Chinese Parents Pick Smartwatches Over Phones for Kids, WSJ Finds

Children's smartwatches have become a fixture among preteens in China, with parents choosing the devices over smartphones in part because some models offer advanced location tracking, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal's reporting describes the smartwatches as widely adopted among Chinese families raising elementary- and middle-school-age children, a category of parenting sometimes described as "helicopter parenting" for its close supervision of a child's daily movements and activities. The watches, per the report, are marketed as a middle option: they let a child move independently to and from school or activities while keeping a parent able to track where that child is in real time.

Why do parents choose watches instead of phones?

The underlying trade-off described in the Journal's report is straightforward. A smartphone gives a child access to the open internet, app stores, social media, and messaging with anyone — a set of exposures many parents want to delay. A smartwatch built for children, by contrast, can be configured to do far less: make calls to a short list of approved contacts, send simple messages, and report location, without opening the door to the broader internet. For parents focused on safety and supervision rather than communication features, the report indicates the watch functions as the tool that matches what they actually want a young child's device to do.

What makes the tracking features 'advanced'?

The Journal's report specifies that some children's smartwatch models on the market in China include advanced location tracking, without detailing every technical capability of specific devices. In practice, location-tracking wearables in this category typically rely on a combination of satellite positioning and network-based location data to give a parent a real-time or near-real-time read on where a child is, viewable through a companion app on the parent's own phone. The report frames this tracking capability as a central reason the watches have caught on: it delivers the reassurance parents want from a phone without the risks they associate with handing a child unrestricted internet access.

What isn't addressed in the available reporting?

The Journal's account, as summarized in its published report, does not include manufacturer names, device pricing, sales figures, or a market-size estimate for children's smartwatches in China. It also does not specify the minimum or typical age at which parents begin buying the devices, or how usage compares across regions or income levels within China. Readers looking for those specifics will need to consult the full Journal report directly, since figures of that kind are not part of the material summarized here.

What to watch

• Whether device makers expand location-tracking features further, and how manufacturers describe data handling and privacy practices for child users.
• Whether Chinese regulators weigh in on smartwatch data collection involving minors, an area where policy has moved quickly in other parts of China's technology sector.
• Whether the smartwatch-first approach described by the Journal becomes a template parents elsewhere reference when deciding when to give a child a first phone.
• Whether device makers in China begin marketing smartwatches as a bridge product, meant to be phased out once a child reaches a certain age or school stage.

How does this fit into broader consumer trends in China?

The smartwatch trend sits alongside other shifts in Chinese consumer behavior that HTT News has tracked separately, including a rise in industrial tourism as families look for new ways to spend leisure time and money. Neither trend is explained by the other, but both point to parents and consumers in China making deliberate, security- and experience-driven choices about how children and families engage with products and services, rather than defaulting to whatever option is most feature-rich or convenient.

For now, the most detailed account of the children's smartwatch trend remains the Journal's own reporting, which ties the appeal directly to location tracking and to parents who want oversight of a child's whereabouts without granting the child a full smartphone. Additional detail on specific brands, costs, or the scale of adoption was not included in the material reviewed for this report.

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