A child’s first watch is a milestone, but like most childhood accessories, technology now plays a part. Like it or loathe it, if you’re a smartwatch wearer yourself, you’ve probably noticed an instant attraction from children, whether that’s fascination with the lights or asking about your step count.
But smartwatches are no longer strictly for adults, with a whole host of interactive watches designed with juniors in mind. Many of these kids’ smartwatches offer similar benefits to those for adults – activity tracking, goal setting and heart-rate monitoring. Some go further and become much like a mobile phone, with GPS tracking, calls and some even enable you to do video calls.
The more premium smartwatches that provide GPS tracking and communication options can offer great reassurance for parents. Like a simplified version of a mobile phone, if you’re looking for a product that can offer those features, parents should bear in mind it’s likely you’ll need to source a sim card, which may incur extra monthly costs. Often coined a “phone watch”, these are appealing if you’re not quite ready to purchase a mobile for your child, but want to safely stay in touch with them.
A smartwatch goes way beyond simply telling the time, although a bid to encourage timekeeping in our offspring shouldn’t be overlooked, many parents will also opt for a wearable tech gadget to encourage and track movement.
Many of our children already partake in some form of sport, with more than 90 per cent of children between five and 16 years old consistently being involved with it. By wearing a watch, they can reach their step goals, with more advanced options tracking heart rate, too.
Ultimately, parents should consider what they want to get out of their kids’ smartwatch, whether that’s a fitness tracker, mini mobile phone or simply a more interactive watch. Here, we’ve rounded up the best ones on the market.
How we tested
With the help of a four-, six- and 13-year-old, we put a selection of kids’ smartwatches to the test over many weeks. When testing, we looked at the range of functions the smartwatches offered, particularly how many tracking metrics they had, but also how easy they were to navigate for children of different ages.
Battery and screen quality and size were considered, but we also wanted the watches to be comfortable for all-day wear on mini wrists. Naturally, we wanted some fun as well as function from the watches, along with likeable designs, so the kids would wear them with pride.
Why you can trust us
Rebecca Moore is a parenting writer and has been testing the best products for kids and parents alike for IndyBest since 2020, but has been researching and reviewing long before then. To help her in her quest to find the best kids’ smartwatches, she consulted a team of children, across a range of different ages to help her identify which ones they preferred. But she also considered each one from a parent’s perspective, bearing in mind safety functions.
The best smartwatches for kids in 2024 are:
Garmin vivofit jr.3
Garmin is one of the main contenders in the smartwatch field, so expectations were high when testing out its latest junior edition: the Vivofit jr.3.
On first look, we were impressed by how slight it is in comparison with all of the other watches we tested; both our four-year-old and six-year-old tried it on for size and it laid flat on their wrists like a watch should. They both commented on how comfy the silicone strap was, and loved the embossed leopard print and peach colourway.
Setup was a doddle, simply download the free Garmin Jnr app, and set up a profile (or profiles, if you have more than one device). In the app, you can customise the watch’s face, choose an avatar, select a step icon, and state a bedtime and wake time (to provide accurate sleep data). You can also set alarms, amend daily step goals and see how active your child has been, thanks to the movement sensor, and set goals such as feeding the dog. We like that you can personalise the chores too. By completing chores, kids will earn virtual coins (parents decide how many) and parents can choose how the kids can redeem them – there are many preset options such as “go swimming” or “eat out”.
Kids will also be rewarded for being active, 60 minutes of daily activity unlocks ‘adventure’ – an educational but fun travel story, where the kids can play the addictive tap-challenge game and quizzes. This feature was a bit advanced for our reception-aged child, but our six-year-old started to grasp the reward system.
Unlike other watches, the battery isn’t rechargeable, instead it’s powered by a CR2025 battery, which lasts for a year. This saves kids having to charge it, and we were also delighted to learn that the fitness tracker is swim-friendly, so there’s really no need to take it off. The Vivofit jr.3 delivers on all fronts and feels like a polished product, just as you would expect from Garmin.
Buy now £60.89, Amazon.co.uk
Disney Encanto character print smartwatch
Our Encanto-loving six-year-old took no persuading to strap this smartwatch around her wrist, and it fitted like a glove, thanks to the soft silicone strap. Feeling very grown-up donning her own watch, thanks to the popular design, it certainly has child appeal.
You’ll need to charge the watch for a few hours before use, but then it’s very straightforward. There are 10 watch faces to choose from, five analogue and five digital – as our six-year-old is still mastering telling the time, she chose her favourite Disney Encanto digital clock. Operated using a touch screen, we found our kids certainly had a better soft touch with this watch than we did, however, sometimes response times were slower.
One of our tester’s favourite features was the voice recorder, which soon became her own recording studio, as she would sing into it. There’s also a selfie photo and video camera function, and the files can be pulled off (along with voice clips), using the included USB cable for connecting to your computer. Other features include a fitness tracker, alarm, stopwatch, timer, calculator and six games.
While this watch is recommended for six years plus, we’d suggest children a little older would be the best fit, as they will be able to use it independently with confidence. It would make a great gift for an eighth birthday too, particularly given the reasonable price tag.
Buy now £13.33, Argos.co.uk
Moochies 4G connect
The first Moochies phone watch launched in 2016 in Australia, and last year reached UK turf. It’s interesting that it’s branded as a “phone watch” rather than a smartwatch, although, essentially, it’s a basic wearable phone for kids, offering a safe way to stay in communication with our children, and we’re here for it.
You’ll need to follow the setup steps and download the app to bind your phone with your child’s watch, but we have to say this was pretty simple, with a video taking you through the process. Although, unlike its direct competitors, Moochies connect arrives with a built-in sim card, meaning you won’t have the extra task of sourcing one. You will, however, have to activate the sim and choose from the two sim packages (£10 or £15 per month).
With GPS tracking, you’ll always know where your child is, using the Moochies app, meanwhile the voice and video calling lets you contact your child, or vice versa. There’s also the option to “chat” by sending a voice note or emoji, which we found handy when checking in with our teenage tester.
There’s also a camera, step counter and alarm functions. We like that Moochies hasn’t over complicated this watch, providing the basic helpful functions. Parents can also set a classroom mode, so the watch has limited useability during school hours. We commend this watch on the easy-to-use touchscreen, which felt responsive at all times. Our teenager wasn’t thrilled by the chunky design, but she did like the simple white colourway.
Buy now £79.99, Amazon.co.uk
myFirst fone S3
The latest arrival from myFirst – a Singapore-based tech brand for kids – the myFirst fone S3 is a smartwatch designed specifically for children. With a 1.4in square screen, we first noticed that it’s more slimline than its competitors, not looking too bulky on our 13-year-old tester’s arm. Although we can’t say she was thrilled to wear it, agreeing that it’s probably best suited to kids aged eight to 11 years old – too complicated for our six-year-old tester, but too childish for our teenager. This was probably heightened by the “cotton candy” colourway we chose, but there is a subtler navy version too. However, we can’t deny the watch’s capabilities.
Before any testing, however, a sim card is needed, which slots into the side of the watch. Setting up the watch was straightforward, as was pairing it with the myFirst Circle app – simply scan the QR code that appears on the watch, type in the verification code and you’re paired. The app is a great way to stay connected remotely, and while we weren’t able to test with other myFirst fone users, we could see how this would flourish when interacting with others.
We liked the easy to use heart-rate-monitoring and step-tracking features, which parents can see via the app. There’s also clever features such as music playback (you can add music files by connecting to a computer via the USB cable), a front camera, and GPS tracking. Parents can also set up classroom mode, where the watch will only tell the time and track steps and heart rate.
In terms of responsiveness, we found the myFirst fone S3 touchscreen and loading times temperamental, and failed to see the tilt to wake screen feature work at all, despite adjusting in the app settings. We appreciated that there’s plenty of options when it comes to customisation, as you can use a selfie as the watch background, or choose from a plethora of preloaded options with both digital and analogue choices, and there are plenty of strap holes (13, in fact) to achieve the perfect fit.
Buy now £179.00, Myfirst.tech
Tikkers plain blue interactive watch and headphone set
We have to say, it was a relief to read that this kids’ smartwatch doesn’t require smartphone connectivity – alleviating the need to download yet another app and pair it with your phone. After charging for 10 minutes, the watch was ready to go. You’ll need to set the time and date, and our four-year-old and six-year-old testers could get involved by choosing a watch face, of which there are 10. Of course, it’s going to be a way off yet before the youngest will be telling the time, but she could identify the numbers and enjoyed the fun characters on the screen.
There’s plenty of interactive features, too, and we found the reaction time and navigation of this touchscreen one of the best. You can preload up to 40 songs and listen to them through the watch, or simply plug in the included headphones, which are set to a child-safe audio level – gaining a big thumbs up all round. While there are only four games, that was enough to entertain our reception-aged tester, although she found it easier to play when the watch wasn’t strapped to her wrist.
There’s also an alarm, calendar, stopwatch, voice recorder, countdown timer, and a built-in camera that enables you to add filters – and we were impressed by the crisp quality.
Another highlight for our tester was the step-counting feature – unlike many others, you do have to set a start time, but our tester liked finding out her “moves” when playing at the park, practising a dance routine or even doing the weekly shop. The Tikkers watch is chunkier than we’d like, but the screen size is generous. We could do with a smaller strap option, to fit our diddy four-year-old, but it was the perfect size for our six-year-old tester.
Buy now £24.99, Tikkers.co.uk
Little Tikes Tobi robot smartwatch
Immediately, this watch felt different from the rest. Certainly geared towards the preschool and early school-years market, it seemed less like a watch and more like a toy. Our slight four-year-old tester looked like she had a Pokémon ball on her wrist, but this didn’t seem to faze her too much as she was eager to see the features – of which there are plenty.
It’s pretty noisy, which seemed to captivate our four-year-old but could soon become tiresome – fortunately, you can adjust the volume. Our tester loved poking Tobi, to hear the different sound responses, and it didn’t seem to get old, as there are more than 100 expressions, each playing comical sounds. Plus, his “arms” and “feet” sporadically shoot out from the side, which provoked some giggling fits. Something we noticed almost instantly was how tricky it was to use the “home” button. While it wasn’t a problem for adults, our young testers struggled to push hard enough, which was a little disappointing.
One thing’s for sure, it got our tester moving. There are a few different motion sensor features, where the watch responds to the wearer’s movements. For example, one of them is a disco mode where the music will stop if you’re not wiggling enough, or you can gain points for copying the specific movements on the screen, all the while clocking up steps with the built-in pedometer. Our six-year-old also enjoyed the built-in educational games – a number game, noughts and crosses, a time telling game and (our personal favourite) a motion sensor ball game, where you have to get the ball in the hole by accurately tilting the watch.
It’s got two cameras for taking selfies and videos (plus room to store 3,000 photos or 30 minutes of video), and you can add fun stickers afterwards. While this watch does offer plenty of entertainment, we did find the wearable watch element limiting, due to the chunkiness of it. We also have no other Tobi products, so the Bluetooth feature was redundant for us, but we can see the appeal to pair up with other users. We also found we’d be lucky if the battery lasted us a day.
Buy now £44.53, Amazon.co.uk
What features to look for in a kids’ smartwatch
When choosing a smartwatch for your child, there are a number of features to look for:
The verdict: Kids’ smartwatches
For the best user experience, the Garmin vivofit Jnr 3 offers a fantastic smartwatch for those aged four to 10 years. Our youngest testers loved wearing it, it has a fantastic battery life and there’s step and sleep tracking. If you’ want something more advanced with GPS tracking, we’d recommend Moochies connect for a phone-style smartwatch.
For grown-up tech, read our guide to the best smartwatches that do more than just tell the time
