Top Smartwatch for Kids Safety
Is Smartwatch Necessary for Kids?
Top smartwatch for kids safety is the topic of this post. It is not easy to keep your child safe in a reality where various incidents and accidents are endless. Full safety measures are hard to find, but smartwatch can be a valuable option for you and your children.
If so, which is the best smartwatch for kids? There are many smartwatches and other wearable smart devices. We will present you the criteria for choosing a smartwatch for kids. Let’s look at what the requirements are.
Requirements for Kids Smartwatch
When you buy a smartwatch for your kid, there are some crucial specs and features to consider. Check with that safety, functionality, and durability. Here are the key elements which you have to focus on.
- 1. Safety Features
- 2. Battery Life
- 3. Endurance
- 4. Communication
- 5. Parental Monitoring
- 6. Educational and Entertainment Features
- 7. Usability
- 8. Price and Subscription Plans
Safety Features
Perhaps, the main reason that most of you are going to buy a smartwatch is due to its safety features. Thanks to technological advances, smartwatches employ a variety of safety features.
- 1. GPS Tracking
- 2. Emergency SOS Alerts
- 3. Heart Condition Detection
- 4. Fall Detection
1. GPS Tracking
One of the most important features in smartwatches for children is GPS tracing. There have been various incidents where parents and authorities found location of children after going missing or being kidnapped. Their smartwatch’s GPS could let them found quickly.
A missing child incident in Germany, a 9-year-old girl disappeared, and her parents utilized the smartwatch’s GPS tracking to alert authorities. Thanks to the GPS feature, the authorities immediately could share an exact location with her parents, which made the child come back safely within hours.
Some smartwatches offer call and message restrictions. This makes sure that they allow calls or texts only from pre-authorized contacts to reject unwelcome communications.
2. Emergency SOS Alerts
In some dangerous situations, children were able to send out an emergency SOS warning. The Apple Watch or kid-friendly brands contain this feature, which sends an abnormal signal along with the child’s location.
A possible abduction in Texas, a young girl pressed the SOS button on her smartwatch. It immediately alerted that a suspicious man was fallowing her. The instant alert made her parents briefly intervene and protect her.
When it comes to by the SOS button, which is directly linked to 911 or emergency contacts. If your kids are in dangerous situation or need help, the only thing they have to is pressing this button. If you’re worried about undesired connection with 911, you would better change the line to parents or guardians.
3. Heart Condition Detection
Some smartwatches have functions such as heart rate sensing and ECG, which can help find medical issues. Although it is not usual among children, there have been cases where these functions were critical in detecting emergencies.
For instance, in 2020, an Apple Watch notified dangerously high heart rate to the holder, a 13-year-old girl in the U.K. After visiting the clinic, she was diagnosed with that her heart condition should require treatment. If there had been no alert from the smartwatch, the condition might have gone unnoticed until it became life-threatening
4. Fall Detection
While fall detection is generally associated with elderly, it has also been helpful for kids. For example, a child with epilepsy could be in danger of falling during a seizure. In such situations, the fall detection function could alert a parent or guardian that something has happened, even if the kid is unable to call for help.
Battery Life
Choose a smartwatch that has longer battery life, especially if your children are active and like to do outdoor activities. Most kid-friendly watches present at least one day to several days of battery endurance time.
Several smartwatches allow you to restrict data usage for streaming music, podcast or gaming. This feature is very convenient because it helps to save not only data usage but also battery life.
Endurance
Smartwatches for kids need to be water-resistant or waterproof. Children are typically active, and their smartwatches should stand firm against spills, splashes, or even immersion in water.
Communication
Check with that two-way calling is available. some smartwatches for kids have call feature, which allows them to call pre-authorized contacts. Many products also support texting or voice messages between kids and pre-permitted contacts.
Parental Monitoring
Ensure the smartwatch has a monitoring app for parents to monitor, set up apps, or limit data usage, GPS tracking, and safety settings. Some watches present step trackers and health checking features, like sleep detection, which can be enjoyable and delightful for children while encouraging healthy habits.
Entertainment
You need to encourage for your kid to wear the smartwatch, for which entertainment features are needed. Many watches contain educational games and activities that can be pleasing while learning some skills.
Usability
Select a simple, kid-friendly interface that contains big buttons, bright screens, and intuitive menu. Ensure that the watch is comfortable and adjustable to fit small wrists.
Upfront Costs and Subscription Plans
Many smartwatches demand monthly subscription fees for features such as GPS tracking, calling, and data usage. Therefore, factor this into the costs. In addition, consider a plan that suits your budget and the child’s needs.
Noteworthy Smartwatch for Kids
You can find some popular smartwatch for kids available in U.S. Every model has its strengths and merits. Please compare carefully with the criteria we have detailed above.
- 1. Verizon Gizmo Watch 3
- 2. Xplora X6
- 3. Cosmo JrTrack 3
- 4. TickTalk 5
1. Verizon Gizmo Watch 3
Gizmo Watch provides excellent GPS tracking in Verizon LTE coverage. It has improved by new processor, camera for video call, and longer battery life than its predecessor.
Strengths of Gizmo Watch 3 are excellent GPS tracking, good-looking design and usability for parents. However, it has weakness that is limited to only Verizon users. You can buy this watch at $149.99 and subscribe with $10 per month.
2. Xplora X6
Xplora X6 offers exact GPS tracing with LTE connection, safe zone feature and two-way voice calling with pre-authorized contacts. Perhaps your kids like pedometer and reward-based activities.
The model boosts physical activity by gamifying it, which is good for younger kids. Disadvantage of this watch is high price compared to rivals. You can buy at $169.99 and subscribe at $9.99~$19.99 per month, which is upper position among smartwatch for kids.
3. Cosmo JrTrack 3
Cosmo JrTrack 3 presents GPS tracking with safe zones, LTE two-way calling, and SOS emergency function. It also adopts cool colors, and comfy straps. Actually, many children may like this point of the watch.
In addition, affordable price is merit. You can buy at $129.99, which is lower than competitors. However, monthly subscription fee is not much low, it starts at $17.99 per month with 3-month plan. Of course, you can reduce it to $9.99 a month with 2-year contract.
4. TickTalk 5
TickTalk 5 offers GPS tracking with LTE connection, video & voice calling and messaging. It has the SOS button directly linked to 911. This model boasts various entertainment features like music streaming from iHeartRadio Family.
The watch provides 20+ parental monitoring function through the app. TickTalk is well know for long battery life, which can endure 100+ hours on stand-by and around 48 hours of normal usage.
Comparison Summary
These models focus on a range of needs from safety and communication to fitness and entertainment, which depends on your kid’s age and preferences. Verizon Gizmo Watch and TickTalk 5 are high-end in communication and tracking, which are essential feature for children’s smartwatch.
Top Pick: TickTalk 5
Our top pick for kids’ smartwatch is TickTalk 5 because it has all the necessary specs for kids safety and more. Let’s look the reason why it is and what it has.
- 1. Various Communication Channel
- 2. Strong Safety Functions
- 3. Entertainment
- 4. Battery Life
- 5. Endurance and Water-resistant
- 6. Parental Monitoring
- 7. Camera
1.Various Communication Channel
TickTalk supports voice, video, and text messaging with pre-authorized contacts, which gives parents various channel to stay in touch with their child. Some competitors do not have call or message function.
In U.S., 4G LTE compatibility across major carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile. Beside, the SIM card that included with the watch is from Red Pocket Mobile, enables you to use other US cellular carriers, with no contract service. So, all you have to do is selecting the carrier and activate the SIM card.
2. Strong Safety Functions
The smartwatch provides GPS tracking with real-time location sharing and geo-fencing for setting safe zones. Where, geo-fencing is a feature that parents can pre-set places not to cross through app and get notified when it really happens.
TickTalk 5 presents the SOS alert feature. The SOS button is directly linked to 911. If your kids get lost, or need help, the only thing they have to do is pressing the button.
3. Entertainment
In the US, the TickTalk 5 enables users to enjoy iHeart Radio Family, which is a wonderful for kids. By this, your kids can enjoy streaming music, podcasts, and stories. Moreover, you can set daily limits for listening, which helps make the battery life long and save data usage.
The model also provides some fitness feature like step tracking that encourage your kids to move and stay healthy.
4. Battery Life
The smartwatch boasts a tremendous 800 mAh battery, which is an upgrade from the 680 mAh from the predecessor. The company test shows 100+ hours on stand-by and an average of 48 hours with normal usage.
Yes, the battery life varies significantly in the situations. In real-world it can be shorter than the numbers disclosed by the company. However, we can say that TickTalk has high-end position compared to competitors in battery life.
5. Endurance and Water-resistant
TickTalk 5 takes solid and rugged case, which makes it hard-to-break. Featuring IP67 water-resistant that protects the watch from damage if accidentally submerged in water up to 3 feet deep. But, extended immersion, swimming, or showering can cause a risk of damage.
The water-resistant function can be helpful to escape possible drowning. There are some instances where quick warning through the smartwatch enabled rapid rescue in near-drowning situations.
6. Parental Monitoring
The watch offers over 20 parental monitoring features that allow you to manage almost everything from contacts to app usage. Parents can manage the contact list, block unknown calls, set location tracking modes, and configure 911 & SOS settings and more.
7. Camera
A front-facing 5MP camera lets kids take photos and make video calls. Children can take high-resolution selfies with family and friends, which can be also an entertaining feature.
8. Reliable Vendor
The TickTalk 5 is made by TickTalk Tech, LLC, which is an American company that specializes in producing smartwatches for kids. It is based in California and has become known for communication, GPS tracking, and other safety features.
Downsides
TickTalk’s price is on the higher end for kids’ smartwatch. However, the price is not much higher compared to market leaders. You can buy the model at $149.99. Fortunately, there are no activation or cancellation fees. Monthly plans start at just $9.99.
The watch is a bit bulky, which may not be ideal for very young or smaller kids. If you have a child who is sensitive, try changing the band with less bulky and more comfy.
Conclusion
best smartwatch for children’s safety is the main story of this post. It is hard to keep your child safe in a reality. Full safety measures are difficult to find, but smartwatch can be a useful instrument for your children.
When you buy a smartwatch for your a child, there are some important specifications and functions to consider for ensuring safety. Based on our criteria, our top pick for kids smartwatch is TickTalk 5.
The smartwatch has all the necessary specs for kids safety and more. Nice GPS tracking, voice & video calls, messaging functions available. In addition, There are full of cool features that not only children but also their parents may like. Please compare this with competitive vendors. For more information, visit TickTalk Tech’s site. Thanks for reading.