Remember when kids wanted a pony? Today your tween wants a smartphone. You were hoping this conversation could wait until high school. But you’ve given in to your child’s contradictory pleas for both greater independence and more connectivity with friends.
 
A smartphone can make it easier to track your kid’s whereabouts. And it will introduce them to a technology they’ll need to learn eventually. Unfortunately, other people can also track your kids. And the technology can become a distraction or endanger their privacy.
 
So a company called KD Interactive is marketing a smartphone for youngsters that makes it easier for parents to set parental filters and strict guidelines for use.
 
The Kurio smartphone will let parents specify time slots when the phone can be used. It keeps a log of who your child is texting, chatting with and calling. You can also create a master list of approved apps the phone can download. And your kid can send you an SOS message by pressing the Kurio’s power button repeatedly.
 
You’ll be able to pony up for the smartphone starting this summer.

—Larry Greenemeier

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]