Getting your kids into fitness doesn’t have to be a daunting task. There are fitness trackers for kids that can help your little ones to stay healthy and active while having fun with their new gadget. The best kind of activity tracker or fitness watch for kids needs to be ultra-durable. However, it does make things easier for parents to stay on top of the kid’s activities and fitness levels.
Fitness trackers for kids are just like the adult’s variety. Therefore, most of them come with the same functionalities and features. With a fitness tracker for kids, you can count their steps, create their movement goals, and also monitor their sleep. They are available in a variety of color schemes and themes that keep in mind the unique needs of the children. Some of the popular models also come with extras like reward systems and games to make the workout sessions fun-filled and enjoyable, too.
Fitness trackers have great importance in the life of school-age kids as it helps them learn good exercise habits, especially for those kids who are leading a sedentary lifestyle. In this article, we will look at the features that you need to look for in those fitness trackers.
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What to Look for In Best Fitness Tracker for Kids
With so many devices on the market, it is very challenging for parents to choose the right fitness tracker for kids with the right features and at an affordable price. So, to help parents overcome the issue of an increasing number of options here is a helpful guide on factors that you need to look for:
- Price. – Of course, the first thing that you need to think about is the price of the tracker. However, as all people will have different budgets, that is a decision solely on you.
- Compatibility. – The best fitness watches will sync easily with any smartphone device. However, some specific models are only compatible with selected models of smartphones. So, you must invest in the fitness tracker that syncs with Android and iOS without any exceptions.
- Display. – The watches usually come with a small screen that shows words, numbers, user icons, and more, including multiple watch face customizations. Some of the other models share other information on its LED screen. Before choosing any fitness tracker, you need to check out the application’s tracking app in app stores to know if it will meet your expectations or not.
- Water-Resistance. – You must look for the fitness tracker that comes with the water-resistant ability with ratings of IP67 or IP68. Fitness trackers are not only for “on land” tracking; they should also track their other activities in the water. So, it must be capable of resisting water properly.
- Features. – The Best Fitness Tracker for Kids comes with two essential functions – track fitness activities and calorie consumption. However, other features are included in some models like fun games and activities.
- Ruggedness. – Being able to know that your child can go about their daily activities without breaking the watch is a necessity.
We will take a look at some of these points in a little more detail as we go through the article.
Age
Age plays a huge part in deciding what style of tracker you will want to buy, and what they will want to wear. For example, you would not imagine a teenager will want to wear one with cartoon characters on it. Furthermore, a smaller child is highly unlikely to want one without them.
The Ruggedness
Apart from the functions and features of a fitness tracker, you also need to check the ruggedness before buying it. The fitness tracker band that you intend to buy must be water-resistant and designed with industrial-grade silicone. This material is best for the active wrists of your kids, and it is highly durable too. This material won’t get damaged when exposed to sunlight, sweat, and water.
The build quality of the fitness tracker is another factor to keep in mind. You need to ensure that it has quality material, and the internal software and hardware are entirely safeguarded by the external bump and knock features and materials. It needs to be durable enough to withstand the daily abuses of environmental factors. It must not only offer the daily fitness results and activity levels of your kids but also be rugged enough to last for years to come.
Ensure that there are thicker areas in the places where it may come into contact with other things. Furthermore, you need to check that the screen is plastic, not glass, and will not shatter.
Styles
Kids love to achieve new goals, and they have the curiosity to learn new things as it makes them feel confident and gives them something to work towards. The best fitness tracker for kids will help them to create a sense of achievement. Furthermore, it will make fitness monitoring a game and hence promoting friendly competition with their friends. Of course, that is only possible due to its unique designs and styles; otherwise, they won’t wear them.
Kids’ fitness trackers are usually available in a variety of designs and styles for added allure. You will find fitness trackers in a wrist band style or watch style. Most of the models have adjustable wrists bands like wrists watches that allow them to select the right size and fit. That enables them to have a snug fit for a more extended period. Therefore, one piece of advice is that you stay away from the unadjustable styles.
Apart from the physical styles, they often have many cool designs and color schemes to choose from. You will find the fitness trackers with a small display and colorful wrist strap. The wrist straps of the fitness trackers can have anything from animal images to cartoon characters printed on them. That makes the fitness tracker quite captivating for the kids and also provides you with more choice for the child’s preferences.
Ease of Use
The design and style of the fitness tracker must be easy going and allow you or your child to have complete access to all the features and functions. The majority of the fitness trackers are worn around the wrist, while some of the other models have a clip that allows you to hook up the device on their clothing. No matter how you wear it, the design of the fitness tracker must allow ease of using it. To make the fitness tracking easier, most of the manufacturer’s design fitness trackers that can be paired with a dedicated and downloadable application that syncs all data of the kid’s activity.
So, the fitness tracker for kids must have dedicated application so that you can sync the device with the mobile application to easily handle the settings, manage the fitness levels, set fitness goals for your kids and above all to use the fitness trackers to the fullest and with ease directly from the application. The downloadable applications must be easily available from dedicated app stores of your respective device.
To make the fitness tracker easy to use, you also need to check the compatibility of the device to smartphones. As mentioned, now, almost all fitness trackers work with their respective smartphones. For instance, the Apple fitness band is designed to work only with Apple devices and hence you need to check which fitness tracker you are buying. The best fitness tracker for kids is the one that is compatible with almost all the models of smartphone including Android and iOS. So, ensure to check the compatibility of the fitness tracker prior to buying and ensure that it is easy to use and compatible with the Smartphone model you have so that you can sync it easily.
Waterproofing
Make the splash with the trackers that come with waterproofing. Waterproofing, along with the ruggedness of the fitness tracker are the most crucial factors that you need to keep in mind. It is not just a handy tool for workouts, but also a constant companion for your kids when they are taking their shower or swimming around in a pool. However, you need to understand the fact that not all fitness trackers are waterproof and hence before taking a dip into the swimming pool you need to check the waterproofing ratings of the fitness tracker for kids.
Waterproofing ratings range from IP61 to IP69K. While IP61 is slightly waterproof (dripping water), it is not enough for most activities. However, an IP69K is “too” protective (they are protected against close-range high pressure). Therefore, it is necessary that you check the waterproofing ratings of the tracker and ensure that it has a waterproof rating of IP68 or IP67. That ensures that the fitness tracker is capable of withstanding the water splashes when taking a shower or swimming in a pool. Providing that the do not go deeper than 1m.
Typically, fitness trackers for kids will have an IP67 or IP68 rating, but you must check that it has that before you buy, if you intend to take them swimming in it, etc. The higher the rating the better though, and you will not be disappointed in the results.
Other Options – Fitness Tracker For Kids
Of course, the things that we have already looked at are crucial. However, there are other functions that you can look for. We will go through them now:
- Heart rate monitor. – Not all trackers have this function. However, they may be very useful to you if you have to, or want to keep a special eye on their heart rate.
- Hydration monitoring. – Water is vital to ensure when your kids are doing fitness. Therefore, hydration monitors are very useful to see if they are consuming sufficient water for hydration. One thing to note, however, is that this function usually requires manual input into the app.
- Rest and sleep monitoring. – The best models of fitness trackers for kids track the sleep and rest of the kids. Overactivity of your kids can lead to exhaustion. Sufficient rest and sleep are needed to maintain the balance in the fitness equation.
- Sedentary alert. – On the other hand, you do not want them to have a sedentary lifestyle. Having a gentle reminder to get off their games consoles and move about will help keep them fit, healthy and active.
- Burned calories. – The main purpose of using a fitness tracker for kids is to track calorie consumption and burning. Burning excessive calories is not good for growing kids as their body needs a sufficient amount of nutrients as well as calories for development.
- Distance tracking. – When investing in fitness trackers for kids, you should always check if it has distance measurement tracking or not. Most of the fitness trackers allow you to measure the distance covered and steps your kids have taken per day. So, you can set goals using the distance and steps taken report offered by a fitness tracker.
- Alarms. – Alarms are a great feature to ensure that your child gets out of bed at the right time. Furthermore, as the alarm will be on their new, favorite “toy”, they will want to jump out of bed to start seeing how many steps they can do today!
- Lost tracker function. – Children lose stuff, fact. However, if you buy a tracker that allows you to connect to it with your phone, you are likely to have a function that makes the watch make a noise when you activate it.
Conclusion
Not all of the models that you see on the market will have all of the functions that you see in this article. However, you will find some that do. Of course, the more money that you are willing to spend, the better it will be. Some of the top-end models have even more functions than what you have seen, and the number of things you can do will increase. However, as it is for a child, and they are likely to break or lose it, you may not want to spend a huge amount of money.
With the obesity rates and increasing body weight for kids at an all-time high, the fitness trackers are the ultimate way to turn their everyday life into a fun-filled path towards fitness. However, the question; which is the best fitness tracker? can only be answered by looking through this guide to find the most suitable one. You need to understand their fitness goals, preferred designs, features, control settings, and pricing prior to making the selection of the right fitness tracker for your kids.
The persona, preferences, and taste of your kids are the factors that you need to determine the most when it comes to finding the best fitness tracker.
