To think primary kids shouldn't have smart watches

[Trainsandcars]

DS wants a smart watch because friends do. He's in primary school. There's a proliferation of disctracting tech. You can't tell them to put it away. They're basically wearing a cheap games console. And its a constant dopamine hit and distraction likely to lead to demotivation etc..

AIBU?
No - they shouldn't be for under 10s
Yes - its no big deal

My 9 year old son got a smart watch last year when he started to walk himself the mile to school. We are the last street of the catchment so there's no one else around when he's walking back and forth the first and last bit. It also means when he plays out in the estate he both knows the time (so if we say home at 6 for dinner he can do that) and also can get called by another friend or by us if someone is looking for him. Prior to this I spent ages wandering around looking for him as he had no idea what time it was.

No games, in school mode for the entire school day and he never messes with it. He can only call pre-entered phone numbers so it's just his neighbourhood friends (who have them too) or us / his sister. His calls are 10-20 seconds each time as it's literally just 'are you free? great, see you at the green'.

The watch is glitchy and pretty crap so we will get him a phone soon but it's been great for us and really useful. No issue if they want it in the box with the phones during the day but would really push back on any sort of ban of him having it outside of school times.

Are they only allowed 'dumb' watches? How does it work when they do map reading expeditions and need to be at a rendezvous point by a specific time?

I'd say they are better than phones, and can be useful as they get into older years of primary school for the GPS tracking as kids start getting more independent and playing out.

They use a map and a normal watch? And all groups out alone without a leader have a phone for that time. (Kept in the phone safe otherwise).

Seriously... you want to know how people navigate without an unnecessary piece of modern technology

When my DD did scouts they used paper maps and compasses, not the map on their phones (though they also had their phones with them so leaders could track them if needed, though the one time they needed to there was no signal so they couldn't track or call!)

Did you need to be so snippy in your response?

I merely asked a question.

I am well aware that they use paper maps and compasses to navigate, not their phones.

My reason for asking was that many young people don't own a 'dumb' watch nowadays, some don't even own a smartwatch, relying instead on the clock on their mobile phone. I was wondering whether parents were willing to buy another watch for their children to participate in an extracurricular activity.

But that isn't what you asked. You asked how they navigate without a smartwatch.
But yes, since a normal watch costs a fiver, and is actually on the uniform list for local schools, the kids already have them.

What I meant by

Are they only allowed 'dumb' watches? How does it work when they do map reading expeditions and need to be at a rendezvous point by a specific time?

was, how does it work when they need to use watches to figure out what time they need to get to their rendezvous point.

If they don't have a watch they can't take part in that activity.

I have two children in Scouting and their leaders haven't raised smartwatches as an issue, so I was just curious

And you're still being snippy.

Oh and I've not heard of watches being a part of a school uniform list before. That's news to me too.

The curse of bloody imoo! Banned at DDs school thankfully, agree the camera is a safeguarding issue for primary students (friend’s son was photographed using the toilet as a prank by yr5 classmates!)
I’ve bought a dumb Nokia that’s got a giffgaff sim in it and our phone numbers loaded in, DD takes that with her if she’s out and about on her own. Otherwise it sits on my desk at home

Phones are banned for safeguarding normally. So that will include all devices capable of phone calls etc. Same with at school.

If they need a watch, its a normal watch.

If you feel this is snippy I apologise but its just fact.

The facts aren't snippy, the way you have relayed them is.
Our Scouting groups are also mobile free, but not smartwatch free, at this time. The young people that have smartwatches in our groups generally have the ones which are fitness trackers not ones which are akin to a smartphone.
Anyway, I'll bid you good day.

Since there is no long term data on the health effects of smart wearables (especially in children with their developing brains and bodies) my opinion is that no child of any age should be wearing these.

Developers and manufacturers say ‘no evidence of harm’ but what they mean is ‘no evidence SO FAR, time will tell’. Until they can categorically say they’re proven safe, over a long period of time, I won’t be buying my kids anything like smart watches or Bluetooth headphones.

History shows us that small unnoticeable (in the short term) effects accumulate from things such as asbestos, tobacco, transfats, lead etc.

And this doesn’t even cover the unknown effects of how these things affect behavior and neurology.

Obviously we live in a digital world surrounded by WiFi, 4G etc and smartphones which worries me enough but wearing something on your body (especially for children) is a big no-no for me.

I am not a fan so wouldn’t get a child one either. I do think they feed into the tech addiction. An internet free Nokia brick with numbers programmed in as a previous poster said above us a great idea for year 5/6 if they are going out independently.