Children’s smartwatches can resist phone calls. What to consider before purchasing

A big advantage of giving a child a smartwatch is that it allows parents to avoid having to buy a smartphone while still providing direct boundaries for their children. This is especially useful for parents who manage pickups and drop-off logistics or rely on other caregivers for transportation. Young children, especially, may benefit from avoiding the disruption caused by mobile phones. This fact is also a bonus considering how many water bottles and sweatshirts there will eventually be multiple discoveries of how many water bottles and sweatshirts there will be. For kids who need extra push to stay active, it can also be a good motivation for kids who provide a gaming experience through step tracking and fitness challenges.

The term “smartwatch” is very loose when it comes to children. A quick Google or Amazon search will produce a wide variety of results, from a $25 digital watch with several games to a $300 Apple Watch that can track vitality in emergencies and call 911. For this guide, we are mainly concerned with smartwatches, which can help parents stay connected with their children – rather than watches designed for entertainment or specialized fitness bands that do not communicate in two ways. The latter is much simpler in functionality and tends to be cheaper, which is easier than the decision-making process of choosing among feature-rich GPS smartwatches that require greater parental involvement or even separate cellular plans.

Children’s smartwatches and regular smartwatches

While both may have many of the same features, kids’ smartwatches are often less capable than comprehensive smartwatches designed for adults. For example, children may not need ECG functionality, but GPS tracking and emergency contact access are crucial. The kids’ watch also comes with a built-in guardrail that parents can customize from the companion app on their phone.

Children’s smartwatches also take into account their needs and interests. Physically, they tend to be larger, more colorful, and have larger buttons and screens for easier navigation. Even traditional smartwatch features such as fitness tracking are suitable for children, with more achievable step goals and activity options that align with the child’s lifestyle, making exercise tracking more attractive.

Things to consider

Age range

This is one of the most important factors in choosing a smartwatch as it determines the type of features your child will need. Watches designed for children aged 5 and under often have physical buttons, simple icons and minimal screens for navigation, making them easy to use without reading or complicated brushing. This ensures that the kids accidentally text or call 911 while trying to play with snakes. An example of a simple device with limited functionality is the GABB watch 3E.

Older kids may benefit from more features such as two-way calls, texting, more robust fitness tracking and even mobile payments. Options like Apple Watch SE or Fitbit Ace offer more features while still providing parental control to manage and monitor usage.

Global Positioning System

If you want to track your kids accurately and in real time, we recommend using GPS’s kids smartwatch. For me, it’s a non-negotiable feature when shopping for kids. Some popular brands, such as VTECH and GARMIN, offer non-GPS versions of smartwatches designed for entertainment or fitness tracking. So make sure you are considering a model that specifically calls GPS tracking.

Real-time location tracking is especially useful if you want to keep an eye on your kids’ walking home. It also allows you to set up a geofencing alert that notifies you whether children are scattered outside the approved path or location. Remember that GPS tracking often requires a cellular connection and your wireless provider will charge an additional monthly fee.

Connectivity

Cellular services are not only a necessary condition for GPS tracking, but also are used to make calls and text for emergency contacts and services. You need to determine if the watch allows you to add monthly fees to your existing phone plan, or if it needs to be used entirely with another carrier. This may exclude transportation-specific devices, such as the Gizmo Watch 3, which is unique to Verizon.

Then there are watches like the GABB Watch 3E, which are totally indispensable and offer your own cellular plan that you can buy monthly or on a one-year or two-year contract.

Budget

Make sure to include all additional extra charges in your budget, including monthly service charges and any activation fees. You can expect to pay $100 to $300 for the device itself and an additional $10 to $20 per month for cellular services.

If you’re on a tight budget and all you really need to do from a kid’s smartwatch is GPS tracking, consider a dedicated tracker like Apple’s Airtag. It costs about $25 and offers a year of battery life, and you can buy accessories that your child can wear on his wrist. However, Airtag is only used for location tracking when a nearby iPhone or if my device is found, and it is not a replacement for traditional GPS tracking. Apple designed airtags to track objects, not people, so it has many alerts and systems to prevent unnecessary tracking.

brand

Branded equipment is another consideration when you look at your budget. While lesser-known companies may offer cheap options for similar features, it is important to be cautious as your child may not be as secure in terms of privacy. These affordable devices may even have built-in cameras that can cause other problems if abused.

A safer option is to stick with well-known brands like Garmin, Apple, Fitbit or Models that have been reviewed and reviewed by well-known sources such as Ticktalk, Bark Watch or Gabb Watch.

entertainment

Your child may be excited about playing games on the watch, but you may be less excited when your child is always stuck to the device. To avoid another screen time struggle, we recommend choosing a watch with as few “entertainment” features as possible, especially when it comes to social media.

If the watch has extra features like gaming or a built-in camera, make sure there are parental controls that may limit usage time, so you won’t send your child to school for a permanent distraction. While novelty may disappear, it is unrealistic to expect your child to not play games during school hours. In fact, for this reason, some schools actually ban these devices.

Screen protector

While most of these watches have kid’s design in mind, not all watches have built-in screen protectors or thick covers. It’s worth investing in some kind of protection to increase the chances of children’s smartwatches and survive the wear and tear of childhood.

Bottom line

There is no one solution for all when it comes to choosing a smartwatch for your kids, but you can significantly narrow down your choice by knowing which features meet your needs. Ultimately, you should choose a smartwatch that provides the features you as a parent that needs to stay in touch while also providing something that motivates your child. With the right watch, you can even delay conversations on your smartphone for several years.