The Best Smartwatches For Kids: An Ultimate Guide

The VTech KidiZoom is a bestseller on Amazon and is loaded with kid-friendly features including a touch screen, AR and learning games, and a pedometer to track steps. There are also two cameras for kids to take photos and selfies and fun filters and frames that can be added after. It comes in five different colors and is rechargeable via micro USB. The watch has no WiFi or Bluetooth capabilities, so there is no accidental downloading of random apps (though parents can transfer more games or photos). One reviewer said, “Bought as a gift for our 8 year old. Worried it was too young for her, but she LOVES it. I like that it has the analog clock face in addition to a digital clock face. She loves everything about it — including the exercise game where she has to walk around with the pedometer feature and look for the ‘monster’ hiding. The camera is surprisingly good for a toy. Well done, VTech!”

Siblings are going to have so much fun together with this gift (get ready for squeals of excitement)! The Tobi Robot Smartwatch is hours of fun for the kids when they’re together and also apart. They can use it to tell time (even with old-school analog if you choose!), take pics, do videos, play games, and count steps. They can send each other messages, too. Wait until you see how thrilled they get watching their robots come to life! The little personalities come through with moving arms and legs, plus tons of expressions. The kids’ personalities will shine through, too, when they start using the stand to take selfies to share with each other, and you.

The Garmin vivofit jr. can keep up with your most active kids. It comes in multiple colors, has a one-year battery life, and is swim-friendly (up to a depth of 50 meters). It gamifies daily activity — after completing 60 minutes of activity, kids can unlock educational adventures, games, and collectible gems. There are fitness cards that will help your kid learn basic exercises like jumping jacks and mountain climbers. And parents can sync their smartphone to the watch to monitor and reward activity, input emergency contact information, and best of all, assign and set reminders for daily/weekly chores. One reviewer said, “It is a cute little watch for a kid and it is useful to keep them engaged with some chores as well as tracking steps and activity. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good kid sports watch.”

The Prograce smartwatch has a touch screen and built-in games to keep kids occupied so you can get a few minutes of productivity in. It has a pedometer to track steps, 90-degree camera to take photos from different angles (including selfies), flashlight, FM radio, and audio music player (requires a micro SD card to store photos and music). They can plug in headphones so you don’t have to be subjected to listening to their current favorite song on repeat. One reviewer said, “Bought for our 5 year old so he could get a smart watch when his 8 year old brother got his gizmo watch. He absolutely loves it, his older brother even likes all the features and options the watch has. They love the flashlight and rotating camera and all the games, the music player, and pedometer. I am EXTREMELY impressed with the functionality of the watch and also the quality of the watch itself. Has a durable watch band and doesn’t feel like cheap material and no distorted audio. Very glad we chose this watch!”

Chances are, if you have a kid, you have at least one L.O.L. toy somewhere in your house. Give them what they already love in the form of a L.O.L. Surprise! smartwatch. This fun pink watch has a touch-screen and can be charged via USB. It has multiple wallpapers, 10 changeable watch faces, games, a camera, a calculator, a step counter, a timer, and a voice recorder. One reviewer said, “My LOL crazed 6-year-old daughter absolutely loves this smartwatch. Easy to use, she has fun with the games. It was her favorite birthday gift.”

The PlayZoom2 watch is available in a bevy of colors and patterns (think airplanes, camouflage, unicorn, glitter, basketball, and more prints), so there is bound to be a design for your kid, and it has several games that encourage STEM learning. The watch has a touchscreen and can be charged by a USB cable, and it also includes customizable watch faces, a gallery, sound animations, audio books, and a swivel camera for capturing photos and videos. It doesn’t connect to a phone so there is no GPS or internet, but there is an “In case of emergency” card. One reviewer said, “This smart watch is loaded with features!…This watch has more of a STEM focus than the Gen 1 watch, which makes it perfect for her. Overall, the watch was really simple for her to figure out how to use on her own. She loves the games too. The battery life is not bad on it. It depends on how much time she spends listening to audiobooks.”

The family that plays together, stays together, right? For energetic kids, the Fitbit Ace 2 is an activity tracker made for six year olds and up. In addition to tracking steps and sleep, it has a customizable clock face, timer, stopwatch, and five-day battery. Parents can connect the watch to their phones to monitor activity and connections and set reminders. For some friendly competition, you can set family challenges and track virtual trophies along the way. One reviewer said, “This is our second one! My son loves his! It allows him to compete with the rest of our family for steps, tracks his sleep and has made him much more aware!! He is 8 and for the money it makes for great fun, awareness, and security!”

The Kurio watch comes loaded with games for kids, including some that require them to move around, and has two interchangeable bands. It has an activity tracker, stopwatch, calculator, music player, camera, photo fillers, and more. There is Bluetooth capability so kids can play games or send emoji to their friends who also have the watch, and parents can download the Android app to connect to the watch as well. There’s an “in case of emergency” app on the phone where parents can put in important medical and emergency contact information. Says one reviewer, “My girls love the watches. You just have to charge 3-4 times a week. Good for ages 7-9.”

The force is strong with this Star Wars themed smartwatch. Your budding jedi will enjoy a wearable that looks like the lovable BB-8 droid and has lightsaber and spaceship sound effects, themed digital and analog clock faces, and three games that let them escape Stormtroopers and blast asteroids. It has a touch screen, camera, alarm and stopwatch, voice recorder, calendar, and rechargeable battery. One reviewer said, “My children saved their money to buy matching watches. The price was worth the money for sure! They are easy to operate and charge. The kids use it to set their morning school alarms and keep track of time. They even set the timer to make sure they brush their teeth for 2 minutes. The watch does not connect to a cell phone or internet so that makes it pretty basic and for children, that’s perfect. The games included on it are non-violent. The kids also like that you can take pictures with a variety of Star Wars character backgrounds. It also records their voice and they can play it back in a normal voice, chipmunk voice, droid voice, Kylo Ren voice, slow-mo voice, and echo.”

Need a little help keeping the little one in line? Verizon’s Gizmowatch is basically a wearable cell phone with limited numbers to call (up to 10 programmable contacts), messaging capabilities, and a step tracker–but that’s not all. With the GizmoHub app, you can literally set boundaries, via GPS, and get automatically alerted if your kiddo crosses one–sort of like having an electronic babysitter.

For a way to reach your kids without actually giving them a phone, this TickTalk smartwatch is the next best thing. It’s compatible with most phone carriers and can handle video and voice calling, messaging, and location tracking. The watch can be connected to WiFi, and paired with other TickTalk watches to send texts and emojis. Parents can use the app (available on iOS and Android) to preset contacts, set reminders, disable features, and more. One reviewer said, “This watch is absolutely incredible in every way. From the quality of the product to the ease of using the app on my phone, this watch is the best item I have ever bought for my daughter. My daughter’s at the age where we want to keep tabs, but not ready to give a cellphone out. Just the idea that I can connect if I’m running late to pick her up from school is a huge plus. We also love the location tracking, and the firewall where we can keep out telemarketers. 4G is working great!