plus Snake on a Nokia.
Still deciding? Take the ninety-second picker, or read the ranked list of simple phones.
What are the social media age limits in the UK?
The legal and practical minimum ages are not the same as what is sensible. Here is where things stand, and how to hold the line.