TickTalk 5 Smart Watch Review + Discount: Why We Chose It for Our 10-Year-Old

There are many “safer” options available to allow you to keep in touch with your kids without giving them access to the whole Internet – but it can be hard to pick which one is right for your family. In this unsponsored review, I share why our family picked TickTalk, including what we like and what could be improved. You can also save $10 with the code CLARKS.

As summer rolled in, my 10-year-old started to ride his bike around the neighborhood. While I wish I were a really chill, laid-back parent who could be content with saying “just be home by dinner,” I am not.

After a few times where I wasn’t sure where he was, we decided it was time to look into getting a smart watch – something that would let us keep in touch, give him a little independence, and (let’s be honest) ease our (mainly my) parent brains just a bit.

T-Mobile had just offered us a free line, which made it seem like an even better option. After a good amount of research, we landed on the TickTalk Smart Watch – and here’s what we’ve learned after using it for a couple of months.

Why We Chose the TickTalk Over Other Options

We originally looked at the T-Mobile SyncUp Kids Watch, but it didn’t seem like the right fit. While the price tag was appealing, it lacked the features and durability we were hoping for, and unfortunately, it wouldn’t work with the T-Mobile free line we already had. (That line only works with actual phone lines, not smartwatch-specific plans.)

All the reviews I read were less than positive as well. Although we could get it for “free” with the activation of the smart watch line, it didn’t seem like a good long-term investment.

We also considered the Apple Watch, but, aside from being more than we wanted to spend on a device for a nine-year-old, we ran into the same issue: it didn’t qualify as a free line with our provider.

That’s where the TickTalk Smart Watch stood out. I saw many people mention it in Reddit Forums, and when I saw people say they were able to use their free T-Mobile line with it, I knew it was going to be a good option. The price was around $150 (I think we used a coupon as well), so beyond the initial investment, when paired with the free line from T-Mobile, we wouldn’t have any long-term cost or commitment.

TickTalk Coupon Code

Before we dive in, if you decide that TickTalk is right for your child – be sure to use our coupon code, CLARKS, to save $10 on your purchase!

What We Love

GPS Tracking + Real-Time Location

The main thing I wanted with this watch as GPS Tracking, so I could have a better idea of where my son was (because I’ll be honest, I spiraled a few times worrying he was in a ditch somewhere). We can check in on his location whenever we need to, which gives us peace of mind when he’s biking around the neighborhood or hanging out with friends.

Is it the greatest GPS of all time? No. It’s on occasion told us he was at the high school up the street when he was sitting right in front of me, and there’s a little bit of lag with the tracking. But it mostly does what we need it to.

Safety + Full Contact Control

Only the contacts we approve can communicate with him. No unknown numbers, no spam, no weird internet access. He can call or text family or friends that we approved, but that’s it!

Until recently, you could ONLY text people who also had the TickTalk app. This was a huge bummer for my son, who wanted to text his cousin who also had a smartwatch – just not a TickTalk watch. However, there was a recent BIG update which made it so you can text any approved contact with a smartphone. This made us VERY happy. I did not like using the app to text, and now there is more freedom to allow him to text people that we approve who don’t have or don’t want to download the app.

Built-In Music

A fun bonus: the watch includes a kid-friendly music library with iHeartRadio! Our son has loved having this little bit of entertainment right on his wrist. He has a hearing aid, which has Bluetooth connectivity, and he has been THRILLED to be able to connect it to his watch to listen to music.

He doesn’t like that you can’t pick the music, but it’s still fun to listen to it.

Voice & Prewritten Messaging

He can send short messages using voice-to-text or the pre-set messages we’ve approved. While it’s not quite the same as whole texting, it’s enough to stay connected.

Compatible with T-Mobile Free Line

Because the TickTalk is recognized as a complete phone line (not just a smartwatch line) we were able to assign it to our existing T-Mobile free line. That saved us from paying another monthly fee, which was a huge win.

Solid Warranty

We always appreciate when a company stands by its product, and TickTalk’s warranty is a big plus in our book. We have had to use it a few times, and it has gone off without a hitch. Even with the screen being broken and not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty, we were able to work something out to get it replaced, which I appreciated.

With that said, from what I understand you can’t get the extended warranty unless you use a TickTalk plan, which is kind of annoying.

What Could Be Better

Even with all the perks, there are a few things that caught us off guard:

• Quality of Product. The watch band broke not long after we started using it, which was a little disappointing. Thankfully, the warranty helped us get it resolved, but we expected better durability from the start. After that was replaced, though, the watch wore too quickly elsewhere, and now we have to replace it entirely. Our son is quite careful with it, so this has been a little frustrating. The screen also cracked within days of getting it.
• Texting limitations. There’s no keyboard on the watch, so your child either needs to send voice messages, use pre-set text responses, or use voice-to-text. It works, but it’s not always the most convenient option. My son feels like the voice-to-text has a lot of typos
• Text Monitoring: There’s no way I’ve seen to see what he is texting to other people. If I am in the group, I can see it, but individual texts are not available in the parent app.

The TickTalk Smart Watch isn’t perfect, but it has honestly been the best option for our son. It offers a nice balance of independence for our son and peace of mind for us, without giving him full internet access or a real smartphone.

Would we buy it again? I think so—especially with the T-Mobile compatibility and built-in safety features. If you’re a parent looking for a kid-safe communication device that isn’t too cheap or too expensive, the TickTalk is absolutely worth considering.