Context · Parental Controls
Kids smartwatches range from a device that only calls you to something with messaging, apps and a browser strapped to a wrist, and the marketing does very little to help you tell which one you are buying.
The two categories the word covers
One kind lets a child call and text a short approved list and nothing else. The other kind is a small phone with app installs, a browser and its own data connection, and it is often sold in the same aisle in the same style of box, so the only reliable way to tell is to look up the exact model.
What a watch changes about supervision
A phone gets left on a counter. A watch stays on a wrist through the school day and at night, which means whatever it can do, it can do at three in the morning in a bedroom, with nothing sitting out for anyone else to glance at on the way past.
The setting most parents miss
On the fuller models, the piece worth checking first is location sharing, because it is often on by default and shares with more than just you. Check the approved contact list too, since some watches accept messages from anyone who has the number.