Though I mostly blog about places we visit or food we eat, I have decided to dedicate a full post to the topic of phones for my kids. Smart phones
, to be more exact!
My kids are 11 and 9, and according to both of them, they are the only kids in their classes who don't have a smart phone. Or I should say, "didn't" have a smart phone. Yes, you read correctly, I broke down and got each of them a brand spanking new smart phone. I know I said I would not do so until they were 25, but read on.
Aside from the fact that we just moved continents and their lovely Nokia 150 brick phones don't work here, I am actually pretty excited about the new
"Google Family Link" . Google Family Link allows me full control over their phones (with some catches, I'll describe later)!
Yes! CONTROL.
So, now they are no longer the dorks with dumb phones, and I still have not given them the keys to the internet. So, how does this Google Family thing work?
- I setup the control app on my phone.
- I then set up new accounts on the kids phones and follow the instructions to link them to my Google Family account.
- From my phone I can set up time limits for screen-time, so the phone locks after it has been used for the amount of time I set. I can specify bedtime and have the phone automatically lock until the wake time I set. I can just lock/unlock their phone any time I decide. (They can make emergency calls if the phone is locked, but that is all.)
- I have to approve any app they want to download and any app that has a rating of 17+ in the google play store, like youtube for instance, is off limits. Though they can have youtubeKids.
- I can track their activity and see which apps they are using and how much time they spend on each app.
- I can also track their location at all times.
This is a great solution for our family!!! (Google Family is only currently available in Australia, NZ, Ireland and the US)
The one thing I don't like about Google Family is that once the kids are 13 years old (you enter their birth date when setting up their accounts), their phone gives them the option to turn off Google Family control. (But I guess if a parent somehow, maybe, accidentally entered their birth dates incorrectly, then I guess this could not happen til they were a bit older. Hypothetically speaking, of course. Just sayin) Also, teens with existing accounts, are not eligible to be managed by Family Link. Maybe time for a new account! I am definitely not the only person bothered by this "feature" of Google Family Link! Read more
here
Not so incidentally, I also caved because I found some reasonably priced phones that the app worked with (it only works with newer Android devices, mostly Android 7) and a reasonable plan.
The phones we got were the new
Moto E 16gb phone. They are currently selling for $99.99 on Amazon with Prime. These phones are compatible with both CDMA and GSM network! They are unlocked and work with all the carriers (in case you already have a plan with one.) They have a memory card slot, which can be formatted to be internal memory. They have a fingerprint reader, which is rare on phone of this price. The battery life could be a bit better, but because their screen time is limited anyway, its not a huge issue AND the battery is removable, so you can carry extra batteries (and higher capacity batteries are available to buy.) Most importantly, as far as my kids are concerned, there is sufficient choice of cases available to purchase for these phones.
The plan we used for them is only $15 a month from
Tracfone (we don't have any plans/contracts with a service provider). With Tracfone you can pick which network you want to be on, so if one has better coverage where you live or go, then you can decide on that one.
So there you have it. We are all carrying smart phone now. We didn't have to break the bank, give our kids free reign of the internet or access to social media in order to stay connected (and not look like dorks- very important when starting a new school, especially Middle School!)
