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jekjones1558

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 27, 2010
324
94
Besides info in the title I will state that this is the 12 year old's first phone but she has taken excellent care of her Touch. I am wondering how others have handled this. If I weren't giving my iPhone 5 to a friend, I would just keep it as "insurance." TIA for any advice/experience you can share.
 

sundog925

macrumors 6502a
Dec 19, 2011
948
971
Hold on, I'm still hung up on 12 and and a phone of any matter....

Let's see, what did I have when i was 12:
books.
my batman and army guys
tag outside
a very old packard bell computer
my bike/motorcycle with detachable ace playing card

oh yeah, quarters for the pay phone...
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
Besides info in the title I will state that this is the 12 year old's first phone but she has taken excellent care of her Touch. I am wondering how others have handled this. If I weren't giving my iPhone 5 to a friend, I would just keep it as "insurance." TIA for any advice/experience you can share.

Something that covers loss or theft would probably be a good idea. An iPhone is quite a bit more valuable than an iPod touch.
 

jlake02

macrumors 68020
Nov 2, 2008
2,259
1
L.A.
My 10 year old daughter has a 4S. Is it a bit of 1st world overkill? Probably, but I don't care. She enjoys it and I'd rather do that than buy a Touch and flip phone so she can call me when she needs to.

We use the AT&T insurance to mitigate the cost of any accidents or needed replacements.
 

uwdude

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2014
920
469
Assuming you trust your child enough to give him/her a new top of the line iPhone, along with being able to afford all the costs of a Verizon Edge plan, the insurance part of it to me would depend on whether you think the child would more likely break/damage it, or lose it/have it stolen. If you think the child is really likely to break or damage it, I would go with Applecare, since each accident would then only cost $79. If you think loss/theft is a fair chance of happening then you must go with the carrier plan, although every replacement through those plans is more like $199.
 

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2013
2,721
1,238
Hold on, I'm still hung up on 12 and and a phone of any matter....

Let's see, what did I have when i was 12:
books.
my batman and army guys
tag outside
a very old packard bell computer
my bike/motorcycle with detachable ace playing card

oh yeah, quarters for the pay phone...

As a wise man once said, "To each his own with provolone"

Today's 12 year old is not yesterday's 12 year old. It really is comparing apples and oranges. If anything, I'd question you and playing with batman and army guys at 12 years of age. I have those up around 9-10 years old.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
To answer the original question, a 12 year old with an iPhone means AC+ is an absolute must unless your credit card has accidental damage coverage.



Hold on, I'm still hung up on 12 and and a phone of any matter....

Let's see, what did I have when i was 12:
books.
my batman and army guys
tag outside
a very old packard bell computer
my bike/motorcycle with detachable ace playing card

oh yeah, quarters for the pay phone...

Hold on...I'm still hung up on why you care what a parent buys their own child.

Sure, I get it. When I was 12 I was outside playing with junk that wasn't anywhere near an iPhone. I was a filthy active little turd who had tons of fun every day to the point of exhaustion. Perhaps kids are like this still, I have them in my neighborhood, but 12 year olds with iPhones no longer phase me. In fact, I can point out two who have better phones and computers than I do.
 

eoblaed

macrumors 68030
Apr 21, 2010
2,974
3,034
Besides info in the title I will state that this is the 12 year old's first phone but she has taken excellent care of her Touch. I am wondering how others have handled this. If I weren't giving my iPhone 5 to a friend, I would just keep it as "insurance." TIA for any advice/experience you can share.

Apple Care+

Absolutely. I get it for every iPhone I purchase.
 

djransom

macrumors 601
May 14, 2008
4,044
165
Chi-Town
You may also want to consider VZW insurance as well. AC+ covers damage, but it doesn't cover theft and a lost iPhone.
 

richwoodrocket

macrumors 68020
Apr 7, 2014
2,133
112
Buffalo, NY
Verizon iPhone 6 (Edge plan) for 12 year old. Would you get AC+? Other insur...

Let her keep the touch and keep the money in your pocket.
I got my first phone at age 14.
 

Señor

macrumors 6502
Jun 20, 2013
427
4
United States
Yeah don't listen to these people, you've made up your mind to get your child on iPhone and that's all that matters.

And yes, do get AC+.

Hope your daughter enjoys her new iPhone 6!
 

KeepCalmPeople

macrumors 65816
Sep 5, 2012
1,457
659
Los Angeles, California
For all those who have posted about how the OP is effectively spoiling his daughter, I have a 12yo, 14yo and 16yo, and they've all had iPhones for 18 months or more, without so much as a single cracked screen. It is possible to have responsible children. They know that there will be no replacement if they lose or destroy their phones.

Oh - and good luck finding a call box these days :)
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
Hold on, I'm still hung up on 12 and and a phone of any matter....

Let's see, what did I have when i was 12:
books.
my batman and army guys
tag outside
a very old packard bell computer
my bike/motorcycle with detachable ace playing card

oh yeah, quarters for the pay phone...
The older adults of the time when you were a 12 year old probably looked at all of that and were "hung up" that you weren't in a sweatshop factory working some hazardous and dangerous machinery to produce something or other to make a few cents a day to help your family pay for this new magical thing of electricity that will be coming to their one room shared by a whole family in a slum building somewhere owned by a robber baron of some sort. ;)

Time is a variable, and a rather significant one at that, especially when it comes to the last few centuries.
 

Kealohilani

macrumors 6502
Sep 16, 2012
354
19
I agree with the other posts that say get something with accidental damage or cover phones that are lost/stolen. Even if you don't think they will lose it. My daughter received a 5c for Christmas. She left it in her desk in February and we couldn't get to it for a week because of snow days. She is very responsible and dotes over that phone but she's a kid and bound to lose or damage it. Better to have it and not need it than to not have it and need it.
 

Wishbrah

macrumors regular
Oct 20, 2013
235
8
As a wise man once said, "To each his own with provolone"

Today's 12 year old is not yesterday's 12 year old. It really is comparing apples and oranges. If anything, I'd question you and playing with batman and army guys at 12 years of age. I have those up around 9-10 years old.

Today's 12 year old is not yesterday's 12 year old due to shift in societal norms and moralities. You think the stuff you can see on the web today is comparable to living the life of an internet-ignorant 12 year old of yesterday?
 

jekjones1558

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 27, 2010
324
94
OP here.
I know that I will get AC+ as a minimum. I just don't know what to do about lost/stolen insurance. I don't think the homeowner's insurance strategy will work because this 12 year old is my great niece and does not live with me. She is very responsible but I know weird things happen. I lost my own new iPhone 5 on a ride at Disneyworld when it slipped out of my hand as I sat down. It was not damaged but I could not reach it and the attendants refused to do anything until park closing. It was supposed to be turned in to Lost and Found but that didn't happen. I tracked it with my iPad and it never moved until after park closing, then it ended up in Downtown Orlando somewhere. I was heart broken (I only had AC+) and I know she would be also, if some freak thing happened. So I am leaning towards getting lost/stolen insurance just to be safe. But Verizon's plan seems really expensive (more than ATT's) and research online doesn't really seem to indicate a top choice for lost/stolen insurance. Anyone out there buy AND HAVE TO USE lost/stolen insurance? I have started checking with my credit cards but if I buy with Edge I don't think that will work either.
 

Old Yeller

macrumors newbie
Dec 21, 2013
18
0
Indiana
I bought my 11 year old a very nice "dumb phone". She could call, text, and take pictures. The main reason I got it was because of all her school extracurricular activities so she could call for a ride home when she was done. Well... She hated her dumb phone because all her peers had "smart phones". Because of that, she never carried it and I was throwing money away. I gave her my old iPhone 4s and let her use it as an iPod for three months. Guess what? She always had it on her and as long as she had wifi access, I could always reach her. I went ahead and activated it for her and now she has her fully functional smart phone. She has been very responsible with it for 6 months and I know I can always reach her. By the way, it also has a Lifeproof case for those little accidents thanks to grandpa who decided he didn't need it.
 

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2013
2,721
1,238
Today's 12 year old is not yesterday's 12 year old due to shift in societal norms and moralities. You think the stuff you can see on the web today is comparable to living the life of an internet-ignorant 12 year old of yesterday?

How someone raises their kid is their prerogative. You and I don't have to like it or agree with it. So if that means giving them an iPhone who are we to judge?
 

Paddle1

macrumors 601
May 1, 2013
4,813
3,120
Some people don't seem to understand that modern smartphones are only about 7 years old. Unless you were twelve 7 years ago getting an iPhone at that age wasn't even possible. You probably had things at that age that previous generations did not have either.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,420
12,431
Some people don't seem to understand that modern smartphones are only about 7 years old. Unless you were twelve 7 years ago getting an iPhone at that age wasn't even possible. You probably had things at that age that previous generations did not have either.
While this is true, I never owned a single item that costs $650 brand new, either. I think that's what has most posters raising their eyebrows. In the US, the cost of handsets is often hidden within plan costs so most folks only see $199 5s, $99 5c and free 4S. They don't really see the extra $25/mo or so that gets tacked on to their monthly bill or a total of $600 for 2 years. I reckon a hand me down iPhone 4/4S/5 is likely quite the norm nowadays, though.

Sure, game consoles are pretty close to iPhone MSRP. My parents never bought me those, either. If I wanted the PlayStation, I had to save my allowance and scholarship stipend. :rolleyes: Granted, sometimes they'd split the cost of high ticket items in half with me as a reward for good grades. :)

To answer the OP's question, I'd get insurance with theft protection. I've had phones stolen at school and one of those times, my bag was right beside me and I just turned my head away for a second. :rolleyes:
 
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