When I think of safe cell phones for kids, I think of two things. The first is safety from strangers or other people; the second is safety from cell phone radiation. And now there’s a cell phone in the works that’s going to solve both issues beautifully.

In fact, it might be the only mobile phone for a 3 year-old that we’d actually recommend.

The Pipsqueak
doesn’t require a calling plan, a contract, or even a phone number.
That’s because it operates by Bluetooth 3.0, more like a headset.
Essentially you tether it to your own Bluetooth-enabled phone of any
kind, and you route an incoming call from Grandpa, or from Mom saying
goodnight from her business trip, right to the Pipsqueak–all without
putting your own $300 phone in the sticky, slippery little hands of your
kiddo. To charge, just plug into any standard USB.

The design
isn’t an afterthought. It has the look of a classic little flip phone
that a kid can manage easily, but with interchangeable faceplates and
charms so that kids can evolve from princesses to pirates to LEGOs in a
snap (literally).

As
for that safety business, the power output would be less than .001 of
the FDA limit for cell phones, and kids obviously won’t have the ability
to call anyone directly from it. Plus it will have a voice recorder
(kids loooove those), an MP3 function and headphone compatibility,
so it’s a little like one of those toy flip phones, only it’s not just a
toy.

Nice detail: The range is around 50 feet, so if your
Pipsqueak and phone are tethered and the kiddo wanders off, you’ll get
an alert. Can you tell this was dreamed up by a mom and dad team? (And
the dad happens to be a 14 year cell phone industry vet?)

Right now Pipsqueak is a brand new Kickstarter project
so Michael and Angela need a whole lot of funding to make this happen.
But one of the reasons for the high start-up costs, is that the plan is
to design, engineer and manufacture them right in the US from local
Texas vendors. Yet it won’t cost parents a fortune. While the retail
price isn’t quite set yet, the first 300 backers at the $50 level will be one of the first to own one when they ship this spring.

In fact, I’ll be kicking in some money today. Let’s just say as a parent, this is one I really hope meets its funding goals. –Liz

Fund and learn more about the Pipsqueak cell phone for kids on their Kickstarter page, or on their website at YipYap.com.
If fully funded by November 30, it will be available to ship by spring.
And if you’ve got deep pockets, don’t miss the $5000 pledge level
reward–so clever!

Click here for more fantastic Kickstarter projects we’ve recommended.

[thanks sean!]