It has been feeling like summer for the past month, but it is in a matter of weeks when the summertime will officially kick off! I can’t help but reminisce about the halcyon summer days of my youth. Summer break was something that I always looked forward to when I was a young girl, especially since I lived by numerous sources of entertainment, including a school with a playground, mini golf course, park, public swimming pool, and several baseball parks. I’d even play with the neighborhood kids from time to time, but there were many times that I enjoyed playing alone. If I wasn’t playing putt-putt or swimming at the local pool, you’d find me rollerskating or riding my bike around the neighborhood. The word bored wasn’t in my vocabulary, because I always managed to find something to do!

Entertainment has come a long way since I was a child. In this day and age, we have become overly dependent on technology as a source of entertainment. I’m not eliminating myself out of the equation! This is why it hardly surprises me that all too often parents are faced with children that would rather bury their heads in a phone, tablet, or computer than to interact as a family.

We’ve all discovered that social media and online games are anything but social—serving. Instead, it isolates many in the real world more than to connect. This digital living is becoming a larger and larger obstacle to family ties each year. I can’t help but find these sad and disheartening since these moments in childhood are irreplaceable. It is effortlessly easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives, but I strive on not missing these moments with my children no matter how monumental or mundane these moments may be. I cherish their limited years of childhood since I know that someday they’ll be on their own, venturing adulthood. And, I’ll miss those days that they were mine.

With summer lurking around the corner, this is the perfect time for our children to put down the devices and step away from them to truly enjoy some family time. This is where Relay comes into play! They want us to make this summer the best one yet. They’re striving to help bring back that nostalgic time in childhood – where parents had the peace of mind they needed to feel good about letting their child go far yet staying close.

What exactly is Relay? Relay is a smart walkie-talkie (with 4G LTE coverage) that functions as an old school walkie-talkie that many kids used to explore and play. Its one-touch communication makes it user-friendly. There is no phone number and your child is only able to communicate with people that you approve. The device is activated through a companion app on the parent’s phone, which controls their settings and includes GPS tracking.

Relay comes with different channels for fun like voice effects, kid-kid communication, and ultimately, music and Google assistant. It changes the way children play and makes it better, especially with classic childhood games like hide-and-seek, whether they’re playing it with friends or family. Thanks to 4G LTE and WiFi, Relay has an unlimited range where you can communicate with friends or family, whether they’re outdoors, down the street, or even across the country! In addition to these noteworthy features, it is also water-resistant and can easily fit in your child’s pocket.

In a nutshell, Relay gives children the freedom to explore and parents a sense of security since they can use the GPS tracking via their phone without having to interrupt their fun.