Parents turn to smartwatches for their children amid global phone screen-time pushback
Children’s smartwatches allow parents to restrict app downloads, usage and calls from an approved list of contacts. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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Why are parents so desperate to track their kids? Don't they trust them?
We had a problem with our oldest not coming home on time. So we asked them, and they didn't have a way to keep track of time. So we got them a cheap Casio and the problem is solved. They love the watch, and independence, and trust.
When we give our kids a phone, it won't have any restrictions, because it means we trust them. We don't, so we're holding off. I'm unwilling to spy on them, so they'll get a phone when I trust them without filters.
Kids need trust. They don't mature without room to fuck up or succeed
Exactly! And they will screw up, so it's important to let them fail frequently while the stakes are low instead of putting it off until the stakes are high.
True. It ends up building resentment and delaying maturity
I'm already teaching mine to hide his tracks better, to only steal from companies if you have to and can get away with it, not neighbors or your avg person who worked hard for their stuff.
You seem like a great parent! I'm personally leaning towards giving them dumb phones once they have to take public transport to school, for the convenience of them being able to inform me when they miss the bus or want to have lunch at a friend's. But who knows if or when I'll even have kids, lol. Maybe things will change in that time.
Yeah, that's my take as well. When they need one, we'll start simple. If they do well with that, we'll expand to a smartphone, again, when they need it (maps and whatnot).
Right now, my kids don't need it since we take them to/from school (charter school), but the oldest will be changing schools soon to the local public school, so they may need one for after school activities. I'm not giving them something because their friends have it (theirs do), I'll give them something because they need/earned it.
I used to miss the bus all the time before having a phone. But it didn't matter; I wasn't going to be late for anything, I just had to figure out another way home, usually walking which took about 45 to an hour.
If I wanted to go to a friend's house, I'd usually just go to their house and then call using their phone.
Yeah right. I'm going to try every spy trick in the book so they learn some goddamn common sense.
And they'll just learn they can't trust you. So instead of coming to you when they have a problem, they'll go to someone else, probably online. That sounds way worse than them failing and coming to you for help.
I mean, I'm just going to do it as a dad joke, like set their background as my face so they learn to lock their device.
Lol, ok that would be funny. But if it's completely under your control, that novelty would wear off quickly and they'd quickly stop trusting you.
Changes text alert to fart noise
Good god, that makes too much sense! Away with you, we need to implant tracking devices in our offspring and I'll hear nothing else on the matter
I trust my kids. I don't trust random weirdos that hang around schools though
What are you worried those "random weirdos" are going to do? I also haven't seen those weirdos that you claim are so ubiquitous, the people who hang around schools are kids who go there.
A "random weirdo" doesn't want anything to do with your kids. If you look at the stats, the vast majority of crimes against children are from family members or close friends, as in, the people who would be texting your child on their phone/watch.
I grew up in Suburban hell but I also don't recall that being a thing that existed in my time or place, then again everything so isolated I wouldn't have noticed even if that was a thing. Don't let corporations continue to destroy our communities by selling fear
I also haven’t seen those weirdos that you claim are so ubiquitous, the people who hang around schools are kids who go there.
Well look at you, Mr. Anecdote!
Now I'm worried that you think my kids go to the same school as your kids. Or City. Or Country. Hell, even continent
If I was legitimately worried about wierdos hanging around my kids' school, I'd move them to a different school. Giving them a phone or smart watch won't fix that problem.
I get that but most people can't just move to a better neighborhood.
There is a fake moral panic about kidnapping or whatever, but some schools really are not as safe as others unfortunately, or are in more dangerous areas. People aren't usually targeting kids but they might get caught in the crossfire :/
Sure, I absolutely get that. I just don't think there's as big of an intersection between people who give their kids smartphones and smart watches and people who live in crappy areas as there is with helicopter suburban parents. I also don't see phones and smart watches as safety devices, at least for kids under 14 or so (that's when they go out on their own more).
The manufacturers of these devices lean hard into FUD targeted mostly at mostly at those who with means, as in lower middle class and up. That same group is plagued with depression and suicide, and I think the proliferation of these devices is a big part of the problem. If you don't have the latest gadget or aren't on the popular SM app 24/7, you're "left out." But itf you are, there's a good chance you'll be cyber-bullied or even targeted by criminals.
So that's why I reject the premise. In the majority of cases, smart phones and watches don't make you safer, they arguably increase risk, and they're expensive to boot.
Instead of opening my kids up to that, I prefer to be the "bad guy" and say no until my kids earn that privilege. And they earn it by showing that they'll come to us with problems, because that'll be necessary when they run into problems on these devices. If they haven't earned my trust, they can borrow a loaner phone when they need it.
The safety thing is just an excuse. The vast majority of people could move if they needed to, just look at first generation immigrants living on nothing just to afford rent in a good school district so their kids can have a better future than them. Those were my friends growing up.
We hard disagree on that last point. Some people can't move for various reasons.
I grew up without a phone, so I get the benefits of learning to be independent. I also got myself a Google voice number at a young age so I wouldn't be left out of friend groups because of not having a phone. It really is ostracizing, and back then it wasn't as bad as it is today.
I also think the safety concerns are way overblown and what some parents really want is to know their kids' locations at all times and be able to talk to them at all times. I'm not a parent so I can't judge, but that's not how I grew up, and I'm not sure it's good for kids or parents to be that connected.
I grew up without a phone
Same. All my friends had one, but my parents refused. In fact, the moment I left home, I got a phone.
And I'll probably let my kids have a phone at some point. But every morning on my way to work, I see kids glued to their phones on the way to elementary school. We live in a very safe, middle class neighborhood where the crime rate is among the lowest in the area. I let my kids ride to the grocery store, which is a half mile or so beyond the school. The sketchiest area is near the school, with some lower middle class housing where parents don't have the time or money to keep up on the yard. When I moved in, my neighbors warned me to keep my doors locked because there was a burglary a few years prior. One burglary, and was a neighborhood kid.
I've lived in a third world country where people got stabbed in front of the police station. I've talked to and made friends with people in sketchy areas. I think I know a thing or two about the struggles there, and I don't think smart phones and smart watches are what they need.
I'm not sure it’s good for kids or parents to be that connected.
Agreed. And that's my main issue, parents seem to be using "safety" as an excuseto spy on their kids. Kids need to be able to make mistakes, and that needs to happen while the stakes are low.