In today’s modern, connected lifestyle it is pretty easy to get caught up in television, video games, and other less active forms of entertainment, but it’s important to keep moving in order to stay healthy and fit. This is equally important for young ones whose bodies are still growing and developing. For some kids, keeping active comes easy. For others, it’s a bit more of a challenge. That’s were fitness trackers could come in handy.
A good kid’s fitness tracker essentially gamifies fitness, giving kids goals that they can accomplish in order to level up, reach an achievement, and so forth. Parents can also create challenges between all the kids and adults to see who can get the most steps or find other creative ways to inspire younger children to get up and moving. It’s also worth noting that many kids fitness trackers have extras like the ability to set chore goals, again in a game-like way.
See also: Best fitness trackers for adults
Of course, finding a decent tracker for your kids might not prove easy. Thankfully, there are at least a few options worth looking at. In this post, we highlight just a few that we feel are worthy of your consideration.
Garmin vívofit jr.
While this is the priciest band on this list at $69.99, the Garmin vívofit jr. is about as good as it gets. The design is sturdy and weatherproof, so your child can wear it 24/7 should that be their desire (they can even wear it in the pool). The band also tracks more than just steps – it keeps a record of sleep and daily activities like sports or jumping on a trampoline. The band also comes with a companion app that parents can download on their mobile devices.
Through this app, parents can assign chores and view all of the data the band has tracked for each child. However, none of this is any good if the kids aren’t motivated to do it. Fortunately, the vívofit jr. also comes with a virtual reward system. If the kids complete a chore and mark it off, or reach their exercise goals for the day, they will receive virtual currency that can be spent on rewards such as playing a board game or getting more time on the TV. Topping it all off, the vívofit jr. is also available in three designs: broken lava, digi camo, and real flower.
It’s also important to note that the vívofit jr. doesn’t require charging thanks to the use of a replaceable coin cell battery, which should last about a year before it needs replaced.
Unicef Kid Power Band
Getting your kids to exercise is a great task in and of itself, but what about helping the less fortunate? With the Unicef Kid Power Band, you get to kill two birds with one stone. As kids collect more steps, a therapeutic food packet will be sent to a child in need. The more steps they collect, the more food they will send. The band also has a set of missions that, when completed, unlock videos your child can watch to learn more about the cultures they are helping.
It doesn’t offer quite enough incentive for the kids themselves, but helping others through their activity is an ingenious alternative. The band also comes with a companion app that you can use to keep track of missions and monitor your taken steps. As for battery life? Unfortunately this in an area it’s not so great at, with a battery life of around 25 hours.
The Unicef Kid Power Band is currently available for $39.99 in multiple colors.
Nabi Compete
If you have multiple kids around the house, the Nabi Compete are the bands to get. Starting off at $26 for the standard model or as cheap as $9.12 for the Hot Wheel Edition, Nabi Compete comes with two bands and encourages you to compete or work with a friend/sibling to reach certain goals.
So what kind of goals exactly? The first is a distance goal. Kids will be challenged to travel the distance of a landmark, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, to earn coins. The second is a caloric goal. Kids will be tasked to burn off the average amount of calories of whatever food they choose, such as a cheeseburger. As kids earn coins, they can be spent to acquire a virtual pet that they can raise and take care of. These pets are not just for show, though. They actually give a small boost for kids when they’re in the middle of a challenge, like adding steps to your total count to give yourself that slight advantage when going head-to-head. Keep in mind that the companion app is necessary in order to access all of these features.
On the battery front, the Compete uses a replaceable coin-cell battery like Garmin’s solution, though it only is said to last around 3 months.
Buy Compete at Walmart for $27
Buy Compete Hotwheels edition on Amazon for $9.12
Buy Compete Barbie edition on Amazon for $27
Leapfrog Leapband
With all of these bands requiring a companion app, Leapfrog has taken a different approach. The Leapfrog Leapband, unlike most fitness trackers, bears a small screen with buttons at the very bottom. Everything in this band, from the daily goals to virtual rewards, are accessed through the device itself (at least they won’t ask to use your phone all the time). As such, the device is a bit clunky in design but still offers plenty to keep the kids moving.
Parents can set fun animal-based challenges for kids to overcome each day, like “pounce like a lion”, in order for them to receive virtual currency. This currency can then be spent on a pet that can be accessed on the band itself. The best way to take care of these pets and keep them healthy is by exercising and adding more steps to your total count. Furthermore, the Leapband is easy on the wallet, and will only set you back a mild $18.97 and has a battery life of around 3-4 days per charge.
Let us hear your thoughts! What fitness tracker do you have for your kids? Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments!
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