November 2018 | Relay Blog

Open Chat: Relay is Better with Friends, So Get Chatting!

November 30, 2018/in Relay in Action

Relay keeps people connected. It connects families, letting parents keep track of kids. It lets kids find freedom without being exposed to smartphones before they’re ready. But Relay is also fun for kids—that’s what sets it apart from the trackers and boring kids phones out there.

And now Relay is keeping kids connected to their friends. If kids needed another reason to love Relay, to want to carry it with them on their playtime adventures, this is it.

We’re proud to announce Open Chat

Friends deserve channels of their own. With Open Chat, you can connect your Relay or app with any Relay user on any account. You can always be just a button-press away from a great conversation.

Imagine the possibilities:

An easy, safe way for our kids to talk to their best friends
The best way to keep in touch with big groups
Talk to fellow parents without the hassle of dialing and texting

Using Open Chat is easy

When you create a custom channel in your Relay app, you will now have the option to invite Relays from other accounts! You can share your invite code through text, email, or however is convenient for you. The invitee simply opens the link and gets the option to accept the invitation in their Relay app.

More fun for kids

No longer just a way to call home, a way to listen to music, or a way to play silly games—Relay can be instrumental to play in a whole new way. From planning playdates to chatting over holiday vacations, Open Chat lets kids maintain and grow their friendships while keeping them safe from social media, texting, and other less personal ways of keeping in touch. If your kid’s friends don’t have Relays yet, now is the perfect time to share your referral code—give a free month of service and get awesome prizes!

Plus even more screen-free features

Open Chat is just one more way we are taking Relay to the next level with kid-friendly, highly customizable features that kids love. We’re constantly adding new features to the channel store and improving the ones we’ve got. Here’s what’s new this week:

Joke of the day

What do you call a channel with frequent, fresh, and funny new content? We’re calling it Joke of the Day. You can hear the day’s new material or go back and listen to your old favorites to show your friends. Just tap the talk button for laughs!

More languages to learn

Our Spanish language translator has some new friends—now you can choose from 13 languages in the Translate channel. In your Relay app, pick two languages per Relay to hear translations. For example, if you pick Portuguese and English, your Relay will translate English into Portuguese and Portuguese into English! You can change languages any time through the Relay app.

Be a part of Relay’s new features

We want to bring new features to Relay, especially features that make life easier for our members. And nobody knows our members better than they know themselves—we want to hear your ideas! Let us know what kinds of features you’d like to see in the future by posting in the Relay Neighborhood. Other users can vote on ideas, discuss how they use Relay, and your idea will be seen by the Relay team, guaranteed.

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1 Easy Scientific Way to Raise a Grateful Child: Guest Post

November 21, 2018/in Digital Parenting

For most of us, when we think of gratitude, we think of the phrase “Thank You.” But gratitude is so much more than that! Gratitude is a positive emotion that serves a purpose.

The science behind gratitude

Harvard Medical School defines gratitude as “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals—whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.”

Robert Emmons, the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, explains that gratitude has two key components.

Recognition of good things in our lives
The understanding that the source of that goodness lies outside ourselves.

Teaching children gratitude from an early age helps them to seek out and focus on the positive moments during the day.

With practice and consistency, gratitude nurtures:

A natural life outlook
Increased level of happiness
Overall better mental, physical, and emotional health

According to a study by Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California, Davis, cultivating gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%.

Other studies confirm that kids who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and family. And feeling grateful motivates adolescents to help others and use their strengths to contribute to society.

How to inspire grateful thoughts in kids

There are several ways to raise a grateful child, the most powerful of which is a Daily Gratitude Practice.

Just before my triplets turned 4, we went to a neighborhood block party. When we were ready to leave, it was late—they were tired and hungry. I put two of the triplets in their car seats. When I turned to pick up the third one, he sat down in the grass and started crying.

In between tears, he managed to explain, “I wanted to do another craft project and I didn’t get a chance to play with the toys they had.”

I smiled really big (that’s one of my best parenting tricks, just smile really big in any situation!) As I picked him up and started buckling his car seat, I said to him:

“I am so grateful for all of the new friends that we made tonight. I am really grateful for the wonderful colors that you used when you painted your rock and I’m grateful that you moved over and made place for your new friend so that she could do a craft project too.”

As I got into the car, I asked my husband, “What are you grateful for?” He took the cue and gave his gratitude. We went on to ask each of the triplets, “What are you grateful for?”

And that’s how our daily gratitude practice started and we’ve been consistently practicing for almost two years now. In the beginning, kids, especially young ones, will mimic what you say—because they’re learning. But give them a week of consistent practice and you will be amazed at what you hear!

On average, it takes more than two months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact, according to a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology.

Being grateful every day

When starting a family gratitude practice remember, stay consistent and practice.

1. Pick an activity your family does several times a day—make sure it’s a fun and exciting experience for the whole family.

Pick an activity that your family does routinely several times a day, meal times, car rides, and before bed are all popular. My favorite? Car rides. If you pick car rides, leave a sticky note reminder on your steering wheel or in the rearview mirror.

2. Focus only on the activity or experience you just had.

If you choose car rides for your Daily Family Gratitude Practice, family members give gratitude about the activity or experience they just had. Whether you’re headed home from a trip to the grocery store, the library, school, or a theme park- gratitude focuses on the experience you just had.

For example:

“I am grateful that dad let me put the credit card in the machine to pay for the groceries.”
“I am grateful to the cashier for giving me stickers.”
“I am grateful to my kids who carried all the library books to the car.”

Starting a family gratitude practice helps kids be present and focus on the positive aspects of the activity they’re doing or experience they’re having because they get to give their gratitude right after the event.

3. Stay consistent.

If you forget once, it’s totally fine. Just make sure your reminders are in place and focus on the next opportunity. After a few days, you’ll find that the kids will automatically start the gratitude practice. They’ll look forward to the giving gratitude experience, focus on being more present during events or activities, and truly become more grateful.

Make the Daily Family Gratitude Practice something fun to look forward to and in no time, you will be amazed at how Practicing Gratitude daily will change your life!

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Supna is the founder of WeGo Kids and a mom of triplets. WeGo kids is dedicated to inspiring parents to nurture emotional intelligence in their children from an early age. You can download your free beginner’s guide to emotional intelligence parenting at raisingEI.com.

EvanTubeHD Takes a Screen-Free Adventure with Relay

November 20, 2018/in Relay in Action

What’s screen-free, gives your kid independence, provides a ton of fun, and gives parents peace of mind? Relay is a nationwide smartphone alternative, and kids love it as much as parents do! Communicate with your kid or find them through GPS tracking with the touch of a button while they explore, play, and enjoy being a kid. Want to see it in action? Check out how Evan and Jillian from EvanTube HD use Relay to have a fun-filled day with their family!

Fun features encourage active play

“It’s like a screen-free phone! You can play music, use a Spanish translator, and even customize the names on each Relay […] You guys can have a lot of fun and still communicate with your parents. It also has GPS so we can see where you are.”

Relay lets kids move! No more staring at a screen to play games – Relay’s music playlists and other features are designed to enhance play without distracting from it. And knowing the kids are safe with GPS tracking makes the whole family feel better about outdoor adventures and independent activities.

Talk to anyone, anywhere

“You could speak to someone all the way in New York if you wanted to; it uses 4G LTE or WiFi […] and if you touch two Relays together, they automatically create their own channel so you can talk to your friends!”

Relay might be as easy to use as a walkie-talkie, but it works wherever a cell phone would work. Talk to friends and family all over the country! If they don’t have Relays of their own, you can share your referral code to get them a free month of service – and earn prizes!

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Relay Price Drop: Savings for You, Safety for the Kids

November 14, 2018/in Relay in Action

It’s a screen-free smartphone that keeps kids connected so they can play more and go further. It’s a GPS tracker that lets parents feel secure in their kids’ newfound freedom.

It’s Relay—and it’s more affordable than ever.

More Relay for your money

We know that customization is important for families, so now every Relay is priced at $49.99—so you can save $50 or more per order and get as many Relays as your family needs at an affordable flat rate.

Why did the price drop?

We want our members to be happy, to have a great time with Relay, and to feel their voices are heard when they speak to us. We heard that many families who made a Relay purchase were coming back for more. But after purchasing a Relay pack, paying for another single Relay would have been more expensive in the long run. We want adding Relays to your account to be easy and fun, not a math problem.

Also, we found that more and more families are opting to buy a single Relay for their child, and using the app for themselves. After listening to our members, we decided to make Relay pricing simple, straightforward, and a better deal for everyone.

We’re taking the price per Relay from $99.99 down to $49.99, and changing Relay’s monthly service to $9.99 per month from $6.99.

If you’re already a Relay member, don’t worry—we’re taking care of you. We’re issuing credits to members who have already bought a Relay, plus we’re extending their $6.99 per month service rate for an additional 12 months. If you already have a Relay, check your email to see the money you’re getting back, or get more details here.

The best time to become a Relay member

Relay is more affordable than ever. You’ll save the cost of a pricey, highly breakable smartphone and even pricier cell phone plan. ($40-$50 per month on average—no thanks!)

Plus, Relay is getting better every week. We’ve released a long list of improvements including GPS tracking from your Relay app, a growing list of Relay channels (like music playlists and language translation,) and big upgrades to coverage and battery life. At half the price, there’s never been a better time to get a Relay.

Time to get a Relay

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5 Important Reasons to Keep Kids Away from Smartphones

November 9, 2018/in Digital Parenting

Smartphones are everywhere, and parents are feeling pressure from their kids and the people around them to give phones to their kids at younger and younger ages. While phones provide your kid a way to contact you, they do a lot of other things that can harm your kid or expose them to things they aren’t ready to see. We talked to Brooke Shannon from Wait Until 8th, a movement empowering parents to keep phones out of kids hands until at least 8th grade, to bring you the top 5 reasons not to buy your kid a smartphone.

1. Smartphones change the childhood experience

When kids have smartphones, it distracts them. The result is a very different childhood from the kind we experienced growing up. Kids play outside less, choose YouTube videos over reading for pleasure, and spend more time on apps and less time with family. Kids are spending up to 7 hours a day on screens, and that doesn’t leave enough room for the healthy activities that make childhood special.

2. Smartphones get kids hooked

Using a smartphone stimulates dopamine – a brain chemical that makes us happy, and the same chemical involved in various addictions. Not only does the brain crave the activity that stimulates happy-chemicals, it gets cranky when we’re away from the stimulus. That is the root of screen addiction and the dreaded tantrums many of us have experienced when trying to put an end to screen time at home. App developers know this – the more time our kids spend on phones, the more ads they see and the more money gets made. We have to look out for our kids well-being so they aren’t taken advantage of.

3. Smartphones and school don’t mix well

There’s no need for a reminder of how important your kid’s K-12 education is for their knowledge, time management, and responsibility, as well as their developing social skills. Smartphones get in the way of all these things. They’re correlated with poorer grades and test results and prevent kids from socializing in person as much. As well, getting a kid a smartphone before they have developed their time management skills makes them much more vulnerable to smartphone distractions.

4. Smartphones disrupt kids’ sleep

Not only do phones emit sleep-disrupting blue light, but the addictive quality of apps and games can prevent kids from wanting to go to bed at appropriate times. That influence is even stronger if kids keep their phones in their bedrooms at night. This technology-based sleep deprivation can affect cognitive performance in school and at home as well as impact kids’ health, affecting their immune system and mental health.

5. Smartphones stunt kids social skills

Face to face interactions are how kids learn, develop, and practice their social skills and build relationships. Even something so fundamental as the parent-child relationship can suffer when our kids become withdrawn, spending isolated time with a phone in front of their face. In mild scenarios, kids will form shallower friendships and relationships with family. In extreme circumstances, their social skills may never develop to their full potential. There’s some good news at the end of all the warnings and risks – you don’t have to take on all the negatives that come with a smartphone to keep in touch with your child. You can even keep track of them with GPS, all with no apps and no screens. Relay was created by parents as a screen-free smartphone alternative that keeps kids safe and communicating until they are ready for a phone of their own.

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The Wait Until 8th pledge started with a few parents in Texas and a simple idea. If we rallied together, we could reverse the power of peer pressure as smartphone ownership invaded our elementary schools. This local grassroots initiative quickly grew into nationwide movement asking parents to wait until their kids were in at least 8th grade to grant smartphone privileges. Now close to 15,000 parents across the country are delaying the smartphone for their children until at least 8th grade.

Relay kids phone FAQ’s: Here’s What You Need to Know

November 9, 2018/in Relay in Action

Thinking about a way to keep in touch with your child as they develop their independence and responsibility? Us, too – that’s why we created Relay. This screen-free smartphone for kids is unlike anything else out there today, and it has an ever-growing set of fun and useful features. Here are some common questions about Relay and their answers.

What is the range? Can I use it from a different city/state?

Relay has the range of a cell phone—so you can make calls as far as across the country. Relay uses 4G LTE and WiFi for even more reliable coverage. You can connect your Relays to WiFi through the app on your smartphone. After that, they’ll automatically connect when in range, switching from 4G LTE to WiFi as needed.

Is Relay available outside of the U.S.?

Relay is only available in the U.S. (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). We hope to expand internationally in the future. Hang on, Canada—we’ll be there soon!

Do I need to add a line to my cell phone plan for Relay? Is there a monthly fee?

Relay comes with its own service—no need to add a line to your cell plan. All you need to do is purchase and activate. Relay has a monthly fee of $9.99/month, independent from your normal cell phone service bill.

How is this different from a “dumb phone?”

No calls from strangers, just pre-approved contacts. No texting, cameras, or internet access, just kid-friendly content. And unlike flip phones and brick phones, Relay uses a modern antenna and 4G LTE + WiFi. That means when you talk, you hear each other more clearly and get more reliable service. And I guess we should mention that Relay is much more affordable than most phones and phone plans.

Does this have real-time GPS tracking?

Relay has GPS tracking that updates every time a parent requests the location of each device. It does not constantly update, but it shows an accurate location/address when you ask for it—and it integrates with your phone’s map app. We also have a geofencing feature available that allows parents to set up perimeters – you can get more information about geofencing here.

How many devices do I need? Is there an app for parents?

You’ll need one Relay per kid. Parents and older siblings with smartphones can use the free Relay app for iOS and Android to chat. Of course, if you want a Relay of your own, that’s great!

How does Relay know who to contact? How does it switch between contacts?

Your child can reach any combination of pre-approved contacts through Relay. One-on-one chats as well as an Everyone chat are set up when you create your account. Parents can also create custom chat groups via the Relay app. To switch between chats, kids can quick press the power button on the side of their Relay to cycle through chats or they can press and hold the volume button and use the Relay voice assistant to switch chats. For more information, check out this article from our support team.

Does the app have to be open on my phone in order for my kid to contact me?

Your Relay app does NOT have to be open in order to for your child to get in touch with you. You’ll receive a notification whenever someone is trying to talk to you. And with Direct Chats, you can listen to your messages whenever, so you never have to worry about missed messages.

How do I keep my kid from losing their Relay? Is it a wearable?

We have wearable accessories to keep Relay right where it belongs – with your child! You can choose from the Loop Case, which includes a case, carabiner, and lanyard, or the armband. Wear it, clip it to a belt loop or backpack—the possibilities are endless. It’s more versatile than a watch band, and way more stylish.

Can I leave a message for my child and vice/versa?

Yes you can! Your child can leave you a message and vice versa using Direct Chats. For all the details, check our complete guide to how the missed messages feature works.

Can my kid talk to their friends with Relay? What if their friends have smartphones?

Yes, kids can talk to friends on other Relay accounts as long as the contact is approved by the app owner (that’s you!) Kids can talk to friends, cousins, and any other approved contact with a Relay or Relay app. If your child’s friends have smartphones but do not have a Relay account, you would need to give your child’s friends your login credentials to access the app. We do not recommend this as the app contains parental controls. In the future, we plan to have app-only accounts to solve this.

Can you call 911 on Relay?

Relay does not use phone service/lines, so it can’t make calls to emergency services. Relay developers are currently working on a solution for emergency contact. Currently, kids can use the SOS feature to alert parents with a special tone and send continuous location updates until the parent cancels the SOS alert.