What is the Best Mobile Phone to buy for kids in Nigeria (2020)?

As a parent or guardian in Nigeria with kids under your care and a busy work schedule to contend with, it is normal to want to supervise your children/wards from your workplace or out of home activity.

Well maybe you are confident enough that your children need minimal supervision but that may not always be. After all kids being the restless and naïve beings that they are must always be supervised. You have another fulltime job in looking after kids especially those under 10 years. It is stressful, but it is also a responsibility that comes with some emotional rewards no matter how stressful.

If only you could maintain a presence at two locations simultaneously you wouldn’t worry how your unsupervised kids are faring. Actually it is possible to be at two locations working and watching over your kids. Thanks to mobile phones, you don’t have to call a neighbor, relative or friend to go check up on your kids.

Here comes the ever crucial question. What kind of mobile phone should I buy for my children to use? It must be a reliable device, fast, pocket friendly and a good tool for some non-communication needs such as finding your way around in the dark etc.

So I will give my humble recommendations on some mobile phone ideas that will serve your purpose and give the kids a tool to reach you during emergencies

What are the best mobile phone options for kids to use in Nigeria?

For a mobile phone to be compatible for kids’ use and also serve its function, it must meet some of the selected criteria. Based on these criteria I have made a selection of 3 mobile phones from a list of 25 mobile phones that are compatible for kids’ use.  

A good mobile phone for kids must be;

•          Durable – lasts reasonably long (at least 2 years) even with constant use
•          Light weight not more than 200g in weight making it easy to carry for all ages
•          It must be network functional able to pick signals for calls and SMS all the time
•          Affordable – low cost to buy, pocket friendly option
•          Good speaker with audio recording function
•          Dual sim slot – in case service is poor on one network
•          Good battery life – can last at least 48 hours even with one charge
•          Low on techy Apps and games so the kids don’t run it down and make it unavailable for emergency use
•          Waterproof
•        Best of all should come with at least 1 year warranty.

Best Mobile Phones for Kids in Nigeria (2020)

So I’m not wrong to recommend the following mobile phones that meet all these criteria and specifically the candidates on this shortlist have been voted best kids friendly phones at various times in some countries in Europe, Asia, America and South Africa.

Nokia 105 Dual Sim 4^th Edition V5 (Price: NGN 7,000)

This has been voted best phone for kids in several countries since 2017 because of the child friendly features and good price. Whether you talk about its light 100g weight or its attractive music system within it with a cool in-built FM radio or its powerful torch light, you have a device that can do more than just a phone call. The keypads are friendly on the fingers making them fun to touch if you have sensitive fingers. The phone’s strong battery life of 120 hours means even without adequate charging you still have reasonable talk time. That makes it ideal for the Nigerian market (power outages being our thing). It also comes with excellent phone contact storage options – 2,000 phone contacts plus enough space to hold 500 SMS messages (this makes it also suitable for business use as well). I won’t get you tied down with features just so you know – you can buy it now on jumia for 7,000 naira.

Nokia 3310 (2017) 2.4” 2 MP, Dual Sim Phone (Price: NGN 12,500)

This phone needs no introduction. For a lot of parents this is one of the first mobile phones they ever purchased (2003 to 2007 era) and you can attest to it as a reliable companion. Although this very brand is an upgrade over earlier versions you still have many of its known qualities. In addition to being internet enabled for basic emailing and web surfing it comes with a 2 MP camera and dual sim slot.

As a very resilient phone it is not easily damaged when it falls on hard surfaces, it also backs this up with a good battery life for a full charge of up to 6 days without charging and talk time of 22 hours. It is easy to use as its features are not complicated among other features. You can buy this phone for 12,500 (promo price) now on Jumia.

Tecno T484 (NGN 9,300)

This is not a high end mobile phone by price and even features but it does have some high end multimedia experience that a kid can appreciate. For instance they can access facebook and some basic games more suited for the young and the young at heart. The phone’s performance in terms of loading and responding to user requests is really good. It has a powerful internal RAM of 8 MB which makes multitasking for a low budget phone very smooth. It has a powerful 4000mAh battery, 32 GB capacity micro SD slot and 2.8 inch display screen. Add a back camera with flash and you have one device standing tall as a candidate for one of the best kids friendly phones. You can buy it here on Jumia

These are my choice phones in order of functionality, compatibility and usability for children’s communications needs.