THE 6 BEST SMARTWATCHES FOR KIDS WHO DON’T NEED A SMARTPHONE JUST YET
The perfect gift for your techie tot or teen. ⌚
Smartwatches have become popular wearable pieces of tech that make our day-to-day lives easier. And now, even your child can get a hand (and a wrist) in on these fun accessories. Smartwatches for kids are specifically designed with younger age groups in mind and are less powerful and more affordable than regular smartwatches.
They're packed full of apps and games to keep your little ones active and occupied, and some even have built-in cameras for snapping selfies. Others are full-fledged communication gadgets that support phone calls, texts, and GPS tracking.
One thing we must mention, but truly hate mentioning is that the SIM-connected watches with GPS and calling functions are for many parents a non-negotiable. In the event of an emergency at your child's school, or if, heaven forbid, someone were to approach your child, having text, voice messaging, and GPS could be a major aid to you and your child.
BEST SMARTWATCHES FOR KIDS
- Best Overall: TickTalk Smart Watch
- Challenges Kids to Get Moving:Kidizoom Watch
- Gives Kids Some Freedom: Xplora Smart Watch
- Fun, Yet Educational: Tobi 2
- Best for Fitness: Garmin VivoFit
- Best Tested: Apple Watch SE
WHAT TO CONSIDER
Ultimately, it's up to you as a parent to determine how you want your child to utilize their smartwatch. Is it just for fun, or is it a watch that you want your child to use with you or others? How can you be sure that your child uses the tech wisely? According to Teodora Pavkovic, youth psychologist, digital wellness expert, and director of community engagement at classroom management technology company Linewize, “An important first step in order to set them up for online safety and healthy technology-use habits is establishing a tech agreement with your child before they begin using the technology, and continue to tweak it as they grow older.”
When considering safety and usefulness, there are four main things to consider when you're looking to buy: age, features or functions, durability, and connectivity.
Age
This is arguably the most important metric to consider when it comes to smartwatches for kids. Younger kids need different things and are better fit for simple watches like the Tobi 2, while tweens and teens may get something closer to what you or I would wear, so it's up to us to guide them to what is appropriate.
Features/Functions
Some of our favorite kids' smartwatches are fairly basic — and that's the beauty of them. They let you get the time, maybe play a few games, have a timer for chores or bathroom use, and usually have a camera just for fun. The next step up includes features like connecting to your phone or Wi-Fi. A step up from that are fully functional smartwatches.
But the more functions it has, the more distracting it could be. Pavkovic notes, “It’s important that parents consider the potential impact the use of this technology can have on their child’s daily habits, their ability to carry out their school work without distraction, and their ability to spend quality time with friends and family.”
A smartwatch for kids is also an excellent middle ground for little ones who are constantly begging for a smartphone. Thankfully, most of our picks don’t offer unrestrained access to the internet like a phone would and most aren’t susceptible to data charges — plus, they’re much cheaper than smartphones.
Durability
Our parenting editor, Cat Bowen, sings the praises of gear insurance for kids, especially teens. Since kids tend to scratch up and break things quickly, we recommend adding a protection plan or insurance policy to your purchase, especially for the Apple watch. Aside from that, you should also look for smartwatches that are waterproof or splashproof, with sturdy, scratch-resistant surfaces and bands that can take a beating.
Connectivity
Most smartwatches for kids don't rely on a data connection, but for teens, we've listed a handful of smartwatches in this guide that do sync with smartphones or have an independent data connection so that your child can send messages to their loved ones.
Pakovic tells Best Products, “The only issue more important than healthy tech habits is data privacy and protection for minors. Yes, privacy policies are long and dull, but it’s imperative for parents to read them and understand what kind of data, especially health- and location-related, will be collected from their children, where it will be stored, how it will be used, and most importantly, who else it will be shared with.”
All of our recommended smartwatches for kids will serve as an excellent transition for giving your child more independence with tech. Shop the best smartwatches for kids below to get your kids excited about getting active.
4G LTE Kids Smart Watch Phone with GPS Tracker
PROS
- Lots of parental controls
- Accurate GPS locator
- Free music
- Two cameras to catch all the fun things kids take pics of
- End to end encrypted messages
CONS
- Bulky
If your child (5 to 13) wants tons of features, but you still want control of what they do, and with whom they connect, the TickTalk 4 is your best option for that. It's also durable thanks to the shock-absorbing exterior that is reminiscent of an Otter Box.
It's an LTE kids watch that comes with a free sim card, and the connectivity is $9.99 per month. It has two-way HD video and voice calling, two 5MP cameras, free music streaming through iHeart family, GPS location tracking, activity trackers and step counter, end-to-end encrypted messaging, tons of parental controls, and an SOS function.
The SOS function allows your child to immediately call their emergency contact by simply holding down a button. It's one of those necessary features that makes your chest hurt and your eyes sting to consider, but it will give you some peace of mind knowing they have it.
If you’re worried about the watch being a distraction in class — don’t. It has a do-not-disturb mode (controlled by you) that silences everything but the SOS feature. It also has 50-plus pre-programmed reminders to help guide your kids’ day.
With this smartwatch for kids, you get to choose who they call and can block numbers and access to certain features during specified times of the day. You can see their calls and texts, where they are, and how they've been using the watch.
It's not waterproof, but it's fairly water-resistant, shockproof, and sturdy. Plus, it has a 62-hour battery life.
Our parenting editor, Cat Bowen's tween daughter has been wearing this smartwatch for about three weeks, and both our editor and her daughter are impressed with both its durability and its functionality. She loves to see how many steps she's taken, and she loves listening to music as she walks home from the bus. Cat loves being able to see where her daughter is in real-time, and just how many times she texts her brother "Did you eat all the ramen, again?"
Key Specs
| Age Range | 5 to 12 |
|---|---|
| Parental Control | 20+ Parental control features |
| Cell Connection | Yes, with SIM card included |
| Water Resistance | Splashproof |
Kids Smart Watch
PROS
- Great way to start setting boundaries
- Easy to set up
- Great parental controls
CONS
- Volume can be a bit low
- A bit larger than some others
One user described this watch to Best Products as "a little like an invisible fence, but 100% less painful." She was referring to the safe zones you can set up that allows your child to remain in a certain perimeter in your neighborhood, only alerting you if they leave it. It gives your child a little bit of freedom, but it's still heavily-monitored thanks to the GPS functionality.
Your child can send and receive text messages and calls from a pre-approved list of contacts. They can even send photos, thanks to the built-in 2mp camera. It has an exceptionally-long battery life at 72 hours in passive mode, which is one of the longest available right now.
One thing we loved about this watch is that the activity platform doesn't feel forced or manipulative. Your child can simply go about their day being active, and that wins them coins that they can use in the Xplora app to unlock age-appropriate content.
And don't worry about your kids getting distracted at school. You can set it up with a "school mode" that only allows certain functionality of the watch. Plans start at $9.99 per month.
Key Specs
| Age Range | 5 and up |
|---|---|
| Parental Control | Full Control |
| Cell Connection | Sim Card |
| Water Resistance | Splashproof |
PROS
- Fun picture filters and ability to upload safely
- Easy controls for both parents an kids
CONS
- A little bit bulky on the wrist for smaller kids
VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2 is one of the highest-rated kids' smartwatches on Amazon — and for good reason. It's packed with activities, games, and intuitive challenges that'll keep your little one busy all day long.
Your child can play with its built-in voice changer and snap photos and videos using the camera. Once they take those pics, they can add fun filters and you can download it directly to a device without having to move it to the cloud first. Other features include an alarm, a timer, a stopwatch, a calendar, a calculator, and a pedometer.
It's durable, easy to use, and loads of fun. It also comes in blue and purple and offers several different watch faces to pick from. The watch is splashproof and scratch-resistant, making this an all-around good pick.
| Age Range | 4+ |
|---|---|
| Parental Control | Yes |
| Cell Connection | No |
| Water Resistance | Splashproof |
PROS
- Lots of functionality
- Many accessories to customize
CONS
- No parental controls
If you want to make your son or daughter’s year and don’t mind spending the money, the Apple Watch is one of the best smartwatches you can buy. It may be too powerful for most kids, but iPhone-wielding teens will be able to figure it out in no time. It’s decently waterproof and hard to scratch, but we still recommend investing in an insurance policy.
The Apple Watch SE is Apple’s most inexpensive smartwatch. It does a fine job of tracking your teen’s fitness to get them involved in their own health and wellness. With phone-call and text-message capabilities, your teen can’t say that they missed your messages, either. We’d recommend getting the smaller and more affordable 40-millimeter watch for a teen (over the 44-millimeter model).
The Apple Watch comes in several different color and band combinations that vary in price. Just note that it doesn't work with Android smartphones — it requires an iPhone. It also comes with a new Family Share option for kids.
More: Fun Apple Watch Accessories for Your Gadget
vivofit jr. 3
PROS
- Great motivator for activity and fitness
- Great battery life
CONS
- More fitness-oriented than anything, so it might not appeal to all
The vívofit jr. 3 from Garmin is a waterproof fitness tracker that helps get your little one up and moving. It tracks steps and sleep quality, and it records their active minutes to help them form positive habits. Parents can set daily activity goals, customize an “in case of emergency” screen with their contact information, and participate in fitness challenges using fitness trackers of their own.
The watch even gives you the option to send customizable alerts and chores lists to the device, and you can reward your child with virtual coins for completing goals — fitness or otherwise. As a bonus, the vívofit jr. 3’s built-in battery lasts for a whole year.
Key Specs
| Age Range | 6+ |
|---|---|
| Parental Controls | Yes |
| Cell Connection | No |
| Waterproof | Yes |
PROS
- Lots of games
- Helps teach how to tell time
CONS
- Sits high off the wrist and may slip off
They may not be old enough to get an Apple Watch just yet, but this age-appropriate smartwatch is an educational gift for kids disguised as a toy.
It'll help them learn how to tell time, and also features plenty of games to keep them entertained: a calendar, stopwatch, timer, reminder list, alarm clock, and two built-in cameras for taking funny photos and videos with friends.
Key Specs
| Age Range | 6+ |
|---|---|
| Parental Control | Not directly, it's a closed system |
| Cell Connection | No |
| Waterproof | No |
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