A few years ago I was waiting on a red line platform downtown with my son and he was watching a group of teens laughing and taking photos by a strange box on the wall. I explained what they were photographing and while he was mesmerized, I just felt ancient, because it was an old payphone that had the kids so excited.
Communication has changed drastically in my lifetime. I grew up roaming my suburban town in Ohio armed with a Schwinn bicycle, library card, swimming pool pass and at least a couple of dollars, all in coins in my pocket. Those coins were my ticket to paying off library fines, candy at the pool concession stand and calling my parents from the payphones to check-in or ask to be picked up. I spent most of my childhood summers out and about with friends as long as I remembered to check in along the way. When I pause and imagine our own 8-year-old spending his summers with that much freedom and independence I break out in a cold sweat.
How can a city kid experience that same combination of security and independence? How can a parent know that their kid will be able to reach them no matter where they are, without relying on a borrowed cell phone or the distraction of their own smartphone? We’ve tried the walkie talkies we use on our annual beach vacation, but they aren’t as reliable in the crowded city OR secure because we picked up several other conversations when using them here.
That’s when I was offered the opportunity to try out Relay - a screen-free phone alternative for kids.
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Right from the start, there were some obvious benefits to using the Relay devices versus a cell phone or walkie talkie:
- It works just like a walkie talkie - you push the button, talk and then release the button when done. Easy as that and even our three year old was able to learn how to use them.
- Unlike our walkie talkies, we don’t need to worry about finding an open channel to safely use them because they work everywhere and are powered by 4G LTE, just like a cell phone. That also means that kids can still reach you even if you are not in the same area - our son loved being able to reach me when I was traveling out of state.
- You only need one Relay device because you can talk directly with each other from your smartphone using their free app which works just like another Relay. In fact, the Relay company provided us with two devices, but we mostly just used the one device for our son and the app on our phones. We only used the second device when we had a friend along for our adventures, or to let our youngest practice using it too.
- Relay is screen-free which means distraction-free. Your kids won’t wear the battery down playing games or watching videos.
- The device has built-in GPS tracking which I loved. I could open my app and see where my son was while on play dates and at camp. There is also an SOS feature for emergency situations.
- Relay captures missed messages - kind of like voicemail - so you’ll never miss an important message. My son is used to me being the first parent at pick-up for camp and one day I was delayed by a stalled train. I was able to use the app to send him a message explaining the situation and he was able to hear it with the press of a button. No anxiety about where I was or when I would be there because we were connected the whole time.
Trying out Relay was a great opportunity and my son really appreciated knowing that he can reach me, no matter where I am, with the press of a button. I was concerned he would lose the device, it’s a fairly small square shape that fits easily into your palm, but I did find they had accessories to make the Relay wearable and reduce the risk of losing it. The basic functions of the Relay are very easy to learn and I imagine this could be great for adults who find today’s smartphones too complicated. There are “channels” on the Relay device, similar to apps and my son loves the Joke of the Day one so much we haven’t even tried the others yet.
Relay is available at Target and online at Target.com, Amazon.com, and RelayGo.com for $49.99 and the monthly service plan is only $9.99. Set up is easy, but if you run into questions along the way their in-app customer service “chat” provides amazing assistance.
From now until September 14th you can get your own Relay at 40% off at Target.com and beginning August 25th in Chicagoland Target stores!
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* Macaroni Kid Chicago received complimentary Relay devices for the purpose of this review, but all experiences and opinions are my own.
