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Apple Watch for Your Kids

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Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#11

Post by avanai »

I got one for my grade schooler and it's mostly great. She can text or call me or her mom or her grandparents (but no one else), we can know where she is, and there not too much she can play on it. It gives her a bit more freedom because she can get in touch with us to make plans or wander off out of sight but still be in touch.

I'm kind of annoyed with "schooltime" on the phone, it has a fixed (boring) watch face, it doesn't actually stop a kid from exiting schooltime, they just have to press a button and we can see if she did it in the app. It's also either on on a weekly schedule or totally off, so she has to whine at me to turn off schooltime on holidays and then it's easy to forget to turn it back on. There's also no provision for multiple family members to manage kid watches. I set up her watch so my wife can't also manage it. Also, there's no way for me to install apps. I'd really like to install Home Assistant on her watch so she can unlock doors, but...I can't. Can't be done.

Overall I'd say they built out a nice system for a while and then...stopped. I bet there's a PM at Apple that had the rest of the features all ready to go and then got moved off onto the Vision Pro or something. Every now and then they're talking to their old teammate and they sigh about what it could have been. I'll buy them a beer sometime.

Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#12

Post by m2f2 »

250 bucks. For an 8 yo. Meh.

I see, either everything one here goes to preppy schools, in a perfect Montessori world, vs others working three jobs to pay mortgage and 2 cars.

And the solution is apple watch.

Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#13

Post by jmorenoamor »

agnishom wrote: post #10

The response to "Where's Erica?" should not be to put a tracking wristband on Erica. Perhaps you won't know where Erica is. Perhaps she is doing something dangerous. The oblivion and ambiguity are part of what constitutes acknowledging Erica's personhood.

This is crucial, and at the same time difficult now that I am a parent. Part of my childhood was stretching limits, going past that street because there was a cool shop or place I wanted to see, returning home one or two hours later that I should have because I was having fun.

Now I try to avoid the temptation of control, I have the tools and the skills to easily do it, and it's a daily struggle to say "let them go"

Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#16

Post by lurking_swe »

agnishom wrote: post #10

The response to "Where's Erica?" should not be to put a tracking wristband on Erica. Perhaps you won't know where Erica is. Perhaps she is doing something dangerous. The oblivion and ambiguity are part of what constitutes acknowledging Erica's personhood.

nitpick: the “where is erica?” is a catchy title for the feature being showcased - which is actually a notification that your child made it to school safely. Look at the screenshot closely (i don’t think you did). That’s a genuinely useful feature.

Anyway I agree with you in general! But don’t forget that everyone has a different relationship with their kids and each kid is different. Believe it or not, not every teenager goes through a rebellious phase. some kids might actually appreciate a watch like this because mom and dad will pester them less and be less anxious in general.

Of course the main issue is the person purchasing the watch is the parent, and some parents don’t really respect their children’s feelings. It can definitely be a problem so I hear what you’re saying. It can be used in a way that takes away their freedom. That’s not cool.

another consideration: this device can be a bridge from a dumb phone to a smart-ish device, a device that’s not an actual smart phone.

Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#18

Post by cl3misch »

lurking_swe wrote: post #16
agnishom wrote: post #10

The response to "Where's Erica?" should not be to put a tracking wristband on Erica. Perhaps you won't know where Erica is. Perhaps she is doing something dangerous. The oblivion and ambiguity are part of what constitutes acknowledging Erica's personhood.

nitpick: the “where is erica?” is a catchy title for the feature being showcased - which is actually a notification that your child made it to school safely. Look at the screenshot closely (i don’t think you did). That’s a genuinely useful feature. Anyway I agree with you in general! But don’t forget that everyone has a different relationship with their kids and each kid is different. Believe it or not, not every tee…

> this device can be a bridge from a dumb phone to a smart-ish device, a device that’s not an actual smart phone

What do you mean exactly? Is it really a "bridge from/to" or rather a "compromise between"?

Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#19

Post by branon »

I'd be concerned a kid would lose this. Sure it's got Find My but that only tells you where it's at, doesn't guarantee retrieveability.

Also do you need an iPhone to manage the kid's Apple Watch or can you do this with a PC (web UI somewhere? apple.com?) or Android device etc? This is very important, if they're billing it as a safety device for kids, interacting with/reading data from the safety device should NOT require a _specific model_ of separate device. I should be able to do it from anywhere.

Re: Apple Watch for Your Kids

#20

Post by etempleton »

I think some people are missing the point here. There is an age where it makes sense to get your kid some kind of connectivity device, but you don’t want to get them a smart phone so you either get them an over priced dumb phone or kids phone or you could get them the Apple Watch. It allows them to call you for pickup and maybe text a few friends, but is inconvenient enough they won’t sit and stare at it all day.
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