[cknoxrun]

Interesting. I've often considered an Apple Watch for my 9 year old, who struggles with (and benefits from) ADHD and thus would benefit from specific features such as the reminders (especially location-specific), alarms, and overall organization capabilities. But I'm hesitant to open that box just yet...

He isn't pining for a smart phone yet, nor do his friends seem to generally own them, so that wouldn't be the motivation but I can understand how it would be a good intermediate step. Gradually increasing access to these technologies and educating them along the way makes sense to me, rather than passing the child the firehose when they turn a certain magical age.

[shagie]

Apple has features in the watch that are intended to be a communication device for people who don't have phones.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/09/apple-extends-the-app...

Things like:

> Family Setup brings a new mode called Schooltime, which will help ensure kids stay focused and attentive while learning at home or in the classroom. During Schooltime, a distinctive yellow circle is displayed on the watch face for teachers and parents to easily recognize, signifying that access to apps is restricted and Do Not Disturb is turned on.

and

> With Family Setup, family members without iPhone can take advantage of the many features and apps on Apple Watch, from making and receiving phone and FaceTime audio calls, to sending and receiving messages and emails, and even connecting with other Apple Watch wearers over Walkie-Talkie. The new Memoji app on Apple Watch allows users to customize a Memoji that can be shared while messaging friends or displayed as a watch face. Parents have the ability to approve all contacts, so kids can safely use the communication features of Apple Watch.

and

> A family member’s location can be shared with their guardian through the Find People app on Apple Watch, and location notifications are more customizable, allowing the guardian to receive an update on their family member’s location for one occasion, or on a recurring or time-based schedule.

[powersurge360]

I also have a 9 year old w/ ADHD and tried this with the reminders and he just turns them off lol.

It's been great for other things though. Facilitating social connections w/ friends (the cellular watch gets its own number) and the walkie talkie feature is awesome for when he needs to quickly check in for an opinion or if I need for him to come home and don't want to stand on my back porch and yell generally into the neighborhood like a maniac. There even was a mildly scary time this summer where his summer camp called us and said they wanted to confirm we got him early (we hadn't). We were able to shoot them a screenshot of his location data and politely ask them to get it together and they found him swinging on a tire swing at the edge of the camp.

[eimrine]

How a location-specific reminders will help the 9 year old ADHD and what org capabilities such a young person might need?

[realce]

As someone who also has ADHD, reminders without actual motivation is just a function to create shame and anxiety. Every reminder sheet I had in school just felt like more work I couldn't complete.

[cknoxrun]

Only things he has asked for, this is not driven by a need for academic improvement or anything, but a chance to learn tools to improve a known deficit with ADHD that can negatively impact his ability to maintain social connections.