Children today want to be independent when they reach a certain age, and they wish to go out of the house without any parents supervising them at this time, it is very important to be aware of where your child is, and they need the means to do things as well. At this time, a lot of parents choose to give their children smartphones.
A smartwatch in this situation can be a good option as it does not distract a child from their studies as smartphones do, but it ensures that the parents know where the child is because these smartwatches may have GPS trackers. You can give your child a smartwatch for a few years before giving them a smartphone so they can still be safe and contact you in emergencies, but you do not have to worry that they are being distracted and not focusing on School.
A kid’s smartwatch can be a solution for a child to be independent
A parent does not have to worry that their child is not studying or staying too much on the phone with a smartwatch because they can use their smartwatch to call and send voice messages. There is also a GPS tracker in the smartwatch so the parent can know where the child is, and if the child goes out of a certain area, the parents will be notified. You kids can now go out when they wish to with their friends or School, but you can be sure that they are safe and nothing will happen to them.
Main features to look for in a smartwatch
GPS tracking
– GPS might be the most important reason that parents want a smartwatch because it can help parents know where their children are, and even if the children get lost, the parents can use the watch to find them. Parents can set safety zones, e.g., School and home, and when the child is not in that zone, the parents will be notified via the smartphone application.
Anti-loss sensor
– This sensor can alert parents when they want to be notified whenever their child takes their watch off.
Call and voice chat function
– If a parent does not give their child a phone, then a calling function in a smartwatch is quite important. Parents can call their children when they need to, and voice messages can be sent as well.
Water-resistant
– It is likely that since the child is not very big, they may end up dropping water on the watch, or they may have to go swimming with it, so it is best if the watch is water-resistant so that there is no chance of them removing the watch. If the child is not wearing the watch, then there is a chance that they may forget t wear it again, or someone might end up stealing it as well.
A good battery
– A child might not be inclined to charge the watch very often, and if the smartwatch stops working in the middle of the day, then there is no point in having it, so it should have good battery life. There are also features where parents are notified if the battery in the watch is low, so they do not need to panic if the child does not answer them when called.
A torch
– Having a torch in the smartwatch can be helpful. It is not a necessity, but because the watch is a replacement for a smartphone, it is best if the watch has a lot of similar features that a phone does.
A class mode
– This function can allow parents to disable some features of the watch so that the child does not use it during class and gets distracted.
SOS button
– This button can help as if the child feels that they are in some danger then they can press this button and the parents will be notified that something is wrong. Usually, the child has to press the button for about three seconds to activate this function.
Problems with buying cheap Chinese products
There are a lot of products that are very cheap and made in china; however, these products are not made well, and they can break very easily because the quality of the materials used is very poor. If your watch gets spoiled, then there may not be any after-sales services, and if the service is not good, then parents might not feel like buying another smartwatch.
It is best if you put in a little more money and buy a high-quality watch that can do the job that you require it to do and also fit in the budget that you have for it.
If you have a high-quality watch, then there are features for safety. You can get features that protect private data as the sensitive information is stored securely as most good companies value the privacy of their customers.
A sim card
Since you want voice calling, you will need to put a sim card into the watch. You can put a pre-paid pack so that the costs are in check. Keep in mind that all smartwatches do not support sim cards because many of them connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone. Do your research to see if you want a sim card on the phone and then search for a watch supporting sim cards.
Disadvantages of smartwatches for kids
Even though smartwatches are valuable for kids to use, it is important that you know about the disadvantages before you buy a smartwatch.
High cost
– These smartwatches are not cheap, especially the good quality ones. They come at a high cost. You can find cheap smartwatches, but they will not last long, and they might end up getting spoiled very fast.
Battery life
– Many of these watches need to be charged every day or for a few days, at least if your smartwatch has good battery life. If you do not charge it at the right time and the battery dies, it can turn out to be a huge problem for everyone as it could die when your child actually needs it, and if you cannot get in touch with your child, then you might panic.
School rules
– Some schools do not allow GPS watches because they can become a distraction, so be aware of the School’s rules before you buy a watch. Even though there are modes to shut the watch off during class hours, the kids are not stupid, and they understand devices well.
They will end up changing the settings themselves, and they will use the smartwatch in classes. That is why many schools do not like their students having smartwatches in classrooms.
A GPS wristband tracker or GPS tracker
If all you want to do is monitor your kid’s location, you can use a wristband with no screen but only a GPS tracker. You can also use a GP tracker that is in a small box. Your child might not like this, but if this device can give them the freedom to go out, then they will agree with you.
This is better if your child is very young and he wishes to go outside when he is very young. It would be best if you were not worried that your child would be distracted by the watch either because they will not be able to do much on it.
This device will still have all the important features that a normal smartwatch has; It will have the GPS tracker with the SOS button. Some watches might even have an emergency telephone function that children can use to contact their parents. The best part is that this will have much bigger battery life when compares to a smartwatch, and you do not need to charge it as often as before.
The GPS tracker will cost a lot less as compared to a smartwatch.
Schools do not ban GPS trackers, so you do not have to worry about searching for rules.
Conclusion
Your child might not like that you are following their every move, but it can be a good idea to keep them safe because there is always a risk and keeping your children safe is very important. Even if they do not agree with you now, they will understand later on. Soon your children will want a smartphone, but before they do that, you can always give them a smartwatch so that you can be sure of what they do, and they get some freedom as well.
Even though you might feel that a smartphone is the best option giving your child a smartwatch will ensure that your child is not distracted and does productive things every day.
