Which iPhone...??? Help...

[Betik]

We're fighting a similar slippery slope with the 7yr old and his tablet. It's a blessing and a curse. He loves playing on it, and with Google Family Link I can set limits, and content filtering and such really easy, however he's missing out on other things because he's so worried about the dang tablet. We started to lay down ground rules that we hadn't even considered. Some obvious ones like "chores have to be done first" came easy, but other ones like "If it's nice outside you have to ask 3 friends to play before you can resort to the tablet" and crap like that.......We're seriously just winging this parenting thing, there should be a manual or something.

my 5 year old has stumbled down the stairs while watching an ipad. He did protect the ipad while rolling down though, so he sure thing has his priorities straight. Apparently he did not hit his head hard enough because he is still in love with his ipad

 

[Betik]

I was trying to keep my thoughts to myself, but as yall know this is not my forte.

In regard to buying a 16 year old an Iphone 6 or hand them down an old phone:
Although it makes sense to us it might not be the best for our kids. Nowdays having a iphone X gives you a subtle superiority among your peers. And it is a matter of fact that superiority ( or inferiority ) perceptions is what sets the rules on the playground. If money is not super tight ( given we all owns boats here, none can make a very legitimate case that they are struggling); you cannot send your kids among his/her viscous peers with a handicap. Like it or not it is the reality of the times we leave in. Unless the whole family super careful with money, you as parents have no moral case. The only case you can make is that of authority of human being that depends 100% on you. And if you are selfish bastard like me and are thinking to say, " so what?" Recall that our kids have memory and in 40 year we will depend on them. On top of that they will control access to grand kids. When we are in our eighties, boats and mods wont mean much, but Sunday morning with grand kid is what makes your day. For us, as long as we are in position to afford it the kids gets the best of whatever is available.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

I was trying to keep my thoughts to myself, but as yall know this is not my forte.

In regard to buying a 16 year old an Iphone 6 or hand them down an old phone:
Although it makes sense to us it might not be the best for our kids. Nowdays having a iphone X gives you a subtle superiority among your peers. And it is a matter of fact that superiority ( or inferiority ) perceptions is what sets the rules on the playground. If money is not super tight ( given we all owns boats here, none can make a very legitimate case that they are struggling); you cannot send your kids among his/her viscous peers with a handicap. Like it or not it is the reality of the times we leave in. Unless the whole family super careful with money, you as parents have no moral case. The only case you can make is that of authority of human being that depends 100% on you. And if you are selfish bastard like me and are thinking to say, " so what?" Recall that our kids have memory and in 40 year we will depend on them. On top of that they will control access to grand kids. When we are in our eighties, boats and mods wont mean much, but Sunday morning with grand kid is what makes your day. For us, as long as we are in position to afford it the kids gets the best of whatever is available.

I can’t argue with much of that, and I really shouldnt argue at all as I haven’t been blessed with kids yet either but I’ll add my 2 cents none the less.

I’m all for not making my kid have to face hard situations so they don’t get picked on etc. but it’s a fine line between giving them everything to keep up with the Jones’s and having them work to keep up with the Jones’s

There are certain things that I don’t want my kids to go through and that’s being picked on for physical differences. Some physical things we have no control over and some we do (weight, acne (with the help of dermatologist)) that I will do my best to prevent my kid from having to go through. Being a kid is hard enough. Going to school with a face full of zits, no one should have to endure.

Now I won’t send him to school with shoes with holes in it. Or the first iPhone when they are on version 12 but if he wants the iPhone 10 but has the 9? Well then, he’s going to have to save up his money and he can get whatever he wants.

As much as I don’t want my kid to get picked on or have a bully, protecting them from everything is not settting them up for the real world too.

Again, I say all of the above without having a kid. Flash forward 5 years from now I’ll be that Dad standing in line for the iPhone 18 for him 3 days prior to it’s released.

 

[Mainah]

Teens consider having a phone more important than money and about the same importance as air. Sad but true. My kids all have iphones. Their phones are their allowance for day to day chores. They make cash by doing significant extras and for thier grades. They must keep their phones for two years and then get to upgrade to the latest/newest. Just the way we do things and has worked for us.

Our Sophomore in college has an iphone 7 that works but could use a new battery and has some wear. She wants a new phone and was fully expecting we would just buy it for her. That was an interesting conversation and eye opening for all involved. We pay for her phone plan, car insurance, tutition, etc.. She does not have the funds to buy a new phone herself so we are going to buy it for her Birthday next month. It will likely be the last one we pay for. Point being is that in this day and age where kids expect we will buy them phones and pay for service at some point expectations for the future need to be discussed and a budget for that established as part of college planning whether that be something the student or parents pay for in the budget.

We spoil our kids. They work hard proven by their grades and success outside of the classroom. Our youngest is at the very top of his class academically, gets up at 5 am to hit the weights, goes to school hits the weights again in place of gym class (allowed for school athletes), goes to football/wrestling/debate team practice, crushes it at the state level on the field/mat/stage, rinse and repeat. He also
loves his iphone, wireless Bose quiet comfort headphones, xbox, having his own bathroom, eating the best cuts of steak, etc. My wife and I grew up poor, work hard, and darn sure enjoy spoiling our hard working kids. If your kids work hard, don’t get into trouble, and you can afford it; buy them the best IMO.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Our youngest is at the very top of his class academically, gets up at 5 am to hit the weights, goes to school hits the weights again in place of gym class (allowed for school athletes), goes to football/wrestling/debate team practice, crushes it at the state level on the field/mat/stage, rinse and repeat. He also
loves his iphone, wireless Bose quiet comfort headphones, xbox, having his own bathroom, eating the best cuts of steak, etc.

I’m 36 and still can’t get my ass out of bed at 5am to save my life.

 

[Julian]

Teens consider having a phone more important than money and about the same importance as air. Sad but true.

Oh so true! My daughter goes through withdrawal if we take her phone....and of course when we say we are going to the first thing she says is "Why do you always just take my phone? Why can't you come up with something different?" To which we reply "because your phone is all you care about!"

 

[djetok]

I was trying to keep my thoughts to myself, but as yall know this is not my forte.

In regard to buying a 16 year old an Iphone 6 or hand them down an old phone:
Although it makes sense to us it might not be the best for our kids. Nowdays having a iphone X gives you a subtle superiority among your peers. And it is a matter of fact that superiority ( or inferiority ) perceptions is what sets the rules on the playground. If money is not super tight ( given we all owns boats here, none can make a very legitimate case that they are struggling); you cannot send your kids among his/her viscous peers with a handicap. Like it or not it is the reality of the times we leave in. Unless the whole family super careful with money, you as parents have no moral case. The only case you can make is that of authority of human being that depends 100% on you. And if you are selfish bastard like me and are thinking to say, " so what?" Recall that our kids have memory and in 40 year we will depend on them. On top of that they will control access to grand kids. When we are in our eighties, boats and mods wont mean much, but Sunday morning with grand kid is what makes your day. For us, as long as we are in position to afford it the kids gets the best of whatever is available.

Haha once the kids get older. The superiority is a iPhone x and a apple watch. This is getting nuts. The cell phone Bill's are almost a car payment now days. My wife wants to buy our 19 and 13 year old girls watches. I looked at her like she was crazy. "So you think that adding another device will help them connect with us. "

Back to the original topic. The facial rec is the biggest thing that I know about over the 8. Everyone has 8's except me. I am a Samsung active person. I personally buy the iPhones as the buy one get plan (4 phones) that would be my recommendation.

 

[Mainah]

I’m 36 and still can’t get my ass out of bed at 5am to save my life.

At 15 I was not getting out of bed that early either and my two older ones are certainly not morning fans. I most certainly was not doing inverted situps hanging by my feet from a full rack at 5am either. He wants bumper plates for Christmas so he is less likely to wake the rest of the house. Obviously not the norm and way off the thread topic but to bring it back I am sure lots of us are proud of the work/dedication our kids put in. Band, drama, sports, academics, whatever. Reinforce that with rewards plus your time/support and they will try even harder. A band new iPhone X Max is certainly a huge reward that they won’t forget if you can get them out of it.

 

[swatski]

Wow. Lots to digest, but rings so true!

Sandra (the 17yo in need of the phone) gets a "phone allowance" (we do that with all our kids) - so we pay for a base model smart phone (for example, her 14yo sister chose a basic model LG - about $150 worth - that's on us). Beyond that, she will pay her own HARD EARNED money. She's working as a life guard in our local gym/pool and baby sitting.

So - this is interesting... Sandra and I set down and did a little calculation - turns out she needs to work about 2 full months/8 weeks as a guard to get enough money to pay for a (higher end iPhone) XR or 8, and about 6 weeks for a 7Plus etc.
Guess what? She still wants it...!

Well, she is a junior in HS, brings 4+ GPA home consistently, swims on the HS team, and is a section leader with tenor sax in the 160 strong marching band. This weekend she is out leading a group at a church retreat. I would be an idiot to complain...

I must admit I was pretty ignorant about the color of the texting background or some other aspects of phone ownership these days. Thank you guys for the education! I really appreciate!

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[BigAbe75]

I must admit I was pretty ignorant about the color of the texting background or some other aspects of phone ownership these days. Thank you guys for the education! I really appreciate!

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On the iPhone, the color of texts is mostly an identifier. As someone said, iPhone to iPhone will use the iMessaging protocol which only uses data (and shows blue). When texting to a non-iPhone, or to an iPhone that is in an area that does not have data or WiFi available it will show green. Another benefit is, since it using data, you can text while on WiFi but have 0 signal. (So at BSL where your phone is dead, if you have WiFi in the cabin you can still text).

However, always other ways around it. You could use Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, or an app called WhatsApp (I think) to text over data (rather than using a texting plan). I believe each of these apps would give you similar functionality in that you can see when a message is viewed and when someone is typing the response. And, are available on either platform (Apple / Android). However, you have to get all your friends to use the same app, which may take a bit of doing.

 

[BigAbe75]

Forgot to say, that some of those other apps (WhatsApp / Facebook Messenger) are handy for communicating internationally. They use data, so would use your hotel WiFi, not your cellular plan.

 

[Mainah]

Well, she is a junior in HS, brings 4+ GPA home consistently, swims on the HS team, and is a section leader with tenor sax in the 160 strong marching band. This weekend she is out leading a group at a church retreat. I would be an idiot to complain...

All that and working a part time job! My kids only work jobs during the summer. I can see seeking a contribution when there is a semi consistent income. I can see the value of money that teaches. As I pointed out with my oldest, we obviously missed something in that she has an expectation of what we will just take care of that differs from ours. On the other side I belive my kids job right now is to be students and nothing else (suumer job required) so they can enjoy young life. Hard to say what is best but if it is working stick with it.

I am not surprised in the least with a teen willing to work more to get a better smart phone. I am also not surprised in the least when someone here drops thousands on something extra for their boat.

 

[swatski]

Thank you all for help, much appreciated!

After much deliberation iPhone 7Plus it is, to a grand total of ~$850 (w/tax, case, apple care etc.). Good times.


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[Betik]

man I really though that you would lend her the $900 difference from the LG to iphone X and then charge a 20% interest rate so she can learn the hate credit card debt.

 

[adrianp89]

man I really though that you would lend her the $900 difference from the LG to iphone X and then charge a 20% interest rate so she can learn the hate credit card debt.

Would be pretty messed up figuring the providers give you 30 months at 0%. Wish I would have caught this thread earlier. Def would have recommended waiting until Black Friday. Wal-Mart will surely do another $300 gift card with the iPhones.

 

[Betik]

Would be pretty messed up figuring the providers give you 30 months at 0%. Wish I would have caught this thread earlier. Def would have recommended waiting until Black Friday. Wal-Mart will surely do another $300 gift card with the iPhones.

The provider will give @swatski 30 months at 0%, but not the 17 years old. I do not think she has enough credit to qualify for the providers 30 month installment plan. Got to teach them the reality of capitalism

 

[swatski]

Her phone become inoperable (it was a 6 year old 5C I think) and waiting for two months to get a sale price for a replacement was not a great option (she also recently started driving).

With your guys' help we were able to make more of a rational, rather than an emotional, decision - that's what counts! For example, after parsing out all the features we concluded the 7Plus would satisfy all the needs and most "upgrades" in newer models would be superfluous at twice the money.

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[Peelz]

we concluded the 7Plus would satisfy all the needs and most "upgrades" in newer models would be superfluous at twice the money.

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this is where I'm at. My 6s Plus 64gig does everything i need it to. I'm disinterested in facial recognition. I don't even use the thumb print ID lol I don't see the need for stuff like high res vid on the go. 480p is fine. IM usually just looking at DIY repair stuff.

the ONLY thing that would really make me jump out my chair...some new battery tech, or better reception somehow.



Also, Superfluous is a fantastic word.

 

[swatski]

some new battery tech, or better reception somehow

In this regard, it remains to be seen if the X models are an actual step forward... Certainly not yet infallible at this point, from what I could tell.

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[adrianp89]

Only reason I want one at this point is for the larger screen size. Watching football at work would be a lot easier on that 6.1" screen lol.