It’s almost back-to-school time, and that can often mean time to buy new tech, either for yourself or for your kids.
If you’re shopping for your kids, it can be hard to navigate your way through a wealth of not only products, but also rules and guidance from schools, and good sense as a parent.
I have an alternative suggestion if you’re thinking about getting (or getting pressured into) a smartwatch, either one made specially for kids, or one of the best from Samsung, Google, or Apple, and then setting it up for a young person to use.
Don’t do it. Get them a classic Casio instead.
No tech may be a good thing
One less screen to look at
While a smartwatch is a desirable piece of modern tech, many have to be paired with a smartphone or require an ongoing contract or subscription to maintain GPS or a cellular connection.
At this point, it’s more like a phone than a watch, even if it doesn’t do all the usual phone stuff.
Smartwatches of any type seem to fall into a gray area in education, where rules on them vary depending on the school, but it’s becoming more common for connected wrist wear to be banned, just like smartphones.
Recently, New York City Public Schools banned internet-enabled smartwatches, with only some small exceptions. Expect stronger rules to come in as Google makes Gemini available on more smartwatches.
The expense of a smartwatch, the confusion behind navigating potentially altering rules, and carefully setting up features like School Time on Wear OS or Galaxy Watch for Kids can all be avoided with my slightly left-field, rather out-of-the-box suggestion.
But hear me out, as there’s more to it than you may first think.
A Casio classic
The ideal first watch
Instead of buying a kids’ smartwatch, float the idea of a Casio F91W watch. Watches don’t get much simpler than the F91W, but don’t take that to mean it’s boring.
The F91W is a horological icon, and its enduring design still looks fresh and fun today, just like it did when the watch was introduced in 1989.
Functionally, it’s far from a smartwatch. The digital LCD screen shows the time and date, plus there are simple features like a stopwatch, an alarm, and a backlight.
The battery never needs charging and is expected to last for at least seven years. The watch is water-resistant, and the bio-resin case and strap are tough, lightweight, and comfortable.
A prime reason I’m suggesting the F91W is its size. Unlike so many smartwatches, even those made for kids, its tiny dimensions and low weight make it suitable for most.
It’s 38 x 35 x 8.5mm, and weighs only 21 grams. It looks small on my regular 6.5-inch wrist in the photos, but not ridiculous, because it’s so well proportioned. I can wear it and forget it’s there.
As simple as watches get
Without any of the smartwatch downsides
The F91W’s entirely unconnected nature means it’s highly unlikely to run into the same problems faced by smartwatches and smartphones in schools. There’s not even a calculator function to bother eagle-eyed examiners either.
Functionally, it’s as simple as digital watches get. Yet, it’s also still really cool.
Forget the horological significance of the F91W for a moment, and think about minimizing addictive screen time for children, growing movements around digital detoxes, and efforts to cut back on social media.
The F91W is an ideal introduction to enjoying technology without an internet connection.
Retro appeal is built right in, too, and today, wearing a regular watch is as much about individualism and personal identity as it is about telling the time.
The F91W has a unisex design, but Casio has sensibly introduced different colors to go along with the standard black version, helping it to appeal to more people.
A smartwatch is highly unlikely to be anything more than a piece of tech on their wrist, but an F91W has the potential to be a lot more. A gift that potentially stays with them for years, and may even become the basis of a love for traditional watches.
It won’t scratch the smartwatch itch
But it doesn’t have to
The Casio F91W is a small, thin, lightweight, functionally simple, eternally stylish watch that’s perfect for kids.
It won’t replace a smartwatch, and it shouldn’t be looked at as a direct alternative.
It’s almost the first step to getting one, as wearing a watch takes some effort, and choosing a normal watch before a smartwatch should be a rite of passage.
Perhaps best of all, the Casio F91W is not expensive at all. Prices vary between $16 and $30 depending on the color you choose, and all are available on Amazon. You’ll also find them in any retail store that sells Casio watches.
The F91W is immensely popular, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one. Any smartwatch will cost a lot more than this and likely require an ongoing cost.
I admit, I romanticize the period when I was given a normal Casio watch when I was young, and freely admit there’s a good chance kids today will say ewww at the thought of a Casio watch instead of an Apple Watch.
Still, the time will come when a smartwatch makes sense (or is unavoidable, just like a phone), but starting with a normal, affordable, durable, fun regular watch cannot do any harm.
