Apple Watch can adorn many roles in your life. It is one device that I have found to be the most versatile, no matter what phase of life I’m in.
With a myriad of uses, the Apple Watch can be especially useful for the safety of your kids and knowing about their whereabouts.
However, we could argue that the distractions it comes with could make it not worth the price tag. Let me take you through the pros and cons of having an Apple Watch for your kids.
The Pros of having an Apple Watch for your kids
There’s no argument that the Apple Watch is a really great way to keep tabs on your kids, here’s everything the Apple Watch will offer for your kids:
Messages and Calls
Since the Apple Watch set up for family is only available on Cellular versions of the Apple Watch, you won’t need to give your kids a phone that involves a bunch of other distractions. They can easily call and text you to update you throughout the day.
You can also add certain contacts to your kid’s watches for easy reach and limit who they can contact, which is essential for securing against spam calls. The kids can also add their own contacts or dial a number using the number pad on the phone app.
Walkie Talkie
Walkie-talkie is a fun way for parents to keep in touch with their kids without having to make calls. It also gives the kids a spy kids feel and makes the check-ins more interesting.
Schooltime
A feature of the Apple Watch that enables your kids to use their Apple Watch without it’s distractions and with just a basic watch face. This feature, when enabled and disabled, also notifies the parents on their iPhones.
Kids can also turn the Digital Crown to override this feature when making a call or texting, and it goes back to Schooltime when the watch times out. Even this gesture will notify the parents that the feature has been turned off.
Set Up Geo-Fencing
The Apple Watch for Kids setup also allows for geo-fencing, which means setting up a zone around a particular location. Parents will be notified when the watch moves in and out of that particular area. This is useful for setting up around their frequent locations, such as their school.
Find My people
One of the most obvious and useful advantages of having an Apple Watch for your kids is to track them. Not to be a helicopter parent, but to have peace of mind about the whereabouts of your kids is a blessing.
Keep track of your kid’s activity
Similar to receiving their sleep data, you will also have access to their activity throughout the day. This will also help you inculcate a habit of playing outside in a world where everyone, from kids to adults, is stuck to a screen. However, you will only receive the number of minutes of their movement and not the active calories for kids under the age of 13.
Track Health data
The Health app creates a new sub-profile wherein the heart rate data of your family members is shared. Now, it might not be completely required for your kids. However, it will prove to be necessary for an elderly member of the family. Additionally, you can also set the handwashing timer to encourage good hygienic habits.
Fall Detection and Emergency SOS
The Emergency SOS feature allows kids to call for help quickly in an emergency. This is a safety feature that is essential for parents to ensure that their kids have somewhere to call if they are stuck in an unfortunate situation. If the Apple Watch detects a fall, it will automatically alert the emergency contacts and the emergency services.
Monitor Screentime and Limit Usage
Parents can also set a daily screen time allowance for kids to limit their consumption of electronic content.
Set Restrictions
Setting parental controls and restrictions for explicit content and apps is also a great feature of the Apple Watch for your kids. This keeps their content age-appropriate and safe.
Family Cash Sharing
Family Setup supports Apple Cash, wherein parents can send an amount to their kids in case they need to pay for lunch or transport. Funds are sent via the Apple Cash card on the iPhone lined to the Apple Watch via a text message and used with the Tap to Pay gesture. Parents will also be notified when and where the money is spent, limit the people to who the kids can send money, remotely lock the use of Apple Cash card on the kids’ Watch, and see a statement of transactions made on the Watch via the Wallet app on their iPhones.
Cheaper plan as compared to a phone
A cellular plan for an Apple Watch starts at around $10 a month as opposed to a cellular plan for an iPhone that starts at around $40, making the Apple Watch a cheaper option.
The Drawbacks of Having an Apple Watch for Your Kids
Battery Life
The battery life is a drawback for any Apple Watch user, and the same goes for when it is used by your kids. Now, I don’t expect kids to be responsible for charging their watches regularly, which is why it is an added device the parents need to make sure is fully charged at all times. Because if the battery of your kids’ Apple Watch dies mid-day, it defeats its whole purpose.
Family Cash Sharing
Since the Apple Cash card on the Apple Watch works with a tap-to-pay gesture, the kids can be mistaken and use it in the wrong places. I would advise only setting up this feature for teenagers as opposed to little kids.
Limited Health Data
The limitations of the health sharing are that irregular heart rhythm notifications, cycle tracking, EKG, sleep tracking, and blood oxygen are not available under Family Setup. The high and low heart rate notifications are not available for kids under 13 years of age, and fall detection is only for kids above 18 years of age.
They Might Not Like It
I don’t know much about kids, but I do have a niece, so I can vouch for the fact that their attention span is shorter than a TikTok video, and they get bored pretty easily. So, having them adapt to the Apple Watch for a longer period of time might be a bit of a struggle.
Lucky for you, this can be resolved with the multiple Watch faces with characters like Minnie Mouse and Buzz Lightyear that keep kids entertained.
Which Apple Watch Model Is Perfect For Your Kids?
With the pros outweighing the cons, the Apple Watch is something I sure would consider getting for my kids. Considering the Family Setup will only work with the Cellular model, the cost of which starts at $299, which is more than the GPS model. I recommend getting an Apple Watch SE in Cellular + GPS since it is the cheapest version available currently with all essential features.
Wrap Up
Since you’re going to set this up for your kids, a relatively lower-priced version will be more practical since kids are rough with their gadgets while playing around. All in all, after studying the advantages, I think it’s worth having an Apple Watch for your kids. It is the perfect buffer for when your kids are too young to have a phone but are asking for one.
