Myfirst Fone S3: is it really worth it?

In a world that's technology led, it can be difficult knowing when the right time is to introduce kids tablets and phones to children, let alone thinking about them having their own phone one day. Which is where the Myfirst Fone S3 acts as a great middle-ground for providing communication and reassurance for parents and children.

​Designed specifically for children, the Myfirst Fone S3 is a smartwatch that integrates communication tools, safety features, and fitness tracking in a child-friendly, wearable way.

As a mum of a seven-year-old who has mentioned a few friends having phones, I was really keen to offer him something else that gives him some independence to communicate with selected family members, whilst staying clear of a phone.

Testing the Myfirst Fone S3

I knew as a parent in the modern world that the day would come when my kids would start asking for phones, I just didn't anticipate it being as young as seven. My son is used to video calling his grandparents from mine or my husband's phone, but as he has a few friends with separated parents, they all have phones so they can communicate with their parents if not at their house.

I wanted to restrict my phone until he's much older, so I was really keen to see how the Myfirst Fone S3 offered some independence. I thought he'd like a funky new gadget that he could use to communicate with his grandparents, as well as me and his dad, when he was sleeping at his grandparents' house.

Build and usability

The watch itself has a great design and a flexible strap that's comfortable to wear. It does look just like a digital watch too and it isn't bulky or heavy.

We found the watch screen to be a good size for our son to see, and it was almost like a Fitbit for children as it also allowed him to count steps and use the different functions of a mobile in watch form.

It was incredibly child-friendly and easy for him to use. I also really liked that the parent can set who is listed in the contact list from an app on the phone. You could only communicate back if you had the app as well, so we downloaded it for ourselves and his grandparents.

The app is fairly straightforward for parents to use as well. When setting up the watch, it walks you through step-by-step what you need to do and also how to set up adding contacts.

Performance

Whilst we had no issue with how the watch performed when connected to WiFi, we were actually disappointed with it not working outside of the WiFi zone. It was really difficult connecting the number to the watch, and we ended up with a few subscription payments for using this function while trying to set it up.

The support team have been quick to issue refunds and attempt to help with step-by-step guidance, but we have still had trouble setting up the number connection.

This isn't an issue right now as we don't allow our son to use the watch for school, and we don't want him to be unaware of his surroundings by using the watch when out, but as he gets older, we would like it to be more functional.

Otherwise, it works brilliantly! We were able to come up with replies to messages that he would say, as it only allows pre-loaded replies. You could also only call the watch from the app itself, and the watch only calls pre-loaded contacts, so we didn't have to worry about random calls. We had to accept the contact connections on the app, too, so we knew his exact contact list.

Final verdict

Overall, I loved the concept of this watch. It does provide an element of independence, as our son loved calling his grandparents to talk to them, and he also stopped asking for a phone while using the watch, too.

I do wish the subscription and number connection were a lot easier, as the whole process is a lot more complicated than it implies, but for now this is something we are not interested in doing until he's much older.

I would say it seems a lot of money for what it does if just using over WiFi, but it's a lot cheaper than a mobile phone and we don't have to worry about screen time, so I would say it's worth it in that respect.

Samantha Ball is a Features & Reviews Editor for Mother&Baby, having written for the brand since 2018. She's a mum of two aged seven and three, and is currently expecting her third. She loves searching for the best and current trending products for little ones. She loves to bake, but spends most of her free time between football and ballet classes.