Remember when our technology purchases—portable gaming systems, headphones, and DVD players—focused on getting the maximum fun and entertainment out of our money?

Now, for parents at least, every tech purchase seems to come with a list of decisions and concerns. Will this make my child safer or expose her to more dangers? Is this gadget’s access to the world age-appropriate, and how much should I monitor it?

Now, even our youngest kids are adding smartwatches to their Christmas lists, and parents are scrambling to determine whether Santa should join the trend.

Parents Love The Sense Of Security A GPS Smartwatch Offers

When parents are asked about smartwatches for children, their thoughts tend to center around a sense of security. They talk about being sure of their child’s exact location and bring up incidents where they might have felt safer if they’d had such an option.

For instance, when EdSurge examined smartwatches as an aspect of modern parenting, they spoke with one mom who had hurried to school to pick up her children after a bomb threat — and seen only one of her three kids emerge. Now her kids wear smartwatches, and after enduring those moments of uncertainty about where her babies were and if they were safe, she says she ignores any school policies that would forbid the devices.

Another parent described the time her child wasn’t where she was supposed to be, setting off a frantic neighborhood search. Yet another told of the incident when their child was hit by a car while riding his bike, and because of the simplicity of his smartwatch, he was easily able—”with a few taps”—to reach his parents for help.

Danger Vs. Perceived Danger

Experts also addressed the safety factor of smartwatches. Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer at the American Psychological Association, described the devices as potentially creating an “electronic umbilical cord” and argued that there’s a difference between actual danger and parents’ perception of danger.

It’s true that statistically, any given kid is unlikely to be the victim of a hit-and-run or an actual attack on their school, or an attempted kidnapping. Any parent who has ever been in that situation, though, real or perceived, would probably tell you those statistics are meaningless in that moment when you’re terrified for your child.

That leaves parents to balance the possible risks of excessive monitoring with the peace of mind they may receive through the device.

The Marketing Departments Are Hyping The Safety Features

Unsurprisingly, the companies that make these devices assure us that they do help protect our kids. Samsung, for instance, lists a number of ways its smartwatches may make kids safer in schools.

These include health emergencies, like allergic reactions; incidents in which an autistic child has managed to wander out of a teacher’s sight; and contact between teachers and safety teams for behavior incidents or lockdowns, among others.

Even Samsung’s safety marketing gently sidesteps one major terror so many parents hold in their hearts. Though the company mentions lockdowns, it doesn’t discuss the possibility of kids reaching their parents or emergency services during a school shooting or other violent incident.

Will Your Child Be Allowed To Wear Their Smartwatch At School?

Schools are beginning to enforce rules forbidding cell phones in the classroom seriously despite parental pushback. Some states are even beginning to pass legislation regulating school cell phone access.

For now, smartwatches may be a viable means to dodge these rules, but they’ll likely be next on the list for bans. Some schools are already implementing policies. According to EdWeek, about 11% of schools have already banned the devices, another 34% say they have a policy defining the limits on smartwatch use, and 30% say they’re currently considering policies.

That means it is entirely possible that your child will wear their smartwatch to school after Christmas break but be barred from doing so by final exam time or that they’ll wear them for the rest of this school year and be forbidden to have them next year.

There Are Also Privacy Concerns

Most of us are aware that our data is being collected and tracked constantly. We use grocery programs that give us discounts and coupons in exchange for allowing the company to track our purchases, we click “allow” when websites ask us about cookies, and we carry around our cell phones that track our locations via GPS and hold our photos and conversations in a ‘cloud’ somewhere—and most of the time, we don’t really think about it.

However, we may be a little more cautious with our kids’ data. Consumer Reports warns parents to check what data is collected and how it’s used when buying a smartwatch. Major companies typically have a policy that prevents them from selling kids’ data, but parents should still be aware of what is being tracked and stored.

Making The Final Decision On A Smartwatch For Christmas

Parents should talk to their children about how they would use a smartwatch. Consider features like games and cameras that make the device more fun but might also make it more targeted for confiscation in the classroom. Talk to your child about the appropriate ways to use the device and what uses should be avoided at school.

Check-in with the school district to make sure they haven’t already banned the devices or plan to implement a ban in the near future. If so, determine whether use outside school (at sporting events, while riding their bike, visiting friends, etc.) is sufficient to warrant a smartwatch purchase.

Research the specific devices available. Your cell service provider likely offers several options that can be added to your monthly bill with only a small up-front charge. Devices that don’t offer texting or phone calls can be purchased with no service plan.

If you do make the purchase, stay checked in with your child about how much you’re monitoring their location and how they’re using the device safely and wisely!