Best GPS capable device for my children?

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Best GPS capable device for my children?

boland

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#289669 21-Sep-2021 14:14

As a parent who is sometimes worried about my 6 & 8 yo daughters, I'd like to buy them a device, to be able to track them via GPS and also to give them the ability to contact us if need be. Have been searching through NZ websites, and found the Spark Spacetalk, but this comes at a pretty expensive $27.50-$31 per month. I just want to buy a GPS enabled smartwatch with a prepaid sim.

There are a couple of web shops that sell smartwatches, but they are all unknown Chinese brands. So I also checked AX, and this watch seems pretty decent: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001446267941.html Cheaper than the counterpart available in NZ.

But I'd perhaps rather buy a respectable brand in NZ.

Any tips?

nzkc

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#2781699 21-Sep-2021 14:34

A couple of years ago I looked into this for my children (now 10 + 12). To be honest I came to the conclusion I might as well get them cheap phones. Actually used a couple of older hand me downs. More recently bought them both some lower end Oppo android phones (that were surprisingly performant!)

Set up the location sharing in Google Maps and ensured they knew how to call us if needed. We use 2d and make use of the data sharing feature on a single monthly plan + a couple of $9 (I think the min is now $10) pre pay plans. That way they have enough data if they need it (which is rare).

I'd do the same again in your shoes.

Ensured our children understood that the phones come with a "contract":

Only to be used for approved activities (that the parents set)
The parents can ask for and inspect the phones whenever they like (and we do this randomly)
Nothing is to be hidden on the phones - if we find anything we cant access they dont get the phone back till we can see it
etc

wellygary

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#2781702 21-Sep-2021 14:40

An airtag would be prefect for the first part of your requirements , but apparently they beep when they are away from your phone ( and hence lost) , so would become a bit of a pain...

if you require communication with them then you've pretty much gotta go the phone or expensive watch route,

timmmay

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#2781714 21-Sep-2021 15:01

A phone is probably the easiest way to go.

Life360 is a useful app to share locations between family members, works on every Android I've tried. *Much* better than Google Maps.

boland

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#2781717 21-Sep-2021 15:04

Thanks everyone. Think a smartphone is the best option yes.

I'm avoiding Google for location history for privacy reasons. Microsoft Family Safety seems like a good alternative as well, we can also use it to control their access to Microsoft devices (PC, Laptop, Xbox).

davidcole

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#2781740 21-Sep-2021 15:39

We've done the same with Mr 12, he's got an old iphone of mine. I have location sharing with our family (from the parent phone you can request his location if it hasn't automatically updated)., and can control apps he wants to download via Ask to buy,

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duckDecoy

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#2850949 14-Jan-2022 17:43

We've been looking at watches for my 10yo but people in this thread mentioned a better bet is a cheap android phone with certain apps.

What do people recommend? I have never used android so don't know much about this area. I assume the idea is to get a prepay or something that has little data so all my son can really do will be call us, and we can monitor his contact list.

Pretty much want:

- he can call a select list of people, and we can call him

- GPS location so we know where he is.

What do people recommend?

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dt

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#2851030 14-Jan-2022 21:17

must be that time of year as we have just done the same thing with our son this week, we really didn't want him to have a cell phone though due to size or he might lost it and didn't want to run the risk of him being glued to it.. after many hours of research and weighing up pro's and cons of everything available in nz (in terms of smart watches) we had to bite the bullet (along with the boy kicking in all his xmas money) and go for an apple watch SE GPS+cellular on a $12.99 "One Number" plan with spark.

Both the wife and I have iphones and ipads and it integrates very nicely together.

In the end we wanted a hassle free device that just worked with no risk of the service going away anytime soon, so apart from the price, no regrets - works perfectly and he can listen to his music on spotify as well which he think's is very neat!

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2851046 14-Jan-2022 22:57

Google Family.

Install the app on the child's phone, you have it also on yours. Through the app, you can see where the children are and also set time limits and bedtime.

I have it on my kids phone's (we're all Android), and it's great.

psychrn

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#2851069 15-Jan-2022 07:31

WyleECoyoteNZ:

Google Family.

Install the app on the child's phone, you have it also on yours. Through the app, you can see where the children are and also set time limits and bedtime.

I have it on my kids phone's (we're all Android), and it's great.

Just checked this doesn't seen to have a good opinion level. Locking up etc

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jonathan18

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#2851075 15-Jan-2022 08:08

We’ve been using Family Link for a number of years, and it’s pretty good, actually. Can sometimes be frustrating, but certainly worth it. Locks the phones at a specific time of day as well as hours used, though any particular app can be set to override this (ie be available at all times); specific apps can be time limited or blocked; automatic tracking of location (shows in Google Maps); works on Chromebooks as well as Android devices… Enough controls and the ability to manage them so it’s useful for kids across a wide range of ages - frankly, it’s even more useful to manage my 14 YO’s phone than the younger one’s.