Goal: To help you to take the slow-tech road! You can use a step by step process for introducing tech. This is easier now than ever with so many great options! We don’t recommend giving personal devices to kids. Start with a shared family device and then you can transition into allowing more access for young teens with one of these safer devices.
Lowdown: The hardware on most of the phones/devices is very similar. Many of the phones use some version of a Samsung, and it seems to work pretty well. So, the biggest difference you’ll find is in the software, monitoring, service, and parental support.
Currently using:
Gabb Watch—used occasionally as a “home” phone and sent with our middle schooler (7th grade) on occasion. He doesn’t wear it to school. It’s just for the occasional “we need to communicate” device. It can call 10 numbers and works well for simple texting. It’s been a great simple solution for us! Use our code BST for $25 off this month!
Pinwheel Phone—used by our 15 year old. No social media and no internet browser. We’ve loved that Pinwheel lets you use your own cell service provider, and they offer a lot of helpful education on the various apps so you can decide what you want to allow.
I love getting a monthly email update with updates on our daughter’s phone use and I can check the parent portal at any time for more info. They have lots of options for setting schedules and limits if you need it! Use our code BST24 to get 10% OFF!
Past Favorites:
Gabb Phone—Our 2nd daughter used a Gabb phone until she was almost 16! It worked great for us and they have more options now, such as additional apps with the Gabb Phone 3 Pro. You can start with the starter bundle which includes just the basics and move up to the Advanced Bundle for older teens who may need a few apps for sports or school. No social media or internet browser. Use our code BST for $25 OFF!
More Options:
Bark Phone—We’ve heard mostly good things about the Bark phone, but we are still testing it. Bark has been a leader in the online safety space for many years and they provide quality resources on how to handle tricky tech situations when they arise. Their phone offers solid parental controls.
Heads Up: The phone allows more access to social media, games, etc. This could be a deal breaker either way, depending on your needs/ages of teen.
Make sure your teen is ready for this big step!
This “Am I Ready?” self-evaluation will help you to delay and help save your kids from the smartphone.
You'll be relieved to have these questions handy as your kids grow and mature from child to teen. Confidence comes with having a plan in place!
