dummy phone or smart watch?

[lizlemon19]

My son’s 11th birthday is coming up. I am thinking of getting him a non-smart phone to call and text, but no access to apps, games, you tube etc. I would consider a kids smart watch that wasn’t too little kiddish but that you could restrict content. I had thought of an ipod but I don’t want him getting apps on wifi.

We are considering being able to leave him home alone. We don’t have a house phone. Also if he needed a ride, stayed after school etc and could call us. He is making more friends and I don’t mind him having a number for him to give out besides my cell.

If it could have a calendar or task reminders that might be nice but not a requirement.

[dale]

My DH got my kids some inexpensive Samsung phones through Verizon and set them up with him and I as account admins through google family link. I can see what they've been doing and any apps have to be done by DH and I get an email that a new app has been added. I can also see where they are and can restrict usage times. DS has a few apps on his, quizlet being one of them. This way he can study in the car while we are on the go. They've also got solitaire because I think it's a pretty harmless app to have.

[formerlyak]

DS’ first phone was a “dumb” flip phone. He was fine with that. The kids at that age seem to think the watches are babyish.

[vanillacourage]

If you need it to serve as a house phone I wouldn’t do a watch. We are in the same boat w/DS1 and I’m looking at a cheap flip phone with service through Ting (you can get minutes and text only, no data, for like $12/month).

[madringal]

I got DD1 (almost 11) an Apple Watch 3 with cellular and GPS for christmas. I also did not want her to have any access to "smart phone" functions like social media or even the ability to search the internet. The apple watch is perfect! It doesn't even have a camera (unless you are using the phone). So, because it is tied to an actual phone, which we leave at home as an extra house line, she only has the carry the watch, and I can see all the calls and texts she makes and receives. We can locate her easily, she can call and text us whenever she needs to, and its water proof (she's a swimmer, so that was super important to us). It's not a cheap option, but it really was a perfect fit!

[bugandbibs]

We chose to use an old iPhone and lock it down. We removed access to safari (and thus the internet) and set it up as a kids account connected to our family iTunes. Any apps she wants have to be approved by me (even free ones). She ha zero access to social media through the phone. It was the easiest/cheapest option for us because it's only $15/month added to our phone plan. Plus, we aren't locked into it being a "dumb" phone.

[penguingrrl]

We gave our oldest my old iPhone when we reached the point that she needed a phone for safety. She’s not allowed to use it for anything but calls or texting. And it’s set up so we have to approve apps before they can be downloaded (which we won’t do, for any app). So no social media and no using safari. It has worked well for us.

One thing that she has done is that most of the kids in the advanced math class have a group chat going through text that they can ask each other for help while working on homework, which I consider appropriate and downright ingenious.

We also set the rule from the start that the phone belongs to us and we reserve the right to read any and all texts that go on it and monitor any activity.

[formerlyak]

I wanted to add with the watch option, at out middle schools they can’t wear any jewelry during PE, and watches count as jewelry. You kid maya be way more responsible than mine, but I know that a smart watch would get lost in the shuffle of getting dressed with him and many of his friends. So if you want whatever you pick to last into middle school, you may want to find out what their jewelry at PE policy is and what their electronics policy is to make sure what you choose works.