Tech gift guidance: Safety for first phones, watches and consoles
A dad and tech professor shares how to use your presence, and your parental controls to keep kids safe this holiday with new tech gifts.
On any given weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina, you’ll find Ray Pastore, Ph.D., somewhere between a surfboard and his Xbox. It’s equal parts family time and field research for Pastore, an instructional technology professor at UNC Wilmington.
And he gets a lot of questions about safety as parents start comparing family tech gifts for the holidays. The dad of three boys shares this advice: “There’s no perfect safety setting,” Pastore says. “There’s just physical presence. You’ve got to talk, listen and adjust as you go.”
Listening in, checking in and being nearby when kids are using devices matters most, Pastore says. And research backs him up: when parents stay engaged and keep talking about what kids see and do online, kids can feel less pressure to measure up to what they see on screens.
So as parents wrap up phones, tablets and gaming consoles this holiday season, we paired the holiday tech gifts with the settings and conversations Pastore uses with his own kids.
If this year’s gift is a first phone
“Every family’s different. We block the obvious stuff—gambling and other adult content—but the biggest filter is the conversation. I tell my kids, ‘You can come to me before the Internet does.’”
Shop featured tech gifts
Verizon Family Plus: block certain apps, filter content, and use location sharing all from one app on your phone. Download Verizon Family for free, or sign up for the Verizon Family Plus perk (available for $10 monthly with myPlan) for a more premium experience and save $4.99 a month.
Google Pixel 10 Pro: offers regular security updates with solid built-in safety limits, but not top-tier expensive for first phone users. Get Google Pixel 10 on us—no trade-in required—on any myPlan.
If you’re starting with a smartwatch
“The one thing we liked, in addition to being a tracker, was the two-way communication,” Pastore says. “He could call us. We can also control things from the app; I can control if it’s going to ring or be on silent mode. We also set it to Auto Answer, so if I call him, it will buzz a few times and it just answers and we can listen in.”
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Verizon Gizmo Watch 3: made for kids ages 4-8, so it’s a good first-device, with built-in GPS and School Mode settings and no internet or social media (and you can save $75 on a Gizmo Watch 3**).
Samsung Galaxy Watch8: great for a teen’s smartwatch when you enable the “Kids /supervised mode” features and set up parental controls and limits. Get the Samsung Galaxy S25 on us—no trade-in required—on any myPlan. And, get the Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Tab S10 FE 5G, all on us, with a service plan.
If gaming consoles are on the list
“My router timer is the bedtime that actually works,” Pastore says. “Every device in my house runs through one Wi-Fi system where I can set limits. It shuts down the Xbox at 9 PM, the tablets earlier. It’s automatic, so I don’t have to argue.”
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Fios Router or 5G Home Router limit gaming by setting WiFi time limits that simply turn off WiFi to devices one hour before bedtime
Nintendo Switch: use the free parental controls app for instant activity reports
Even the best tech gifts should come with boundaries. With clear routines, real conversations, and the right digital tools, parents can help kids learn to balance freedom and responsibility—one device at a time.
**Service plan req'd for watch. $149.99 purchase on service plan req’d. Less $75 promo credit applied over 36 mos.; promo credit ends if eligibility req’s are no longer met; 0% APR. Promo credit(s) may not exceed featured device retail price. Expires January 7, 2026.
We got you: You’re there for them with Verizon Family. Verizon’s there for you—including our 3-year price lock.*
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