The Top 10 Fitness Tracker Smartwatches for Kids Aged 8+

Fitness tracker smartwatches for kids are useful for parents, too. They will give parents a good indication of how much exercise and activity their child is getting each day and are a great way to encourage children to be more active.

This article looks at the Top Ten Fitness Tracker Smartwatches, for children over the age of eight years old. It looks at the advantages and disadvantages of them, so that you can make an informed decision about the best one to buy to meet your needs.

1. Xiaomi Mi Band 5/6

Whilst this isn’t specifically marketed as such, it’s an ideal device for children as it’s waterproof and can be used in showers and swimming pools. We think it deserves a top spot on this list of fitness tracker smartwatches for kids.

On the smallest setting, the strap fits children’s wrists and the device is thin and sleek, making it very comfortable to wear. It only needs to be charged once a month. However, you can’t set up the activity tracker and heart rate monitor for a child user unless you’re over the age of 18, and if you have more than one child with a Mi Band, you’ll need a separate mobile phone to sync each one. But you can do an approximate setting. When a child is wearing the band, the steps count won’t be as accurate, as it’s set for an adult stride, but it does allow for a rough estimate of step and activity. The bands for the watch are easy to personalise. You can set a sedentary reminder.

2. Garmin Vivofit Jr

This smartwatch and fitness tracker is bright and colourful with various Disney designs (Mickey Mouse, Princesses, Spider Man, Star Wars) for the buckled watch-strap. It’s highly durable, and water resistant. The battery should last for a year – but it’s been reported to be around half that depending on use. Parents can monitor their children’s steps, sleep and activity via their mobile phone and can award points for doing tasks. When children have done one hour of activity per day they advance in a game and their activity unlocks adventures. This smartwatch does not have GPS, and some reviewers have commented that the screen is a little bit dark, but this seems to be a common complaint across various brands of smartwatches.

3. YAMAY Fitness Trackers

Amazon’s Choice for fitness trackers for kids. A sleek design and a package of features that comes in a relatively cheap price of around $20.

This is advertised as being suitable for children, with its pedometer, step counter and water resistance. It’s available with various coloured buckle-on straps. It has various different fitness modes depending on the sport or activity being undertaken, ie. running, walking, tennis, football, dancing etc. It measures steps, distance, calories burned, heart rate, activity time and sleep. It’s possible to check social media on the watch. The battery needs charging every 5-8 days. It’s easy to set up on the iPhone and can be synced with other Apple health apps.

4. Fitbit Ace 3 Kids Activity Tracker

This is similar to adult Fitbits but has a slightly simplified operation and allows parents to supervise their children’s fitness tracking. It is water-resistant and the battery lasts for approximately five days before needing to be charged. It tracks steps, how long the child has been active for and monitors sleep.

The tracker syncs wirelessly and automatically to mobile phones. Parents need to create an account for their child, under a family account; through this account, it’s easy to monitor everyone’s progress. Children get celebration messages when daily goals are achieved, and they can collect virtual badges, for bigger milestones.

Children can compete against others in step challenges to win virtual trophies, so it’s perfect for keeping the whole family active. It’s possible for families to send motivating messages and cheers to one another. You can set sedentary reminders to keep children active. 60 minutes of activity is the recommended amount.

Read our full review of the Fitbit Ace 3.

5. BiggerFive Kids Fitness Tracker Watch

This watch comes in a range of six different colors. The strap design makes it perfect for kids and smaller wrists. It captures activities such as steps, distance, calories burned, how many minutes spent being active, heart rate and sleep patterns. There are sedentary reminders if the child has been inactive for too long, or vice versa, reminders to relax. It is waterproof for most purposes, so perfect for rainy weather, or any splashes or spills. It is compatible with iOS 7.1 and above. The battery life is 3-7 days and charges conveniently in one hour.

6. Huawei Band 4 Pro All-in-One Fitness Activity Tracker

This is a stylish looking watch. It’s sleek, highly functional and water resistant. It has a colored screen. It monitors heart rate 24/7, has built in GPS, and various sports modes, including built in functionality to measure swimming strokes and laps.

Waterproof up to 5ATM, it can certainly stand up to the task. It tracks sleep too with an app developed in conjunction with the Harvard medical school. The battery lasts for about 5 days and charges in under 2 hours.

7. VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2

The VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2 is a smartwatch that also doubles as a simple digital camera for kids. for selfies

There’s a front-facing camera for selfies. And, a side-facing camera to best capture action shots. The opportunity to use the images as watch faces is a feature kids enjoy a lot.

It is designed specifically for children and includes many of the features that a child might need. There are built-in games and play-based challenges that can be set using the motion sensor.

There’s a pedometer for counting steps, as well as a parental control function to restrict playtime. The watch faces and sound effects can also be used to assist children in learning how to say time.

The Micro USB cable is used to charge it as well as to instal new watch faces, games or educational activities. It’s splash and sweatproof, but it can’t be submerged fully, so don’t take it swimming with you!

8. Huami Amazfit Bip

On the smartwatch scene, Huami’s offering has caused quite a stir. The new Chinese producers have come in and massively undercut the big market players, just as they have with smartphones.

The new Chinese producers have come in and massively undercut the big market players, just as they did with smartphones.

The Amazfit Bip is a great example of where high-quality functionality can be found at a low price. It has top-of-the-line features including GPS and heart rate tracking, but it costs a fraction of what Garmin and Apple do.

The Amazfit Bip is available in a variety of colours and only weighs 1.1 ounces. It has a clean, streamlined design with a large, colour LCD touch screen that is clear and concise (and always on).

It has an incredible battery life, lasting up to a month on a single charge. Of course, if you use GPS and heart rate tracking on a daily basis, you won’t get up to 30-days of use.

Steps, distance, sleep quality, and calories burned can all be measured thanks to advanced sensors. Also, there are sport modes for running, cycling, and walking.

A Bluetooth link to your mobile allows you to receive notifications for texts, calls, and social media activity. Though your younger child likely won’t need the latter.

It’s also pretty tough, with gorilla glass that resists scratches and keeps it in good condition after those inevitable scratches and bumps.

We adore this timepiece! Given the low price, it’s difficult to find any flaws.

9. ProGrace Kids’ Smartwatch with Fitness Tracker

We discovered this ProGrace smartwatch and think it’s great value for money. It’s a smartwatch with a touchscreen, games, and other awesome features to keep them busy.

Although there isn’t an accompanying app for parents, everything can be managed directly from the device itself.

The display is 1.54 inches big, which is a decent size. A flashlight and an FM radio are also included.

The ProGrace smartwatch allows you to keep track of your child’s activities. It has a motion sensor that tracks your steps and calories burned. So long as they wear it during active play, it will keep track of how many steps they took.

Music can be played through speakers or headphones. You can put as much music on a memory card as it will hold, then put the card in the watch. So if they feel like dancing, they can!

Kids can keep track of all the occasions they want to remember with the front-facing camera. They can take photos and selfies with a two-way camera that rotates 90 degrees. Like with music, you’ll need to use a memory card to save the photos.

The watch has an IPS touchscreen that allows the user to play the games that come with it. It’s a perfect way to detach them from a tablet for an hour.

10. OJOY A1 Kids Smart Watch

The OJOY A1 is a decent choice for those who want all of the features of the GizmoWatch without the investment. 

The OJOY A1 can count steps, but there isn’t much in the way of interaction or games. This children’s watch is also SIM-free, so you’ll need to find a SIM card and a network provider.

With the OJOY App, you can manage calendar events, set school and after-school activities, and your child can receive reminders to keep them on track. Aside from that, there’s an alarm, a stopwatch, a phase counter, and a kid-friendly UI.

In a water-resistant, rugged kids smartwatch, you’ll get the same simple two-way voice and messaging, as well as GPS location capabilities.

Fitness Tracker Smartwatches for Kids – Which is the best?

So, which to choose? All of those reviewed are waterproof; but if it’s specifically intended for swimming and measuring laps, then the Huawei Band 4 seems best suited. The fitness tracker that seems most specifically tailored for children is the Garmin Vivofit Jr 2.

If I was purchasing a fitness tracker for a younger child, I may be tempted by this, because of the Disney designs, and the game interaction too, I think this is a good way to make fitness fun. For a slightly older child who had outgrown Disney logos, I would buy either the Fitbit or the Huawei Band 4.

Last Updated on June 3, 2021