Why Kid-Safe Phones Are the Safest Way to Go: Comparing the Four Major Brands

I was chatting with a fellow mom of four the other day, whose older two are 15 and 16.

I asked her if she’d ever heard of kid-safe phones, and she said, “Eh, I didn’t need them. I just didn’t let my kids have a phone until they were older than most.”

As it turns out, I did both, more or less.

You see, we know what the research and statistics are saying.

• Youth today tend to have unrestricted access to the Internet and yet have far too many restrictions in the real physical world.
• Anxiety is rising practically faster than the stats can keep up; but last I checked, anxiety and depression are running at about one-thirds of our teens diagnosable, and well over 50% having anxious thoughts on a daily basis.
• Many apps, and social media apps in particular, are designed to draw people in. Adult humans struggle with this; young humans are so ill equipped, it’s not even a fair fight.
• 70% of 12-year-olds have seen inappropriate images, and up to 80% by the time they graduate high school.
• You can’t avoid this by talking to your child, and you can’t choose their friends for them–but you can help keep their eyes out of immature conversations with the old “family computer in the living room” philosophy of the 90s.

I truly believe that most bad things that happen to tweens and teens are either caused by or exacerbated by screens. Personal screens are more dangerous than shared screens, because they go with the child everywhere.

I think kid-safe phones are not only important but imperative. Whether your progeny gets a first phone at 12 or 16, they should start slowly so that they can ease into things like social media apps and the Internet in their pocket all the time.

I’m so grateful that there are at least four brands of kid-safe phones out there, and I hope to see even more competition in the market, because competition makes things better.

Most kid-safe phones allow a progression something like this:

1. Only texting and calling
2. Adding functionality to allow group texts and texting photos
3. Limited internet and apps, but no social media and games
4. Fully unlocked with access to everything, but with parental dashboards and controls

I don’t actually think that last one is very necessary, because teaching our kids to use technology wisely and maturely is not about watching what they do or setting external controls — plus you can do that on an iPhone.

Why “Just Add Parental Controls” Isn’t Enough

Unfortunately, that’s what too many parents say: “I’ll just use parental controls and give them my old iPhone. It’s less expensive.” That’s a true statement, but there are some flaws.

First, many teenagers learn how to get around parental controls.

Second, once again, I’d rather not give my child a loaded gun and then scamper around trying to make sure they don’t shoot it. I would want my kids to pretend sticks are guns first.

Hey, Katie, you’re being too harsh. A smartphone is nothing like a gun.

Oh, really?

Tell that to the parents whose children have committed suicide because of online bullying.

Tell that to the parents of children who have been victimized by evil adults masquerading as young people in their video games or chat rooms.

Tell that to the parents of children who have taken their own lives with help from AI or after falling into the just-the-wrong-group online.

The Internet is a dangerous place, and I want to teach my kid to cross the road in my neighborhood before they have to drive a car down a freeway.

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A Better Way to Introduce Phones to Kids

If you’ve gotten this far, I imagine you’re a parent who is shopping for the very best kid-safe phone for your child and your family’s situation.

Here’s the scoop on the four brands that I’m currently aware of. I’ve had personal experience with two of them, and we will do our best to keep this post updated! However, as with all technology, of course, kid-safe phone brands will continue to morph and change faster than we can keep up.

Always check the actual website before making a purchase, but do start your kids out with a kid-safe phone–and if you can possibly handle it, at least “wait until eighth.”

A Real Parent’s Review of Troomi Kid-Safe Phone

Options offered: Samsung Galaxy A16 phone ($200), Samsung XCover7 Pro ($500), and the XGO3 Smart Watch ($50)

Plans for the smart watch include unlimited talk and text, contact safelisting, GPS location, and the parent portal.

Phone plans have three levels: Do (same features as the watch), Dare (adds picture and group texting), and Dream (adds optional access to safe apps, a safe browser, and the ability to add mobile data).

Contract required? No, it is all month-to-month.

Safety features:

• Extensive parental controls including a parent dashboard to manage texts, contacts, and time. Parents receive alerts on any content that has been blocked.
• Kid-safe browser means you actually approve every website your child needs to use; that’s a far cry from “parental controls” trying to block the bad stuff. You choose who comes in the door, same with apps (which are all vetted for child safety).
• No social media, harmful games, or explicit content
• Troomi Parent Academy to further your learning

You can see our family’s honest review of Troomi (compared to Gabb) here, but their capabilities have changed a lot in the years since I wrote it and Leah had a Troomi phone! I’ve worked with both Gabb and Troomi for so long now and really do love the heart behind Troomi’s mission, so I would still recommend the brand highly, but choose the phone that fits your family’s needs!

Gabb — The Original Smartphone Alternative for Kids

Options offered: Gabb Watch 3e ($150), Gabb Phone 4 ($140)

Smart watch features include talk to text messaging, wireless charging, 100 approved contacts, focus modes, group texts, GPS tracking, safe zone alerts, alarm/stopwatch, step counter, and more.

Phone plans have three levels: Starter (unlimited talk and texts and basic apps), Standard (adds standard apps, group and image texting, and Gabb Music, 25gb cloud storage), and Advanced (adds Gabb Music Plus, more apps with option of third-party apps, and 50gb cloud storage).

Contract required? No, but monthly prices are higher if you don’t choose a 1 or 2-year contract.

Safety features:

• GPS tracking with geofencing and find my phone
• Filtered messaging, safe video calling, and spam blocking
• Clean music library with no ads on devices with Gabb Music
• No Internet browser or social media
• Apps must be approved by parent
• Text and content monitoring with flagging and contact approval

Newer Kid-Friendly Phone: Bark

Options offered: Bark Phone (around $240 at $10/month), Bark Phone Pro ($600 at $25/month), Bark Watch ($168 at $7/month)

Smart watch features include GPS location, contact management, emergency SOS button, advanced content monitoring Bark system, takes photos and videos.

Phone plans have two levels: Starter (talk and text only with Bark monitoring) and Advanced (can choose to add access to Google Play Store, does allow web and social media apps). Price of plans vary depending on how much data you want per month.

Contract required? No, but if you are paying off your device in installments you will owe the remainder if you cancel.

Safety features:

• Bark focuses on its monitoring. You can also choose to use the Bark app to monitor current devices.
• Alerts parents to instances of bullying, predators, self-harm or suicidal content, drugs, violence, and more.
• GPS with location check-ins
• Ability for parents to prevent text message deleting, to turn off the phone when the user is driving, and to set up screen schedules.

Bark has the most options for monitoring ALL your devices at home, including iPads and laptops.

Options offered: Genesis 4 ($119, not compatible with Verizon), Slim 6 ($199), Plus 5 ($299), Pinwheel Watch ($159)

Smart watch features include voice-activated controls, talk and text, games, GPS location, and focus mode.

One phone plan that is customizable. You are also able to choose if you want to use your own carrier or the Pinwheel carrier for service.

Safety features:

• No open app store (only the Pinwheel App Store), with no social media, and detailed safety ratings on apps
• No default web browser (although parents are able to approve the download of one from the app store)
• Parents are able to set time tables, control contacts, and view messages

Pinwheel is BIG on supporting kids on getting off their devices and living in a more analog way! They even have a landline phone coming in May 2026 that will still have control over contacts and the ability to run on WiFi!

Is Your Child Ready for a Phone? Smartphone OR Dumbphone

We know that kids grow at different rates, and age isn’t everything. You need to take the time to let your child prove their maturity and readiness before you put any technology in their hands!

I always recommend the quiz from my friend Andrea at Better Screen Time that lets both parents assess and teens self-evaluate to see if it’s a good time for a starter phone.

Have you used any of these brands for your kids? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments!

References:

1. “Any Anxiety Disorder,” National Institute of Mental Health, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder
2. “Young people 18-24 most likely to feel anxious,” Mental Health Foundation, 17 May 2023, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/news/young-people-most-likely-feel-anxious-according-our-recent-survey
3. “New Report Reveals Truths About How Teens Engage with Pornography,” Common Sense Media, 10 January 2023, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/new-report-reveals-truths-about-how-teens-engage-with-pornography