Review: Watchu – The phone, watch and GPS location tracker for children

I remember when I got my very first mobile phone. I was heading into high school and my parents felt it was the right time for me to have a mobile phone. It was a big, clunky phone with a black and grey pixelated screen. It was amazing! If only I knew then what phones would be like nowadays, I think my head would have exploded!

It does seem that children these days are getting mobile phones at a much younger age. Plenty of children in my girls school have them but I’m just not ready for my own children to have a phone yet. They’re almost 10 years old and I just feel it’s too young.

My husband and I try our best to limit screen time while embracing what technology today can offer. It’s all about balance. I want my children to have a childhood like mine. That means playing in the park with their friends and playing games with limited screen time.

Independence

This year our girls entered year 5 of primary school. We received a form from the school to notify the school if our children would be walking to or home (or both) from school independently. It was a stark reminder that they’re growing up. Of course I want my children to have independence and the confidence to do things without the safety blanket of mummy or daddy always being there.

While we still walk our children to school, they go into the school grounds by themselves and we do allow them to walk part of the way home by themselves. It was scary the first time they did it, for them and us as parents, but it’s an important part of growing up.

As they get older they’ll want to walk further until one day they’ll walk all the way home. However, as a parent I want to make sure they’re safe and that I know where they are. Some of the streets by us can be very quiet which worries me. If something were to happen would anyone be there to help? On the other hand, they also have a busy road to cross.

Watchu

This is where Watchu comes in. Watchu aims to offer peace of mind and reassurance to parents all while helping children gain independence. Watchu is a phone, watch and GPS location tracker for children. It looks just like a watch and is worn on the wrist like one too but it’s so much more than just a watch.

I received two Watchu Guardian Kids watches to review. Priced at £129.99, it’s available in either blue or pink.

Mobile Phone

Setting the watches up is easy. You can add phone numbers for your children such as ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ via the ‘CPR Monitoring’ app which can be downloaded to the parents mobile phone. This means children can only ring the numbers on the watch. There’s also an SOS button should your child need help.

Each watch has a sim card just like a mobile phone. This means your children have their own phone number which you can share with family and friends should you wish you too. Calling your child is simple. You just use your mobile phone and make a call to your child’s number as you would any other phone call.

You can chose to pay monthly or pay as you go by topping up the sim card with credit as and when needed. There are two sim plans available. The ‘Unlimited 30 Day’ plan is £14.99 which is billed monthly. The ‘Unlimited 12 Month’ plan is £159.88 and is billed annually.

Each plan offers the same features so it’s just a case of choosing which payment term works best for you.

GPS Location Tracker

As well as being a mobile phone, Watchu is also a GPS location tracker. This means you can track where your child is via the app. The Watchu Guardian’s GPS map supports three different modes: 3D, 2D and satellite imagery.

Watch

Naturally, Watchu is also a watch! The colour screen is big and easy for children to read. They can chose from a number of different watch faces and it’s touch screen too. You can also toggle between the menus using the black button on the side of the watch. It also counts your children’s steps and can you tell their heart rate too.

Good Points

The watches work really well as a mobile phone although there is some lag between clicking the name you want to call and the call starting. This isn’t really an issue as it’s not a long delay but some children may find it frustrating that it’s not instantaneous.

The colour touch screen is perfect for children to read and I really like that they can choose between an analogue or digital display. It’s easy for children to see how many steps they’ve done that day too, as well as their heart rate.

The watch fits comfortably on my girls wrists and is just the right size for them.

Room for improvement

Like any product there are often some things could be improved. For me these were:

• The watch strap kept falling off my daughters wrist. Luckily one of her school friends picked it up off the playground for her but it has happened on a few occasions
• The SOS button is slow to react and at times unresponsive
• The tracking is unreliable and some times it didn’t update for days. Not great when you want to know the real time location of your child

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a way to contact your children throughout the day but aren’t yet ready for them to have a mobile phone, then Watchu is great for that.

If you’re looking for a way of tracking where your children are, then I wouldn’t recommend Watchu for this. For me, the tracking just wasn’t reliable. It didn’t update as often as I would have liked. At times the last tracking location would show me the location from hours earlier in the day or even a few days ago. It just doesn’t offer ‘real time’ tracking in my opinion.

So there you have it. I’m very much 50/50 in terms of my opinion on Watchu. If the tracking issues could be fixed then it would a great, overall phone and tracker for children.

Disclaimer: I was gifted two Watchu watches in return for this review