If you are planning on sneaking them into school... Well again that depends on the school... Colour tamagotchis tend to be larger in size so harder to hide. And for me batteries tend to last for about 3- 4 weeks. Both the P's and IDL are great options it all depends on you takes of their differences. They have different built characters different download options and there are some other differences as well.
The IDL has 32 built in adults, 3 toddlers and 3 teens (3 branches on the growth chart so it can be tricky to compete it), there are 2 built in games (download up to 2 more), there is a tree planting feature which allows you to grow foods or toys in the backyard and 10 adoptable pets. A side note there are 4 secret characters that are obtained by connecting to other colours (ID IDL or Ps all work)
The P's has the same number of built in characters, that for the most part are different from the IDL. There are 2 toddlers and 2 teens and the addition of personailty traits on the growth chart. the seed planting feature is gone, but there are special garden surprises with an adult and a pet and an item. There are 5 adoptable pets, and a bunch of newer features, daycare ( costs a small hourly fee), school (free but there are time limits) part time job (again time limits, and you have to meet requirements to get said job), all of these drain the happy hungry meters, your adult can also date at the park which i think is very cute. From the work of Mister blinkys team there are a ton of downloads out there. Again special connection adults (4 in total 2 require 3 way connections with other Ps)
If you are looking for an all inclusive model in which you don't need to connect to others to have access to all the features, or dont feel like having to get an IRDA device (old cell phones work best) and you still want a colour filled with features that can take the neglect of school, I suggest going for a mix (the anniversary requires no connecting to unlock all the locations). The daycare in this one (there are two kinds) is free and the meters don't drop, and as far as i am aware sending them to daycare all day and having them around when you can tend to them doesn't impact growth. This one is the least needy because of the daycare and really easy to care for while in school (Im in uni and mine usually just chills at home I send it to daycare before I leave for the day and when I am done they are done with daycare)
If you are thinking a black and white I would try different models as the V6 (music star) is the most needy I find of the connections, The v5/v.5 for me is the most robust to being left alone, and growth is not dictated by care but for the most part by bonding points and weight is a thing that doesn't count (plus you have multiples usually bouncing on the screen), and you can take your time for making as no oldies. The v4/v4.5 are also tough in times of absent humans, growth is dictated by guts points there is oldies on this one. for me the V1/2/3 are about the same they do need care and love. They each have their differences, V1 for me is a very basic pet there is no shop and 2 games. the v2/3 are very similar they do have some differences but overall they very similar so between that one it would be all up to you on characters present and if such.
And there are my two cents. I think you should do your research think it through and decide what will work best for you and your schedule and needs.
