Phone or smart watch for 9 year old

[MightyGoldBear]

So my 9 year old has just started going independently to the park. We want some sort of device we can contact him on.
Does a smart watch exist that doesn't need to be connected to a phone? A very basic cheap phone?

We do have an old smartphone but aware that's inviting the idea that he then sees it as his phone, apps Internet etc. Was hoping to keep it super simple.

Any advice would be great.

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One of my daughter's friends had one of these, I think: https://www.smartkidswatch.co.uk/products/kids-sonic-pro-smart-watch?gadsource=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6auyBhDzARIsALIo6v9CGd04NgQKn1cUKMMhJfe1X0arFUHa2WqgzeZMy7m2Lbz9rW4ilcaAqC4EALwwwcB&variant=45038674084125

Advise keep your dc home at 9yo?

I'm sure you could get a second hand dumb phone from eBay or CEX.

we looked at xplora watches at a similar stage. DS's friend has one and it was great for tracking the residential school journey. She has a limited range of numbers she can call on it and it's not distracting or addictive like a phone

What we went with was also an old phone - iPhone locked down so it was of no interest at all. You can remove the browser, App Store, photos, camera, all the problematic and addictive stuff. You can also specify who can be phoned or texted. We started with just Dh, a grandparent and me as allowed contacts. It's so old it has no value if lost or stolen. I'd have gone for the watch but we already had the phone and a cheap sim was the cheapest option