Back in August, Gabb was running a back to school discount and we decided to go ahead and get Tera a Gabb watch. She just turned 10 in August and while we are years away from giving her a smartphone, we were pretty much ready for the next step of having some way that she could communicate with us when she isn’t with us. The Gabb watch is a smart watch designed for kids. They have a high level of parental controls that can be turned on or off as the parent sees fit.
We have now been using the Gabb watch for a couple months, so I thought I would write up an honest review. I get nothing from writing this, it really is just my own opinion! I do think that if you sign up for a Gabb device and use our code, we get some kickback…but I just want to be clear that all opinions are my own and Gabb has no idea who I am or that I am writing this post.
So, first thing that we love about the Gabb watch is the concept of it! We love that it is “low smart” but has texting and calling, GPS, great parental controls, and no games or access to browsing the internet.
One of the features that we love is that we get to pick who can call or text her by inputting the numbers into our app. This means that she isn’t getting any random spam calls/texts, and kids we don’t know can’t reach out to her. There is also no group messaging (which right now is a pro, but later can see would be a con).
It’s been fun to have this watch along the way when we go for hikes. We feel more comfortable letting the kids run off ahead or stay and play in a shallow creek while Theo and I walk by ourselves, knowing that we can contact the kids immediately if needed. I also have started to leave the older kids when I run out to the grocery store and having the watch in order to call or text and check in has been so helpful for me!
We also love that the watch isn’t designed to be highly addictive. There are really only a few things that can be done on the phone (exercise, call, text, look at the time). It’s been a fantastic first foray into technology.
I’m sure that as she grows, we will loosen up parental controls along the way, but for this first trial of personal devices we have it very locked down. The only people she can contact right now are her two grandmothers, Theo, and I.
She has really enjoyed being able to call and text us, and its so fun to get a little text from her saying “I love you!” or something like that. I know, I know…honeymoon period of technology. But I’ll take it!
One thing that we have noticed is that a 10 year old is not really ready to be responsible for expensive devices. Tera takes her watch off and leaves it all over the place and this drives us crazy! But I’m SO glad that we get to start building those good habits of responsibility with this device now before we get more expensive devices.
Now, there is one HUGE con that we are struggling with- the battery on this thing dies within a few hours. Like, it has to be constantly charged. Which is fine when we are using it as a “home phone”, but is super annoying when we are relying on it during hikes or dropping her off at sports practice.
The Gabb watch is currently $74.99, although they frequently run promotions where the device is deeply discounted. Then we pay a monthly cellular plan that is $17.99/month (or less if you pay for a year). They also have smart phones, but since we don’t have that, I can’t give a review of them!
Overall, I highly recommend the Gabb watch as a first “low smart” device! If you are interested in signing up for Gabb, you can use my referral code…the referral code is actually my phone numbers so I’m not just going to put it in this blog post…if you would like it, please leave a comment and I’ll send that your way privately! I would also keep your eyes open for a Black Friday, Christmas or New Years deal to get the device deeply discounted.