The early elementary years are full of so many exciting firsts. Kids are starting school, riding bikes around the neighborhood, heading to sports practice, making new friends—and with that growing independence often comes six words every parent is a little nervous to hear: “Can I have my own phone?” While they may be eager for that next step, it’s totally valid to feel unsure about handing over a smartphone with web browsing access, social media, and an endless stream of notifications. Instead, you may be looking for a way to stay connected that feels more manageable—a stepping stone towards a smartphone down the road, if you will.
That’s where the Verizon Gizmo Watch 4 comes in. It helps bridge the gap with voice/video calling and text messaging with parent-approved contacts, location tracking, and other kid-friendly features—but no social media. It gives younger kids the excitement of having their own tech, while letting parents introduce tech in an age-appropriate way. A few of us got to try it out with our kids, and here are some of our favorite new features that solidify the Gizmo Watch 4 as a top tech pick for children:
Stand-out features of the Gizmo Watch 4
Parents decide who their kids get to connect with
One of the biggest differences between the Gizmo Watch 4 and a smartphone is that kids can’t create new contacts on their own. Using the Verizon Family app, guardians can add up to 40 trusted contacts, so kids can call, text, send voice messages, and even share video messages—but only with people you have approved ahead of time. This also means you don’t have to worry about them receiving any spam phone calls or text messages.
With the reassurance that your kids can reach their trusted loved ones at any time, play dates and sleepovers feel less daunting. Imagine your kid spending the afternoon at the neighbor’s house. Instead of coordinating pickup through another parent and playing phone tag for hours, your child can easily send a quick voice message saying, “Can I stay 15 more minutes? We’re building a fort!” And on the other end of that scenario, if your kid is ready to leave but wants to be discreet, they can quickly text you instead of feeling too embarrassed to ask an adult.
As kids get older, schedules naturally become more jam-packed. School, after-school care, sports practices, grandparents’ houses, birthday parties—there’s suddenly a whole laundry list of places they have to be throughout the week. This is when the Gizmo Watch 4’s GPS location tracking and Watch Removal Detection come in handy. Check in throughout the day with location tracking, save frequently visited locations, and set boundary alerts that will notify you when your child arrives or leaves a designated area.
Think about any typical afternoon. Your kid gets dropped off by the bus and calls you asking to walk to the nearby park with their friend—you can watch their progress straight from the Verizon Family app. Once they’ve arrived at the park, you can set a boundary alert to notify you if they stray too far. And if they decide to take off the watch while climbing the playground, you’ll be notified. Instead of realizing it’s missing after everyone gets home, it’s an extra layer of protection that recognizes just how active (and sometimes very forgetful) younger kids can be.
School routines are simplified without class disruptions
One of the biggest concerns parents have regarding kids having tech at school: it’s going to distract them too much. They’re going to be obsessed with a shiny new screen instead of paying attention to a math lesson, right? Thankfully, the Gizmo Watch 4 addresses that with School Mode.
You can schedule School Mode during class times using the Verizon Family app, which silences games, sounds, and incoming messages. Emergency calls to their primary guardian remain intact, but everything else stays tucked away until school is over. It’s an ideal solution if you want your kid to stay connected before and after school without creating unnecessary classroom interruptions. For teachers, that means one less distraction to manage. For parents, it means kids can walk to school, ride the bus, or transition to after-school activities and easily reach their parents.
Kid-friendly usability is built into the design
If there’s one thing every parent knows, it’s that kids aren’t exactly gentle with their belongings. Between monkey bars, bike rides, recess, swim lessons, and playground adventures, their everyday life puts any wearable device to quite the brutal test. Thankfully, the Gizmo Watch 4 was designed with that reality in mind. The upgraded 1.6-inch display offers more screen space than previous versions while featuring scratch-resistant glass that stands up to everyday bumps and scrapes. It’s also water-resistant, so you don’t have to panic if someone forgets to take it off before cannonballing into the pool or sprinting through sprinklers at the park.
While the moms appreciate its safety features, our kids love the Gizmo Watch 4 because it genuinely feels like their very own high-tech device. Designed with early readers in mind, the simple interface is easy to navigate with icons and allows them to send audio messages or emojis instead of typing. For a touch of creativity, they can send audio messages using silly voice editors—like transforming into a robot or an alien. Playdates become lasting memories with the built-in front camera, which lets little ones snap photos of their playground adventures and curate a personal photo gallery right on their wrist. Plus, during travel or quiet downtime, built-in, age-appropriate games like tic-tac-toe and brain-teasing puzzles keep them entertained—giving them the excitement of their own tech without access to an app store.
Verizon Gizmo Watch 4 final verdict: Is it worth it?
After spending some time with its features, the Gizmo Watch 4 makes one thing clear: it’s an amazing fit for families navigating those early elementary years. It lets kids be kids by eliminating the distractions that come with smartphones. Meanwhile, parents can breathe a little easier with a direct line of communication and better visibility as their kids explore their newfound independence. All in all, it’s the best of both worlds.
McKenna Pringle, Assistant Editor of Branded Content
As the Branded Content Editorial Assistant, McKenna collaborates with our sales team by creating both written and social media content, collecting and analyzing performance data to report back to our partners, and assisting our editors with their everyday tasks to ensure a smooth and productive process.
Since becoming a young mama in 2020, Steph has found joy in creating beautiful yet relatable content surrounding the raw realities of motherhood. She believes showcasing both the wonders and struggles of being a parent helps other mothers understand that they are not alone in their journey.
*$179.99 purchase w/ new watch line on $10/mo Gizmo Watch service plan. Less $180 promo credit applied over 36 mos. Promo credit ends if eligibility req’s are no longer met; 0{49bf390ea8d8e6cd56c8acfb3617cbceccb9b24ad971191789ec35fbdbc8d8d1} APR.
This post is sponsored by Verizon, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everymom editorial board. We only feature brands we genuinely love.
