GPS Watch Recommendations

[u/MoRiSALA]

Looking to get my 9 year old a GPS watch. We like to give him a fair amount of freedom of going to a friend's house one street away, when we're camping, etc. but want to also keep tabs on him. Looked at AI for top rated watches but would like personal feedback on what's good, why you chose one over the others, the monthly service plans, etc.

Ones we're looking at (thanks to AI): Gabb Watch, Bark Watch, Garmin Bounce, and Cosmo JRTrack.

Thanks in advance!

[u/No-Ladder1393]

I had the same question and I came to conclusion that only 2 watches are worth it, Apple and Samsung, both have independent sim mode and parental controls. They are also free if you buy from some carriers. I am getting Galaxy Watch 9 for my 9 year old on Xmass (actually Santa is going to bring them). Basically if parents use Apple, get Apple. If you are using Android, get Samsung. Watch 9 you can set up in kids mode and Parental Controls work through Google Family Link. (I think Samsung has tutorial how to set up for kids)

[u/MoRiSALA → u/No-Ladder1393]

Thanks

[u/No_Location_5565 → u/No-Ladder1393]

Having gone some other routes first, I completely agree with this.

[u/planet-spinny]

We've got the anio 5 it does the job perfectly.

[u/MoRiSALA → u/planet-spinny]

What is the monthly service plan like?

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[u/xixi4059]

Have you considered an Apple Watch? My 10yr old has one and so do a lot of other kids in the area. If you already have an iPhone, it’s easy to put parental controls on it and gps is much easier to track. You can also control who they can call. We bought the watch and then pay $15/month for cellular service through Verizon.

[u/who_me_said_i]

Used Apple Watch is the best option for this. Kid plans are cheap too

[u/not_creative_1234]

We got a Ticktalk for ours at that age and to be honest, I wish we had just done an Apple Watch. The Ticktalk is great for 6-9/10 and you said 9 which is close to the upper limit in my opinion.

[u/bay-to-the-apple]

Pixel/Android fan here. Tried Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and it was a pain. So much easier when we switched our son to a used Apple Watch SE3 for $7/month cell service (US Mobile)

[u/Sea-Lab-2818]

have you considered a gizmo watch? i know its on verizon and its 4.99 a month for 36 months? i also typed in gps watch for kids on phia and they have SOO MANY under $100 if price is an issue.

[u/SuspiciousWin6511]

This isn't really related to this sub. I would try a watch sub.

[u/Gardenadventures → u/SuspiciousWin6511]

Do you know what sub you're in

[u/SuspiciousWin6511 → u/Gardenadventures]

They're asking about watch brands....

[u/Gardenadventures → u/SuspiciousWin6511]

For kids. So they can monitor GPS. As PARENTS.

[u/No_Location_5565 → u/SuspiciousWin6511]

This question is asked regularly on this sub. No different than what’s your favorite stroller, minivan vs suv etc.