This kids' smartwatch made me think twice about giving my child a phone

My kids’ favorite part of my job is that they get to test various kids’ tablets and smartwatches. I’ve seen the kids’ wearable market grow from introductory to advanced in recent years and reach a wider user base than ever. At this point, there are dozens of kids’ smartwatch brands selling in the US alone, so it can be hard to differentiate the various wearables and choose the best one. 

Also: The best GPS trackers for kids in 2025: Expert recommended

If you’re considering getting your kids a smartphone but are wary of all the unchecked content available on it, or you’re unsure whether they’re old enough for the responsibility, a kids’ smartwatch could be the best choice. The Cosmo JrTrack 4 that I’ve been testing, for example, is easy for children to carry around while keeping them connected to parent-approved contacts. 

This type of kids’ smartwatch is a perfect way to introduce children to technology, independence, calling, and texting while allowing parents to control what their children can access. So it’s worth noting that kids need to be able to read to use the Cosmo JrTrack 4; it doesn’t have any games and isn’t made for the younger crowd; it’s built as an entry-level communication device for older kids. 

To set up the Cosmo JrTrack 4, you first download the Cosmo app on your smartphone. There, you can add approved contacts for your child to communicate with, including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends with smartphones or smartwatches.

I had my six-year-old test the Cosmo JrTrack 4 because she wanted a smartwatch after her older sister had one for about a year. She was immediately excited to test the JrTrack 4 and jumped right into customizations, like changing the wallpaper. She was excited to be able to text and call Mom and Dad and spent the better part of the day sending us voice messages or randomly calling us.

Also: Why I recommend this Android phone for kids over a cheap Samsung or Motorola model

That said, the watch has little customization power; there’s not much a kid can change on it besides the wallpaper. But this simplicity is one of the things that makes it attractive to many parents. The Cosmo JrTrack 4 is built to be safe for kids, limited to calls, text, GPS tracking, activity tracking, and some safety features. The only extra thing kids can do on the smartwatch is listen to music from Spotify and iHeartRadio. 

On the other hand, parents can set controls and time limits for each feature, including messaging, managing their kids’ contacts, and setting safe zones, safety alerts, and school modes. 

I set my kids’ school and home as safe zones, which sends my smartphone an alert whenever she enters or exits a safe zone. Unfortunately, this notification arrives over 10 minutes and up to an hour after the event. This seems a bit long for a safety feature.

Also: The best kids’ tablets of 2025: Parent recommended

The Cosmo JrTrack 4 also features GPS tracking, though I found the feature a bit slow during testing. Getting an accurate location on the watch took a minute or two, but it was reliable once it loaded. My kindergartener had a bad habit of taking off her watch at different times of the day, especially while at school. 

On one such day, when I noticed her watch wasn’t on her wrist, she mentioned she took it off and forgot when and where. I searched the watch’s location, which took a couple of minutes of waiting, and was able to find it exactly where she’d left it: on her classroom whiteboard marker holder.

ZDNET’s buying advice

I’d recommend the Cosmo JrTrack 4 kids’ smartwatch for parents of older kids, ages 7-12, who may not be quite ready to get them a smartphone but want the convenience of communicating with them. 

That’s because kids often want more benefits to actually want to wear the smartwatch. Unfortunately, that was an issue for my six-year-old, as she doesn’t have any friends she can text — just mom and dad — and the watch doesn’t have any games, so its appeal faded quickly. 

My eight-year-old wears a Fitbit Ace LTE daily, which, at $230, is significantly more expensive than the $130 Cosmo JrTrack 4. Naturally, my six-year-old wanted a lot of what her older sister has in her Fitbit: the gamification of physical activity and the customization power. The Fitbit Ace LTE requires the Fitbit Ace app to communicate, so my kids’ smartwatches can’t text or call each other, which was a bummer for them. But the Cosmo JrTrack 4 has things that the Fitbit Ace LTE lacks, like a Calculator app and the fact that you can send voice notes and take, send, and receive photos.