Kids Suitable 4G Watch Suggestions?

SBOB on 05/07/2025 - 14:18

Looking for any recommendations from parents that might have used one for their kids.

Happily let out primary school aged kid ride around our area and visit his friends, but there's been occassions where being able to locate him would have been handy

Giving him an old hand me-down phone is one option, but it's more likely to just get left somewhere he isn't, so the idea of a watch seemed a possible option

So, anyone given their kids a watch that can support basic phone calls and location info?

Only needed weekends so things like battery life likely not that big a deal, but would be good if it was Sim unlocked so could use whatever random cheapest Sim deal we find.

Any (non judgmental parenting) tips or suggestions welcome :)

Mobile Smartwatch

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2025 - 15:08
    -2

    https://definewatches.com.au/shop/alexander-shorokhoff/kandy…
    Made in Germany justifies the price!

  • scrimshaw on 05/07/2025 - 16:02
    +4

    Just be careful not to buy the Moochies branded watches, which was at one point being sold in many brick and mortar stores like TGG/ JB Hi-Fi.

    the company is in liquidation but there are still some sellers trying to clear off their stock.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-16/moochies-smartwatch-c…

    In short:
    The company behind Moochies smart watches is in liquidation, but the devices are still being sold through several retailers.

    The ABC has spoken with parents who have had devices list their child's location as in the middle of the ocean, been unable to load account pages or had incorrect charges for SIM plans.

    Spacetalk is also another major player in the market but beware that their plans start at $20 a month, which is needed for phone functionality. Reviews are mixed on Amazon
    https://www.amazon.com.au/Spacetalk-Smartwatch-Children-Loca…
    https://au.trustpilot.com/review/spacetalkwatch.com

    • SBOB on 05/07/2025 - 16:11

      Thanks for the info, first one definitely not on the list.
      The spacetalk gets mentioned and the plans aren't that 'crazy' $ for the 6 or 12 mth ones but definitely a $ to account for

      • twobit on 07/07/2025 - 01:28

        We have 2x space talks for the kids. Got them 30% off at bigw a while back. You can run any sim and pay around $7pm for the spacetalk app.

        We have their sims, got them at 50% off.

        Nice to block numbers and we get a copt of any unwanted message.

        Battery only lasts about 8 hours though.

  • omguleh on 05/07/2025 - 19:24

    https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/pixbee-pro-kids-4g-video-…

    Use your own sim. We had the non pro version, software is a bit laggy but does work. Stopped using ours as the battery started to swell. Using our spare Apple Watch SE at the moment.

  • tenpercent on 05/07/2025 - 19:59

    but there's been occassions where being able to locate him would have been handy

    Giving him an old hand me-down phone is one option, but it's more likely to just get left somewhere he isn't, so the idea of a watch seemed a possible option

    Kids have opposable thumbs so they can take watches off.
    There are some places you can get gps chips injected (which can't be easily removed by little fingers). Vets have been doing it (albeit with rfid chips) for decades.
    Alternatively you could get them to 'take' (like a tablet) an Apple air tag (or generic knock off - heaps of options on Aliexpress - much cheaper) before heading out.

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 06/07/2025 - 00:31

      So where do you stick the air tag?

      • Muppet Detector on 06/07/2025 - 01:56

        Swallow it. Like the tablet they're taking…

  • Melbourne Matt on 06/07/2025 - 07:30
    +1

    Our 11yo has the Kidsoclock — https://kidsoclock.com.au/ — (the cheapest model, whatever it’s called) been using it since the start of the year. It is SIM locked to their plans, but it’s only $9.99/28 days which is not too outrageous. (I also looked at the spacetalk but that would have been more expensive as I think it had some ongoing app fee as well as the SIM cost).

    Watch does calls and basic SMS and has a camera. We have it locked down so it can only do calls to/from numbers we approve in the app. The location stuff can be hit and miss—you have to request the location via the app and sometimes it counts down a full minute and still shows the watch somewhere you know it is not. It usually gets it by the second go…

    Battery lasts at least a day so we just charge every night.

    I’m not sure any of the kids watches are that great tbh, but from the research I did this one seemed the least bad.

    • tz001 on 06/07/2025 - 09:24

      We had one of these. They are NOT Sim locked. You're right that they are the least worst option. However the IP67 thing is total BS, ours got dunked in a rockpool for 3 seconds and died. Manufacturer won't cover it.
      I note that Garmin have now released one, but data service looked expensive from what I recall.

      • Melbourne Matt on 06/07/2025 - 14:45

        Oh really, that’s interesting—I never actually tried a different provider SIM, was just going off the instructions which heavily implied it was locked to only their plans in Australia. And I thought I read something online in some reviews about people being prompted for a network unlock code when they tried to use other SIMs. I’ll have to give it a go. Thanks!

      • twobit on 07/07/2025 - 01:30

        Honestly about the same as other brands for watch sims.

        https://www.garmin.com/en-AU/p/779781/pn/010-02000-SU/

    • SBOB on 08/07/2025 - 18:51

      Thanks
      Ended up picking up one of these via amazon during a current sale

  • happykamper on 06/07/2025 - 08:41
    +1

    https://tinyurl.com/267ytcsv

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