Ask HN: Simple emergency phone for younger kids

2 points by gehwartzen 2y ago ↗ HN

I'm looking for a fairly simple phone for my 7 year old to use in emergencies as he's gotten to the age of being allowed to explore the greater neighborhood on his own. Any recommendations for something simple and no frills? I was thinking maybe a LTE connected watch but wasn't sure if that would be more difficult to navigate.

We (his parents) are on apple devices so figured maybe an older SE model but if there's a good Android option that's fine too.

I figured for connectivity I would just stick with something pre-paid since he won't be using it often.

Thanks!

8 comments

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jaclaz 2y ago ↗

A 7 years old has normally tiny hands (and usually also small pockets), a "full size" phone might be not much handy, if it is an emergency only phone you can get any of the "feature phones" (not iOS, nor Android) that just make calls and sms.

There are el-cheapo Nokia models, as an example.

If you are going the smartphone way, there are just a handful of "right" (small) sized phones, Unihertz and Cubot come to mind.

beardyw 2y ago ↗

+1 for a simple Nokia phone. Cheap and no internet. At 7 that seems perfect.

gehwartzen 2y ago ↗

yeah that's one of my biggest concerns; it has to fit into smaller kids pockets and holdable. I'll look into a cheap Nokia to get started.

jimmytucson 2y ago ↗

Have you considered radios? I have a few Motorola Talkabout T200s and they work great for checking in when they’re riding their bike around the neighborhood.

As a bonus, it gets them into radio. “Why can’t I hear you down the block?” “Maybe there’s a thunderstorm on the way.” “Huh?”

gehwartzen 2y ago ↗

Thats a great idea! His range would be about 1.5 miles (that's how far his moms house is from mine). Is that doable over radio?

jimmytucson 2y ago ↗

For sure. With the T200, I usually get about 0.5 miles because they’re low power but a full 2-Watt radio like this should work: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-805f-mr.html

Best way to find out is buy the gear and test with your kid. Have fun!

kognate 2y ago ↗

A cellular enabled Apple Watch might be a good choice if they can wear/charge a watch. It's pretty easy to navigate and doesn't require them to have their own phone. It's pretty easy to send text messages with one, too. As for the pre-paid issue, watches are often ad-ons (in the States at least) and are (usually) not expensive.

There are also a couple of companies that sell purpose-build wearables for this, but their privacy situation is sometimes murky.

It's probably worth buying the cheapest pre-paid android phone you can and doing some test runs. When my kids were that age, battery management was the biggest issue we ran into (that and trying to explain Spam calls).

gehwartzen 2y ago ↗

Good point on starting with the cheapest option to start just to see his needs/capabilities, thanks!