My son has been begging for a cell phone for months, but at 9 years old, he is just too young in my opinion. In a two-family home, however, I often wish he had one, too. I like to stay connected to him on the days he is at his dad's house. The DokiPal Smartwach ($149, originally $180) is the perfect compromise! It helps us stay connected without the dangers and sophistication of unlimited digital access. The device is monitored by the DokiPal app on a parent's cell phone. Once activated, your child can communicate with you via the watch, but with age-appropriate limitations. While you can text him whatever you want from the app on your phone, he can only respond with preset responses ("I'm good, how are you" and "I'm hungry" are just a few options) or cute emojis. My son loves to take pictures on his smartwatch to share with me and I just may be slightly addicted to tracking his location on dad's days.