The Best Phones for Kids

Your kids have been begging you for a phone for months, but you aren’t sure they’re ready. The Gabb Z2 strikes a perfect compromise between a basic phone and a smartphone. It removes the risk of social media and internet access but gives your kids unlimited talk and text.

It’s all done from a kid-friendly, modern-looking phone without distracting apps and features.

Gabb phone cost

The Gabb Z2 is available for a SafeWise exclusive price of $124.99 up front and $19.99 per month. With that plan, your kids get unlimited talk and text time. You can pay extra to add features like image and group texting. 

We like that Gabb doesn’t hold anything essential hostage, and the extras don't cost much more than the basic plan.

No parental controls, but no real need for them either

One thing that makes Gabb stand out for the better or worse is its lack of parental controls. It’s a bold move that allows kids to make their own decisions about how often they use their phone and what they do with it.

But kids with this phone aren’t tempted with features like social media, games, or internet browsing, which can make this freedom dangerous.

Gabb is a great choice for kids getting a taste for technology and freedom. Middle schoolers and older elementary school kids around 8 to 12 will enjoy having a good-looking phone and a way to talk to their friends.

Parents will like the limits on this phone and the ability to hand their little ones some more freedom.

Learn more in our full Gabb Z2 review.

The Palm Phone gives your kids all the freedom of a smartphone but with you in the backseat to keep an eye on them.

The Palm isn’t designed just for kids, so the parental controls on the Palm work through third party apps like Google Family Link or Bark.

The phone itself is pretty small but has a camera and storage that rivals its Apple and Android competitors. The 12 MB camera takes clear shots while the 32 GB storage is enough for your kids apps, their photos and videos, and browsing data.

The Palm Phone only works with Verizon and TMobile. 

With its access to big kid features like internet browsing, social media, and apps, the Palm Phone is best for older middle school and high schoolers. It’s a good fit for older kids around 14 to 18 who are ready for the responsibility of a smartphone (with the option for your supervision).

While they’ll love all these features and the crystal clear camera, they may get easily distracted by everything going on with this phone.

Learn more in our full Palm Phone review.

The Alcatel 1 is an Android device, so you'll get more functionality out of parental control apps than if it were an iPhone. 

We also like that there's not much storage on this smartphone (just 16 GB). Your child won't be able to download too many apps on the app store, for example. Some users report that it can be slow to operate, which is actually a bonus if you don't want your kid watching videos or playing games.

The clamshell design makes it a little less durable than we’d like for a kid’s phone, which is one of the reasons it didn’t make our top three. You pay for minutes on a month-by-month basis, so it’s a good starter phone, and for an extra fee, you can enable GPS location.

The built-in GPS locator and geofencing are a huge plus when it comes to your peace of mind, and the accompanying app for your smartphone makes it easy for you to control the settings on your child's watch. 

The VTech KidiBuzz 3 doesn't make phone calls or track your child's location, but it gives your kid a smartphone-like device to use just like their older siblings. Because it doesn't connect to a cellular network, you don't have to worry about paying a monthly fee.

You can set daily screen time limits and download music or videos to the device if you need to keep your kid extra entertained. There's even a headphone jack to give you some peace. 

When shopping for the right phone for your child, think about your biggest concerns:

• If you want to know where they are, you'll probably want something with a GPS tracker.
• If your child is active and careless (what child isn't?), then it's important to look for a durable design.
• If you want to encourage them to keep their phone handy, then choosing something with fun features, like games and photo apps, is a good way to ensure they'll keep track of it.
• If communication is your main concern, an inexpensive "dumb phone" will work well to teach them responsible cell phone usage before they graduate to a smartphone.

As you ease your child into the world of communication technology, be sure to stay nosy. If their device has access to the internet, use parental controls and talk about what it means to be a respectful and responsible person online. Talk to them frequently about who they're communicating with, and take time to discuss cyberbullying.

It's important to keep all lines of communication open—not just those accessed through a phone.

Phones for kids like the Gabb Z2 hit the perfect middle ground between giving your kids the freedom to use a phone without the distractions or risks of internet access, social networking, or games.

With all the technology available now, kids seem to be itching for the Next New Thing™ at a dizzying rate. But there’s no reason your kids can’t have a reliable phone to keep you updated or call in an emergency.

To pick the best phone for kids, we considered what's most important to us as parents and tried to find phones that were a good value, simple to use, and rugged enough to stand up to our kids. We researched numerous models and included our favorites here. Find out more about how we review products by checking out our methodology.

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