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Smartwatches may be an overlooked answer to the kid phone conundrum. Watches have the communication and location tracking that parents demand without the distra
by wmf 2y ago
Smartwatches may be an overlooked answer to the kid phone conundrum. Watches have the communication and location tracking that parents demand without the distraction of phones.
- nextos 2y agoAlso for adults, it's a much less intrusive technology.
- polairscience 2y agoI'm not sure I agree with less intrusive. Having a tracker attached to your body that can notify you of anything it wants is very intrusive. It is, however, seemingly less addictive in some capacities. No doom scrolling, etc.
- nextos 2y agoI think it's much less addictive. And if you only allow very urgent notifications, it's almost like a plain watch. Whereas on a phone, the temptation to open apps to do things is always there. It's almost like comparing an eink device with a regular tablet.
- LordDragonfang 2y agoConsidering the number of times I've heard cell phones referred to as being "attached at the hip", I think that ship has sailed. Also, almost every smart watch allows you to block notifications on top of what you phone already blocks, so if you have apps that you want notifications from for when your attention is on your phone, but not all the time, you can only allow those through. It's not "anything it wants", it's anything you choose.
- kccqzy 2y agoJust turn off notifications for the vast majority of apps. I don't even auto-install third-party apps on the watch. I use my watch as mainly a fitness tracker and I allow notifications from fewer than 5 apps.
- philomath_mn 2y ago100%. My kid is not getting a smartphone until he's ~16 but we're looking at a restricted smart watch right now (a flip phone would also be acceptable but a watch is physically attached which is ideal for 7 year old).
- ZiiS 2y agoNot getting a phone you know about!
- philomath_mn 2y agoA minor is going to get a phone plan w/o a guardian signing for it? And use it in my house without me knowing? There is a lot my kid is going to do under my nose, getting a smartphone doesn't seem too likely (esp. if he has alternatives like a desktop).
- gnicholas 2y agoThis is absolutely what I worry about for my kids, down the line. A boyfriend could easily pass her an inherited iPhone with a prepaid SIM card so they could keep in touch away from parental prying eyes. Most families around here (SV) have old devices lying around, and $20/mo for a cellular plan is nothing for many teenagers.
- philomath_mn 2y agoFair enough! Something to watch for I suppose.
- LordDragonfang 2y agoI think you've sort of missed the forest for the trees, here. If you've gotten to the point where the kid is hiding a phone from you, you're already in an adversarial relationship with a young adult who has lost trust in your ability to be a reasonable authority figure.
- wlesieutre 2y agoNot specifically made for kids, but see “family setup” for the Apple Watch also https://support.apple.com/en-us/109036 https://support.apple.com/en-us/109036
- Almondsetat 2y agoI have seen a couple of videos on youtube about people only using an Apple Watch with LTE, but I have found nothing long term or about android smart watches. I would really like to explore this possibility for myself
- steve_adams_86 2y agoMy watch changed my relationship with my phone very positively, so I offered to get my kids watches as a phone alternative. Not that they couldn't have phones at all, but they'd leave them at home when going on, and not carry them in their pockets around the house. They declined because they think watches are lame and nerdy. Only the most unfortunate kids get watches. They still can't carry them around the house, but I didn't gain much ground overall. I've gradually increased controls on and over the phones in my home, but the watch offer has never been taken up. I think you're right that it could be an overlooked solution, but I suspect you need to sneak in before the kids are accustomed to a phone.
- bilsbie 2y agoHow did your relationship To your phone change?
- cklemming 2y agoNot the poster, but since getting a smartwatch with a cellular plan, I've found myself more often leaving my phone when out and about - especially with my kids. I'm still be able to make calls, text, listen to pods and music, pay for stuff, navigation etc. but without any of the distractions. The only essential thing I'm missing is a camera!
- tuumi 2y agoAre you able to connect to Carplay?
- dcdevito 2y ago[dead]
- steve_adams_86 2y agoI believe you still need your iPhone for that to work. That might have changed recently, but I don’t think so. Apple watches work fine over Bluetooth, though that leaves a lot to be desired if you’re accustomed to CarPlay.
- sharadov 2y agoI got an Apple watch for my 11-year-old for precisely this reason - he can text, call, and play some games on it. Subscription to cellular is $10/month. And it let me set parental controls on it. No way was I getting him a phone, it's already way too distracting with the other devices he has access to at home.
- tonightstoast 2y agoDoesn’t it need to be paired with a phone thought?
- esteth 2y agoIt only needs to be paired to an iOS device for initial setup and configuration. A watch with cellular can operate independently of the iOS device after setup and configuration.
- gedy 2y agoIt's been a year or so, but some carriers refused to sell me a watch only plan, it had to be a new cell plan for a phone too. (And pairing with an existing phone meant it had that cell's number, not a watch only one.)
- LorenzoGood 2y agoThe iPhone ecosystem has "family watches" now.
- jmacd 2y agoI also have an 11 year old with an Apple Watch and it has been such a good introduction to connectivity as well as social media (iMessage/texting...) She has gained a lot of independance because we are able to track her with the watch, and she is now proactively communicating with it to let us know where she will be etc. I'm not enthusiastic about the teen years with TikTok/Instagram,etc but at least she will have been onramped gradually and hopefully it's a natural progression.
- 2y ago
- giantg2 2y agoI was honestly coming here to say fuck those exploitive assholes at Google. But I see your point. Maybe this could be a good in-between.
- geraldwhen 2y agoI can’t get reliable signal on the watch on any carrier. And reliable signal is a deal breaker.
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y agoWhich watch model?
- sambazi 2y agothere are meta sim-card that connect to any carrier, pricy though
- asp_hornet 2y agoOverlooked answer? Aren't you are literally describing a mobile phone. You know, before they were smart phones with distractions. The nice thing about this solution is its less likely to be forgotten because its on the wrist.
- nsagent 2y agoConsidering how often my three-year-old niece wants to play around with my Apple Watch, including at bedtime, it seems like it can be just as big of a distraction.
- boringg 2y agoI'll add that while that may be true. I find that it doesn't matter what kind of screen it is - my kids are like moths to flame. Its the backlit lighting + some kind of interactivity that makes it attractive to play with.
- heyjamesknight 2y agoThe color is part of it. I put a greyscale filter on my phone and it’s insane how much it’s reduced the device’s ability to suck me in and keep me staring at it.
- retrac 2y agoThe original Game Boy and Tamigotchi weren't colour, or backlit, and they were disruptive in classrooms when they came out. For at least some individuals, even simple black and white, non-networked games, are kind of compulsive. This is probably particularly true for younger children without guidance.