Gabb watch and freedom

[Anonymous]

At what age would you potentially give your child a gab watch. Let them have more freedom within a neighborhood of friends?

Currently we let our guy play in our yard anytime. 98% of the time this is with his little brother. When he had a best friend 4 houses down, I would let him walk there alone.

He’s 9. And I’m wondering about more freedom in the neighborhood. Is now the time or not yet?

[Anonymous]

FYI we are not in dc. That would make a difference.

I have rules he doesn’t leave our property without asking. But we have a nearby cul de sac and some neighborhood friends.

[Anonymous]

I just got my 9yo dd a Gizmo watch. So far so good.

[Anonymous]

It's fine, but unnecessary. A watch is not going to protect your child from the biggest danger: getting hit by a car.
If your child can be trusted to cross streets safely, and you have contact information for his friends parents/caregivers he should be able to safely go to friends around the neighborhood, staying within an approved radius.

[Anonymous]

My 10yo has a gizmo and he likes it. In retrospect, it is not strictly necessary. I can tell him to come home from the neighbor kid's house but I also could text the neighbor kid's mom.

[Anonymous]

My kids had that freedom at 9ish but no device until 12 in our house. I had the freedom to wander my whole neighborhood at 6 or 7 and I did not have a phone until late college.

[Anonymous]

Getting my 8 year old a gizmo for the same reasons. I like the peace of mind to let him ride his bike a little farther or meet up with friends after school and i know where he is. Also I dont like sitting through his sports practices so with the watch I can drop him an he can use the watch to contact us if something comes up.

[Anonymous]

My kid can wander the neighborhood at nine but no watch. The watch would help my anxiety but I don’t actually need to know whether he is at Larla or Larlo’s house, and I don’t want to make him handle my anxiety.

If I need him to come home earlier than anticipated, I just text the 3-4 families he is most likely to be with and ask them to send them home if he is in their house. This is normal in our neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

FYI, we have a Gabb watch and the GPS is so-so and kind of laggy. Like if you were trying to track him to see when he got to a certain location. It's not on par with say, an Apple watch.