How to manage an Apple Watch for kid with no phone

December 8, 2022 8:12 PM

We would like to get our 13 year old son an Apple Watch for Christmas-probably the SE with cellular. Our main purpose is to have a way of contacting him and finding him-without giving him internet access that we have even less control of than we do already. So he won’t have an iPhone to go with it. I have questions.

Just trust us that a smart phone is a no go right now, though that’s what he’d like. We would like to be able to call and text us and his buddies, and we think he’d like some of the fitness aspects of the watch. How do we make this work without a dedicated iPhone? I’ve seen how you can connect two watches to one iPhone, but the instructions I read seemed to restrict you to having one Watch operating at a time. Can we have my iPhone and my watch and his watch? Other options? And anything else about this option we should consider?

posted by purenitrous to Technology (12 answers total)

we think he’d like some of the fitness aspects of the watch
If you have two watches connected to one iPhone, they share fitness data, so will (at best) add your fitness data to his and (at worst) completely freak out because nothing syncs properly.

If a smart phone is a no-go for your son, would it be feasible to have a 'secret' iPhone that his watch is connected to? If you have an old one laying around, or could cheaply purchase one from somewhere, you could sync the watch to that iPhone but never let him know of its existence. There are likely downsides to that I haven't thought of, though.
posted by dg at 8:30 PM on December 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

This is what Apple Watch Family Setup is for.
posted by primethyme at 8:35 PM on December 8, 2022 [17 favorites]

I just got an se watch and can’t imagine using it without the iPhone. It’s really built as a companion to the phone not a mini version of it. I think you could get a cheaper watch that has the fitness aspects. Texting is tricky with it - I always just pull out my phone to use unless i want to use a precanned response. And i think it is possible, though clunky, to access internet with it - I believe a friend could text him a link and he’d be able to navigate to it on the watch.

I agree with dg’s comment above if you do go ahead.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:35 PM on December 8, 2022

I hadn’t been aware of info primethyme links to though!
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:37 PM on December 8, 2022

I don't have the answer on the two watches problem, but I can tell you that we got a cellular Apple Watch for our 12 year old for similar reasons as you and it has worked out very well. We use it for "kid tracking" all the time. I think the watch is linked to my phone, but I never do anything with the link, and my kid uses the watch without a phone every day. So, good plan on the watch if you get your other issue worked out.
posted by Mid at 8:54 PM on December 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Actually I just processed that my husband doesn’t have an Apple Watch so we could pair with his phone. I’ve had an Apple Watch for years and I don’t think you can do much if anything on the web with them but maybe I’m clueless (or my watch is too old).
posted by purenitrous at 9:27 PM on December 8, 2022

I recommend Family Setup! We use it for our 12 yo. That way everything on the kid's watch is set up with their own phone number and Apple ID. You use your phone to do the setup bits that need to be done on a phone.
posted by redfoxtail at 4:26 AM on December 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

I'm not sure how Family Setup works, but if it gives Kid their own Apple ID and saves their fitness data, that's the way to go. Eventually they're going to be old enough to have their own phone, and will appreciate having the historical fitness data if they're into that. I'd love to have a record like that from when I was a kid - but alas, I am an old, my only fitness reminder was my mom yelling at me to go play outside.
posted by invincible summer at 6:53 AM on December 9, 2022

This is absolutely what Family Setup is specifically designed for! Literally the reason Apple provides it as an option is for kids who parents want to have a watch but not a phone.

Definitely do that. Anything else (attaching it to your husband's phone, etc) is going to cause problems down the road.
posted by griffey at 7:53 AM on December 9, 2022 [3 favorites]

The Timex Family Connect is a good option and much cheaper. You can see location on a map view and they can only send and receive texts or calls form approved contacts. No internet access. Nice and simple.
posted by Liquidwolf at 2:28 PM on December 9, 2022

I understand that the cellular option on Apple Watch can eat battery. Not a negative, just something to be prepared for. My two years old OG Apple Watch SE (no cellular) goes 24-36 hours between charges; I am also not much of a fitness user (and it shows...)
posted by lhauser at 5:33 PM on December 9, 2022

Yes, the cellular watch needs to go on the charger every day. I would guesstimate 14 hours of kid usage for 1 charge (they are messing around on it a lot I am sure).
posted by Mid at 7:10 AM on December 10, 2022