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Google releases smart watch for kids

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Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#311

Post by SteeCee »

thinkingkong wrote: post #209
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…

Its weird the types of sacrifices we expect kids to make with regards to survival. Like when a school shooting happens we wouldnt event consider banning assault rifles. Those kids dont survive. But if having a tracker on your kid marginally increases their chance for survival in the rarest of circumstances it’s totally out of the question to not have it.

Why should law-abiding citizens have to give up their right to defend themselves because criminals commit crimes?

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#312

Post by dotBen »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…

No, cars didn't have seat belts for a long time - generations of people drove without them. When they introduced them a lot of people complained. Now you would have to be an idiot to argue against seat belts.

"Kids" is a very broad term - I don't think tracking older teenagers is appropriate but tracking a toddler (prob too young for this) through to teens is perfectly reasonable. Many people track their partners, family, etc via Apple and Google sharing locations.

It's not that kids need less tech, it's that they need less screen time. Arguably this watch isn't screen time.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#313

Post by IncreasePosts »

daedrdev wrote: post #299
sangupta wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly what I came to say. I need something for my daughter to connect with and/or track her while playing with her friends outside. It is difficult to always be on her lookout, and any other watch tracks them more. I need control to see who they are talking to, chatting with, what apps they use, and controlling screen time. Few kids in her class are already on IG/Tiktok courtesy their elder siblings and I do not wa…

> I need control to see who they are talking to, chatting with, what apps they use, and controlling screen time. I'm just some random on the internet, but this rubs me the wrong way. Trust is important in relationships, and this doesn't show any trust. Some of this is perfectly fine, but tracking their chatting is an invasion of privacy unless you have a specific reason to be worried.

Presumably OP is talking about a younger kid, and not his 17 year old. It has nothing to do with trust of your child, and has everything to do with not trusting other people to do what is best for your child and not try to take advantage of them. To put it another way, I doubt OP is concerned that his kid is going to go hunt down a pedophile and then have sex with them. He is probably more concerned that a pedophile might try to hunt down his kid and then have sex with them.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#314

Post by godelski »

GuB-42 wrote: post #298
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…

But it can be seen the other way. Tracking can give kids more freedom, because you can let them roam where they could get lost. For example, you can take them on vacation in a safe but unfamiliar place and let them do as they want. If they get lost, just use the tracker to find them. You don't even need to go for them immediately, you can let them try to figure it out by themselves and only go if it becomes really pr…

As a kid my parents put me in Boy Scouts. Guess what was a frequent occurrence? Sending pairs of kids out to go do tasks like collecting firewood. Every once in awhile kids would get "lost" (not know where they are but not actually far away or in any reasonable danger). This even happened to me more than once. But being lost and figuring it out was necessary to learn the skills of how to navigate. today I have a very good sense of direction and this is not common among my peers.

I think while this sounds like a good idea, it actually hinders the learning process. Struggling is necessary in the learning experience, but you just don't want too much struggle (there's a balance). I think if your kids are old enough that you're comfortable letting them navigate an area on their own, they are old enough to "fend for themselves" in this way. Just make sure they have your phone number and know the name of the hotel or some clear landmark (even in a foreign land you can often stumble about your confusion and say a landmark and people will be able to give you directions. Most of the time).

I think it is better for both the kids and parents. Kids need to learn independence, parents need to learn to trust their kids and that they can be independent (that is the goal after all, right?). I know it is hard as a parent but that is something that needs to be learned too, for the betterment of kids.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#315

Post by IncreasePosts »

Barrin92 wrote: post #309
stickfigure wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can only guess you (and most of the other naysayers in this thread) don't have young children. My wife and I have been looking for something exactly like this for our 6yo. I lost him on a ski slope once over a year ago and I think he's still traumatized. He recently was afraid of going on a class trip because he was afraid of getting lost. This isn't for teenagers. It's for kids that are still attached to mama/papa…

>I can only guess you (and most of the other naysayers in this thread) don't have young children. or they don't hail from a culture where helicopter parenting has become the norm. Here in Germany tracking your kids like this would be widely seen as completely bizarre. There's a great Japanese TV show, called Old Enough , (that has been running for 30 years, long before smartphones existed), where kids as young as 2 a…

The show only exists because the parents accept that their kid is safe due to the camera crew. There's a reason they don't just strap a gopro to the 2 year old and plop them on a bus, and you will not see 2-4 year olds by themselves in Japan, or almost any nation.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#316

Post by khazhoux »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…

> This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times.

This topic is always so alarmist. I have kids and a spouse. We all have Find My and Location Sharing on our phones. I don't FrEaK oUt that my kids are going to die if I'm not tracking their every movement. But it's nice to glance at Find My app and see if the kids are still hanging out at Starbucks or they got to school on time. It's convenient to see which corner of the park they're at when I need to go pick them up. I can see if my wife's still at Whole Foods and send her a message to pick up baru nuts. They can see if I'm still at work or headed home.

This idea of helicopter parents vs free-range glory is a false dichotomy.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#317

Post by demosthanos »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…

I agree with you in principle, but in practice the number of parents who let their kids do things independently is vanishingly small, and the absence of other parents who let their kids roam is a real danger to those of us who do.

If a smart watch makes more parents comfortable letting their pre-teen kids outside of the house alone, that's a net win for everyone over the status quo where those kids are physically chaperoned 24/7.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#319

Post by bilsbie »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #62
wmf wrote: post #3

Smartwatches may be an overlooked answer to the kid phone conundrum. Watches have the communication and location tracking that parents demand without the distraction of phones.

My watch changed my relationship with my phone very positively, so I offered to get my kids watches as a phone alternative. Not that they couldn't have phones at all, but they'd leave them at home when going on, and not carry them in their pockets around the house. They declined because they think watches are lame and nerdy. Only the most unfortunate kids get watches. They still can't carry them around the house, but…

How did your relationship To your phone change?

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#320

Post by bilsbie »

sharadov wrote: post #97
wmf wrote: post #3

Smartwatches may be an overlooked answer to the kid phone conundrum. Watches have the communication and location tracking that parents demand without the distraction of phones.

I got an Apple watch for my 11-year-old for precisely this reason - he can text, call, and play some games on it. Subscription to cellular is $10/month. And it let me set parental controls on it. No way was I getting him a phone, it's already way too distracting with the other devices he has access to at home.

What carrier is $10?
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