Your child desires a cellphone? Contemplate this cute, trackable smartwatch as a substitute

My oldest little one is a kindergartner, so I can not say the considered getting her a cellphone is one I lose sleep over — but. But I used to be stunned when she got here to me just lately and requested if she might get a cellphone for her seventh birthday. 

While we agreed to attend till she’s older for a cellphone, we additionally determined to let her check out Xplora’s new XGO3 and see if the smartwatch was a possible placeholder.

Immediately, she felt empowered by the truth that she had her personal “cellphone” and commenced calling and sending my husband and me textual content messages, even when we had been simply two ft away! 

She cherished the sense of independence that having her personal cellphone quantity gave her, even when the facility finally went to her head, as evidenced by all of the voice messages she’d ship of her simply saying “poopy”.

The XGO3 is essentially the most inexpensive mannequin of Xplora’s child’s smartwatch lineup at $130, and it’s accessible with a reduction every so often. While the bigger X6Play is the newer of the 2, the XGO3 is best suited to youthful youngsters and has simply as many quintessential options you’d need out of a smartphone: Mobile connectivity, voice and textual content messaging, real-time GPS monitoring, college modes, security zones, and an SOS operate to achieve you within the occasion of an emergency.

Also: The 6 finest smartwatches for teenagers

It is available in 5 totally different colours in your infant to decide on between, and in addition options some useful widgets for them to make use of, like a step counter, stopwatch, calculator, alarm, digicam, and emojis.

Parental controls & subscription

As a mother or father, although, I really like that this introduction to a smartphone is completely locked down. The XGO3 wants a SIM card with a cell plan to work, and in the event you purchase it via Xplora’s web site, a SIM will come included with the watch, so you’ll be able to then join considered one of its personal information plans. But irrespective of who will get your child’s cellphone quantity, they cannot contact them except you, as a guardian, add their contact info within the Xplora app. It’s a small element that makes a giant distinction.

Once you activate the XGO3, you must pair it along with your cellphone within the Xplora app, which is the place you can ship your little one textual content messages, pictures, emojis, voice messages, and entry their location and settings. You can name them out of your cellphone as you’ll to anybody else, however messages are restricted to the Xplora app.

While youngsters can ship you footage, emojis, and voice messages, I did not like the truth that textual content messages coming from them had been restricted to pre-written phrases, like “Love you!” or “Be dwelling quickly”. They cannot kind in their very own messages. The solely time a digital keyboard seems on the watch is if you’re getting into the Wi-Fi password. I want you could possibly, on the very least, add in or edit the message templates via the Xplora app.

Also: How to make use of YouTube Kids’ display screen restrict characteristic

Lastly, there is a “School Mode” that you would be able to schedule via the app which locks the smartwatch in order that solely the SOS characteristic is accessible throughout your kid’s college hours.

Location monitoring

When my husband and I first determined to ship our oldest to preschool, we had been hit with the uncertainty of sending our firstborn into the open world with out us bodily being there together with her. We had by no means despatched her to a daycare middle or to go tenting, so the concept of GPS monitoring was one thing we knew we wanted going into the primary day of college. 

Also: The 5 finest tablets for teenagers 

From my testing, the GPS monitoring within the XGO3 is dependable, particularly as a result of I can arrange particular security zones inside the Xplora app, like for dwelling and faculty, and be notified when my little one leaves these areas. The app additionally exhibits historic monitoring information, which is useful when you might want to recall previous actions. The XGO3 provides me peace of thoughts, figuring out my daughter is the place she must be. 

Gamifying well being and health

Xplora’s barebones method to cell units signifies that there are not any video games or web entry within the XGO3, although you’ll be able to earn playtime the extra steps you stroll. The smartwatch encourages bodily motion, with a built-in pedometer that tracks the kid’s steps and rewards them for hitting milestones. For each 1,000 steps, the person earns an Xcoin, redeemable for video games within the Xplora app, which might then be performed on a smartphone or pill. It’s a sensible strategy to gamify well being and health.

Bottom line

The Xplora XGO3 is a good start line for anybody trying to preserve their little one within the loop as they step out of the house. Compared to the Apple Watch SE, a smartwatch dad and mom generally get for his or her youngsters, the XGO3 is best suited to youthful youngsters and fogeys who need extra management over what they’ve entry to. It’s a easy gadget that children take pleasure in and fogeys can depend on, and it has been excellent for my six-year-old. That is till she’s sufficiently old to take care of an precise smartphone.

There are drawbacks, after all, like the truth that you’ll be able to’t edit the predetermined textual content responses and the truth that Xplora considers a 42mm watch kid-sized. But the advantages outweigh the negatives for me, and I’ll proceed to benefit from the real-time location monitoring, the way in which my child’s face lights up when she will get a textual content from her dad, and naturally, the “poopy” voice messages.