If you’re looking for the latest technology for your child and you want to be able to track their activity and exercise, you may want to buy a smartwatch for kids. These smartwatches have more features than simple pedometers for kids and help encourage exercise through rewards and games.
Since these smartwatches are designed especially for kids, they’re usually more durable, easier to use, and a lot cheaper than smartwatches for adults. They also have fun features like cameras that make it feel more like a toy than just a fitness tracker, so your kid will want to wear it. These smartwatches make great gifts for kids.
Activity Trackers and Smartwatches for Kids
LeapFrog LeapBand Activity Tracker
The Leapband is a fitness band made just for kids. It makes fitness fun to encourage activity and rewards them with games and points they can use to unlock pets. Once they’ve selected a pet, it thrives on their activity.
The activity challenges are kid-centric, telling them to wiggle like a worm or march like an elephant to make exercise fun. It is a non-touch screen device, which makes it sturdier but may be confusing for kids who normally use touchscreens. It also doesn’t have any advanced tracking features beyond the points. The main goal of the device is to get kids up and moving.
Available colors: blue, green, pink
Age Range: 4 – 7 years old
Tracks: activity
Notable features: active challenges, customizable pets, analog/digital watch, adjustable band, rechargeable battery, water-resistant, LeapFrog connect enabled
Octopus Kids Habit Smartwatch
JOY has designed the Octopus smartwatch for kids to be more than just games and fun. A big focus of their design is teaching good habits, specifically with a focus on helping kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Featuring a vibrant color display, the Octopus kid’s smartwatch can display over 700 icons to remind your child to complete a variety of tasks and chores. Build a consistent routine for your kid by scheduling reminders for tasks like brushing teeth, taking medication, bathing, or even doing homework. The watch doesn’t make any noise, instead it gently vibrates and displays the icon of whatever task needs to be complete.
This is a very specialized smartwatch, which means it is lacking some of the features you may expect in a smartwatch for kids. It does not track steps, nor does it have built in GPS tracking or calling abilities.
Best for children 4 to 8 years old.
Available colors: Sky Blue, Red
Tracks: completing habits.
Notable features: hypoallergenic wristband, splash proof, iOS & Android smartphone apps, 2-5 day rechargable battery
VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2
The VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2 is one of the most advanced options available for kids on the market right now. This touch screen watch is filled with tons of apps so they can take videos, play games, and tell time with just the tap of their finger. It also features two cameras (one for selfies) that can take still photos and videos.
For exercise and activity, the watch has a pedometer to count steps. It also features action challenges, which are recorded using the band’s motion sensor. This watch will help motivate your kid to be active. It does not have any phone or messaging capability, but it is one of the best smartwatches for kids.
Available colors: royal blue, vivid violet, black, pink, camouflage
Age Range: 4 – 12 years old
Tracks: steps, activity
Notable features: pedometer, motion sensor, alarm, timer, stopwatch, calendar, calculator, touch screen, splashproof, 256 MB internal memory, 2-week rechargeable battery, 50 clock faces
Kurio Smartwatches for Kids
If you’re shopping for a smartwatch for an older kid or teen, the Kurio is an affordable alternative to an Apple Watch. Their 2.0 version It packs a lot of features into a reasonable price tag as it’s an actualy smartwatch and not a kid’s toy.
If you’re mainly interested in activity and fitness tracking with this smartwatch for kids, there are some features specific to this. The built-in accelerometer can track your kid’s activity. It can also be used for motion detection games that get your kid moving. But honestly, there’s so much going on with this smartwatch that it may be hard to keep your kids focused on the fitness portion. The Kurio has a camera to take selfies and videos (which can be downloaded to a PC or Mac computer). It also features a ton of game apps as well as necessities like timers, alarms, calendars, contacts, music and more. Each watch also comes with two interchangeable bands so they can make their watch match their style each day.
One thing to note, while this is a standalone Smartwatch, it must be synced to an Android smartphone via Bluetooth to take advantage of the texting and calling features. But it works without a phone or contract, so you can save money. If your child does not have a smartphone, you can sync it to yours however, they will have access to all of your contacts. If this is not ideal, you may want to consider a GPS locator watch with messaging ability for your kid.
Available colors: blue or orange bands, pink or purple bands.
Recommended ages: 4 to 15 years old
Tracks: activity
Notable features: high-res touch screen, 256 MB internal memory, 32 GB microSD card slot, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, productivity apps, games, Bluetooth connectivity for texting (Android smartphone required)
If you think a smartwatch may be too much for your kid, you can still motivate them to be active and meet goals with a fitness tracker or pedometer for kids.
If your kid is already very outdoorsy and active, check out these rugged and durable action cameras for kids.
Need gloves that work with your kid’s new smartwatch? Check out these texting gloves for kids and teens.