to be fair to BLATA I dont think he was asking if 'he should buy an I-phone for his daughter' but actually what 'the best way is to acquire one out of contract'.
Its up to him if he buys one for her or not therefore I feel opinions on whehter its bad or good are not necessarily relevant to this thread or his question.
Maybe its her 'top' xmas present. If we earn good money - why not spend it on our loved ones if they deserve it? Maybe she deserves it for reasons we dont know about etc. As for the safety aspect, well thats conditional on so many factors, again irrelevent to the subject topic
BLATA - I would suggest either ebay or an upgrade (if you are eligable on one of your contracts), Might also be worth checking if its cheaper buying one with a contract (considering monthlys) or out of contract.