Consumer Alert: Your kid doesn’t need a phone to stay in contact with you

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tuesday is the big day! Most of the kiddos in our area are heading back to class. And local school districts have different policies on when and where your child can have his or her phone. That concerns many parents who want to be able to stay in touch.

Have no fear, mom and dad. All three big carriers have come up with a solution. Here’s the best news: all three are having back to school sales.

AT&T’s touts its answer to the constant quandary of keeping continuous contact with the kiddos – The AmiGO Jr. Watch

“We came up with the solution to be able to track your child, be able to contact them without having an actual phone,” said Bryan Rogers, an AT&T store manager. “It’s just a little wristwatch, and it has all kinds of fun little features. It actually has a camera on it so they don’t ever feel like they can’t take pictures and everything. It has games on it to keep the child engaged, and only certain people can contact the child on the watch. It’s all through the app.”

And parents have complete control through the app, allowing you to turn off access to games during class time. Right now, during back-to-school season, the watch is free with the purchase of a smart phone.

Not to be outdone, Verizon just introduced the Gizmo Watch 3 for kids. Its back-to-school sale is buy one get one for $100 off. Parents have complete control through the app, Gizmo Hub. You can set safe zones so if your kiddo wanders outside the designated area, you get an alert on your smart phone.

“It’s a smart watch that’s really age appropriate for kids to the point where you can lock in up to 20 approved phone contacts so that only those 20 people can contact your kid via text or call and vice versa,” said Chris Serico, Verizon spokesperson.

And of course, T-Mobile also has a kids’ smart watch as well called the SyncUp KIDS Watch. It has many of the same parental control features. And it has a great back to school sale: the watch is free when you add a qualifying line. All these devices are best for kids aged five to 11.