Apple Watch for 4th grader going to CES?

[Anonymous]

To this point, we’ve lived walking distance to school. With DD going to the CES next year, she’ll have a decent bus ride. I’m considering getting her an Apple Watch to use in case she misses the bus or needs to stay after school for some reason and to track her on the bus. I know there’s a no device policy so it would need to be in her bag during the day but is this overkill? Anyone else get a watch for their 4th grader?

[Anonymous]

Not needed and in my view not appropriate at that age. Make sure she knows your phone number. If she needs to unexpectedly stay late, she can call you from the main office.

[Anonymous]

We did this for my daughter when she went to the ces program in 4th grade and I’m so glad we did. Her bus ride was an hour and we had to meet her at the stop so it was nice that she could let us know if the bus was running early or late. Most of her ces friends had/have smart watches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did this for my daughter when she went to the ces program in 4th grade and I’m so glad we did. Her bus ride was an hour and we had to meet her at the stop so it was nice that she could let us know if the bus was running early or late. Most of her ces friends had/have smart watches.

Smartwatch not needed for that. Just put an AirTag on the backpack and you can see where the student is.

[Anonymous]

I would that or a gizmo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did this for my daughter when she went to the ces program in 4th grade and I’m so glad we did. Her bus ride was an hour and we had to meet her at the stop so it was nice that she could let us know if the bus was running early or late. Most of her ces friends had/have smart watches.

Smartwatch not needed for that. Just put an AirTag on the backpack and you can see where the student is.

If you’re going to tag her like that, might as well get her the watch. With the watch, you can text/call each others in emergencies.

[Anonymous]

We just got one for my 6th grader but she is able to keep it on and in school time mode during the day. I will say that the tracking and parental controls just kind of suck so I feel like I've wasted money in that regard.

If I were in your situation, I'd probably just get my kid a Mint Mobile "dumb phone" to keep in her backpack for emergencies.

[Anonymous]

apple watches are terrible as a first watch / phone - no ability for parents to monitor texts etc. I'd get a bark watch or wait for the pinwheel watch, which should be out soon

[Anonymous]

pinwheel phone is also a decent option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To this point, we’ve lived walking distance to school. With DD going to the CES next year, she’ll have a decent bus ride. I’m considering getting her an Apple Watch to use in case she misses the bus or needs to stay after school for some reason and to track her on the bus. I know there’s a no device policy so it would need to be in her bag during the day but is this overkill? Anyone else get a watch for their 4th grader?

I did this like 5+ years ago when my kid was in CES. The watch has a downtime setting, so it is just a dumb watch during school hours. They can wear it. After school, they can use it to call or text you. In an emergency, they can always call you. You also always have the ability to track.

[Anonymous]

Airtag on the backpack would be way cheaper and more in line with school rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:apple watches are terrible as a first watch / phone - no ability for parents to monitor texts etc. I'd get a bark watch or wait for the pinwheel watch, which should be out soon

+1. Or AirTag the kid’s backpack or shoes. Apple Watches are distracting and clunky to text with-my kid had an elementary school teacher who didn’t allow them in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Doesn’t an AirTag require actively tracking the kid? Who has time for that? I’d prefer her to have the ability to text me if something is up. I’ll look into the pinwheel phone…

[Anonymous]

Apple Watches have caused SO MUCH drama in my kid’s fourth and fifth grade classes. Please don’t - the kids do all the texting/memes/group chat nonsense that they are way too young to handle.

Please don’t. It won’t fix your anxiety and will cause huge social problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To this point, we’ve lived walking distance to school. With DD going to the CES next year, she’ll have a decent bus ride. I’m considering getting her an Apple Watch to use in case she misses the bus or needs to stay after school for some reason and to track her on the bus. I know there’s a no device policy so it would need to be in her bag during the day but is this overkill? Anyone else get a watch for their 4th grader?

I did this like 5+ years ago when my kid was in CES. The watch has a downtime setting, so it is just a dumb watch during school hours. They can wear it. After school, they can use it to call or text you. In an emergency, they can always call you. You also always have the ability to track.

As we realize how terrible devices are for kids, the pendulum is swinging away from what we did nearly a decade ago.