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Google releases smart watch for kids

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Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#351

Post by cwalv »

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'm completely dependent on my phone to remind me of when it's time for a meeting, or sometimes even the route to get back home when I drove to the present location.

I once thought I should try harder to deal without these things. But where does it end? Should I shun electricity? I agree that should work to push the boundaries of what's comfortable/safe, but being disgusted at the idea of a kids wearing a smartwatch seems like an arbitrary point to draw the line, and even a bit hypocritical.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#352

Post by kccqzy »

pquki4 wrote: post #202
mrinterweb wrote: post #152

$230 is a bit high up-front cost for a kids watch. Compare this to something like TickTalk and it seems that TickTalk has more features. https://www.myticktalk.com/ . The design of the Google kids watch does look nicer though. TickTalk is pretty bulky and the UI is not great.

Spending $300 already on a watch is already expensive (in addition to a $500-$100 phone), and it is a relatively small market, especially for watch OS watches. $230 on a kid's watch -- potentially more than one if you have more than one kid -- is definitely for parents who have money to spare.

It's clear to me that the point of this watch is that the wearer will not have a $500–$1000 phone in addition to the watch.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#353

Post by partiallypro »

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…

Seems to me that such devices could actually help give kids -more- freedom. Let's not act like kids are outside playing like they were in the 80s/90s. Helicopter parents sort of ruined that (along with neighborhoods no longer being bikeable/walkable.) So, this kinda seems like a device that could give kids a longer leash. Parents can know they are safe/where they are while also giving the kid more freedom to just be a kid.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#354

Post by pard68 »

Foreignborn wrote: post #249
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…

This is a bit of projection. I have a child younger than yours and I feel exactly like OP. I’m really sorry about your son’s experience. Getting lost can be terrifying for a kid. But being lost happens (eg I was lost in hunting woods at 8yo), and many commenters have shared their experiences. Being scared and eventually overcoming the fear is a quintessential growing experience. Obviously there are countless caveats…

Ditto I have four kids between 8 and 1. These things keep children AND parents from growing up.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#355

Post by lolinder »

khazhoux wrote: post #346
jagged-chisel wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the important part is whether the children are affected by the tracking. Is it a big deal if they don’t have service and you can’t Find them for a couple hours? Mine are grown now, but I’ve always told them: I’m not worried about where you are, I want to know where to go when something happens and you need a rescue. I want them to have the peace of mind that, if needed, the safety net is within reach. When I…

> I think the important part is whether the children are affected by the tracking I have no reason to think they're impacted by me knowing where they are. They're confident, run around for hours, and are growing up just fine. So what if their parents can look up their location... big deal. Pushing the alarmist argument, though: should I just take away their cell phones, to give them the same experience I had growing…

> I didn't ever have even a dime for a phone booth.

Neither did I, but I knew how to place a collect call and my mom knew that if she got a collect call while I was away it was most likely me.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#356

Post by sho_hn »

stickfigure wrote: post #193
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 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 got lost in Valletta on Malta during a family trip when I was probably around 7 or 8, and it's one of my proudest and most formative memories from that period of childhood, even if it was scary as hell.

Valletta occupies a tongue of land thrust into the ocean. I got lost in the middle of the city, and had to come up with a plan for how to get back to my parents. I realized I'd probably be able to find it from the promenade as we had walked it a fair bit.

I recalled my Dad showing me the city map and pointing out the streets were on a very regular grid pattern perpendicular to the shores. So I headed down a street until I hit the shore. Then I realized I was on the wrong side, so I decided to round the entire coastline to get to the right, opposing shore. This was foiled by some sort of fenced-off military installation or something (scary!), but I was eventually able to make it to the other side by circumnavigating it. I got pretty close to our hotel when I ran into my Mom who was desperately searching for me.

My backup plan was to hover around streetside cafés looking for non-scary looking tourists speaking my language and ask them for help if it got too late.

It's so seared into my mind, I almost want to believe I'd still recognize the landmarks. I was definitely very scared and agonizing. But I've always felt very good that my plan worked and that I was able to get out of my first little crisis.

I'm not sure what the lesson of this story is. It's probably not to get your kids lost on purpose. Showing them a map of where they are and studying it together is great for sense of place and navigation, though -- make sure they know where they are at least roughly, not just that you can track them.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#357

Post by pard68 »

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…

My sister is in her twenties. About the time she was in high school these tracking apps became available. My mother used it to keep an eye on her. Fast forward almost a decade, she freaks out if my mother isn't checking in on her now. It's quite disgusting.

I am glad to be about 10 years older and have entirely missed this plague.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#358

Post by lolinder »

jagged-chisel wrote: post #341
khazhoux wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 k…

I think the important part is whether the children are affected by the tracking. Is it a big deal if they don’t have service and you can’t Find them for a couple hours? Mine are grown now, but I’ve always told them: I’m not worried about where you are, I want to know where to go when something happens and you need a rescue. I want them to have the peace of mind that, if needed, the safety net is within reach. When I…

> my parents were in reach if I was in reach of a [wired] phone

This is the biggest reason why I'm not against this tech. When I was a kid I was almost always within reach of a wired phone: at school they had a phone explicitly available for kids to use, and while out and about I was almost always in reach of a pay phone. Even if I had no cash I occasionally would call collect.

These days, the network of wired phones that I relied on is mostly gone. My kids aren't quite old enough to roam far enough for it to matter, but soon they will be, and a smart watch (with a limited set of contacts and no distracting features) currently seems like our best bet in the absence of the strong wired phone network that my parents relied on.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#359

Post by throwaway2037 »

pohuing wrote: post #176
pavel_lishin wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flip that around. My child has more freedom now, because I can let her walk further from home, unsupervised, to see if a friend can play - because she can immediately text me and let me know she's staying at the friend's house for the next few hours. She no longer has to wait for me to be ready to walk with her. She can text me if she wants to be picked up from aftercare early. Or if she wants to stay later. Or if sh…

I simply called using the landline back in the day, but I grew up in a small village in Germany where roaming the fields unsupervised was the norm.

Thank you to share. My experience (different countries) was similar to yours.

Do you know anyone who grew up in a big city in the same era? I do. They didn't experience the same type of freedoms. Their parents were much more concerned about crime/kidnapping/"the boogey man".

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#360

Post by bdd8f1df777b »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #205
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 get this, I have an uncanny memory of my youth and have clear memories of the fear that ran through me when I realized I didn't know where Mom was. However, I think this belief that humans evolved to be so sensitive to childhood trauma is incredibly over sensationalized. I'm no worse off in life despite getting lost a few times. Your kid will be fine.

> However, I think this belief that humans evolved to be so sensitive to childhood trauma is incredibly over sensationalized. I'm no worse off in life despite getting lost a few times. Your kid will be fine.

If that is true, then you cannot say that tracking your child's every step will traumatize them permanently either.

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