How mobile apps improve the lives of Chinese people

Tech helps parents watch over children

No 5: Smartwatch apps

Wang Lang bought a smartwatch for her 5-year-old daughter as a New Year's gift in December. She also downloaded an app for her own smartphone that allows her to control the gadget.

"It's more useful than I thought it'd be," said the 33-year-old financial worker from Shenyang, Liaoning province. She explained she can call her daughter using the watch at any time, as well as send texts and voicemail messages.

"For example, I can ring her to say it's time to come home when she's playing or remind her to take her medicine while she's at kindergarten," Wang added.

Before buying the Chinese-made smartwatch, Wang could only check on the girl by calling the kindergarten teacher, who was sometimes too busy to answer her phone, which raised the mother's anxiety level.

The number of parents using smartwatch apps to keep track of their children doubled in 2017, according to data from Cheetah Global Lab, a mobile internet research institute.

Many see them as a handy security feature. Using the app, parents can get real-time information on their child's whereabouts, and they can input contact numbers for the child to call in emergencies.

"Parents also don't need to worry that their child will play on the watch during class, because all the functions－such as the address book, real-time positioning and online chatting－can be disabled using the app," Wang said.

CAO CHEN