5 Best Apple Watch Alternatives for Kids

With such a great pace of advancements in technology, keeping up with the latest technology for a kid is a challenge. The technology of smartwatches has been of great help to parents because of its features of safety and communication.

An Apple watch for kids is an intelligent investment. Because what can be more than the safety of your child? Well, NOTHING! An Apple watch for kids helps the parents keep track of the location of their kids and helps them communicate when the child can not have a smartphone.

Parental controls are another great feature that makes smartwatches a must-buy option for their kids. But choosing the right smartwatch can be tricky. The cost, features, and durability can make it challenging to purchase the right smartwatch.

Keep reading the blog to choose the right smartwatch for your child!

Should Your Kids Have an Apple Watch?

The first question you will have if you are thinking of purchasing an Apple watch for kids is, what is the hype all about? Smartwatches have so many features that it makes it easier to enlist what a smartwatch can not do. An Apple watch for kids is just like an iPhone, but just a smaller version.

Connecting the watch with their devices, your child can text, call, and even use their social media accounts with the watch. But if kids do not have an iPhone, how can you proceed? The worries are all fixed because Apple’s family setup allows the smartwatches to connect with the parent’s iPhone.

The health and fitness features of the Apple watch for kids ensure your child is having his share of exercise daily. If your child has a medical condition, advanced health features like monitoring oxygen levels or echocardiograms can make checking up on your kid an easy task. An Apple watch for kids is not just about health and fitness, but a ton of features like mini-games, music, audiobooks, and podcasts will keep your child entertained.

[Note: The health features of the Apple watch for kids should not be considered as a replacement for regular visits to the doctor or pediatrician.]

Is Using an Apple Watch for Kids Advantageous?

• A smartwatch, when used efficiently, will benefit both the parents and the child. Let us briefly discuss how using an Apple watch can be beneficial.
• The built-in activity tracker of the smartwatch makes it a great tool for ensuring a healthy lifestyle for the child. The child will be reminded to do their share of the activity. The tracking systems also monitor heart rate, allowing parents to digitally track the health of their kids.
• The Apple watch for kids is a great way to ensure that your child is safe. With the tracking system of the smartwatch, you can track the location of your kid. The newer versions of the Apple series can also detect emergencies and help in getting the necessary help required.
• An Apple watch for kids allows you to communicate with them without a mobile device. The child can communicate with approved contacts, and you get a record of every communication.
• Apple watches offer entertainment, but one concern for parents is the exposure to inappropriate content for young minds. With Apple watches, you can have parental controls and ensure the activity of your child on his smartwatch.

The best Apple watches for kids are Apple Watch Series 3, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra, and Apple Watch Series 8. Apple has not received a specific smartwatch for kids. But budget constraints and the use of the smartwatch will determine which Apple watch for kids is the best!

5 Best Alternatives for Kids to Apple Watch

An Apple watch for kids is not the only smartwatch that will ensure safety and provide functionality. Here are our top picks as alternatives for an Apple watch for your child.

1. Spacetalk Adventurer

• The drawback with most of the kids’ watches is that they are either too bulky or appear like other toys. Depending on the personal preference of your child, he can prefer a watch that has a modern design, or some children may opt for an aesthetic design for the watch. With a modern design, Spacetalk Adventurer is perfect for kids with a few grown-up features of the watch.
• With a screen size of 4 centimeters and rectangular shape of the watch, a child between the age of 5-12 years can use the watch. The watch has Bluetooth connectivity. The well-built hardware and great battery life (785 mAh, 36 hours standby) of the watch makes it a hit. The price of the smartwatch is around $199, making it a great deal for all the features it has. The watch comes in four colors, i.e., Midnight, Cloud, Ocean, and Coral.
• The smartwatch has sensors like a heart rate monitor and GPS. The installation of GPS makes it easier for parents to track the location of their child, so now your child can really have adventures with Spacetalk Adventurer. Some of the impressive features of the watch are SOS calling, texting, video calling, location tracking, camera compatibility, and step counting.
• The interface of the watch is impressive, allowing easier navigation when using the watch. The smartwatch has the school mode, which helps the child to focus on their studies without any distractions. The watch is waterproof and water-resistant for up to 30 minutes.
• With this watch, a parent can add approved contacts, see the current location of the child, set safe zones (and get notified when the kid enters or exits a specific area), create emergency contact, and literally do so much. The monthly cost for the watch will depend on the network. The small parts of the watch pose a risk of choking, so the watch is not advised for use by children below 3 years of age.

2. Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3

• If you are looking for a smartwatch that does more than just count steps, the Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3 is your best shot! With step monitoring and sleep monitoring, track the activity of your child, and assign them tasks, helping them stay more active.
• The watch is a great fit for children who like to stay active. It has a design that kids love and finds comfortable to wear. The launch price of the smartwatch is around 79.99 dollars. You may get a bit of a discount if there’s a sale going on. The previous models of the smartwatch offered themes of Disney princesses and Marvel characters.
• The smartwatch is durable, and the long-lasting battery life of the watch saves the user from the trouble of charging the device every now and then. It is perfect for tracking health because it tracks the activities of the child. Sleep, steps, distance traveled, task timers, etc., are tracked by the smartwatch. The 64-colored transflective screen ensures the visibility of the screen even in bright sunlight.
• The smartwatch can help the kids to form and follow a routine by forming a chore chart. For example, the watch will make the kids remember tasks like brushing their teeth or going to bed and anything that feeds into their schedule.
• A feature this smartwatch misses is that the watch lacks a touchscreen and a GPS tracking system. Once the kids get used to the buttons, they can completely rely on them.

3. Verizon Gizmo Smartwatch

• Verizon has three smartwatches for kids: Gizmowatch 2, Gizmowatch Disney Edition, and Gizmo Watch 3. For a budget-friendly alternative to the Apple watch, Gizmo watches do the justice. The watches have a GPS tracking system and aid in communication.
• The Gizmo watch allows the parents to have full control over the contacts of the child. The watch will allow 3 to 20 contacts, which will also include the contact of the primary caregiver.
• Gizmo Watch 3 has an auto-call answer setting, which, when turned on, will automatically answer the call within the first 10 seconds. Additionally, a call that is answered automatically will end after a minute.
• To ensure the device does not get overheated, the smartwatch limits the duration of video calls to 3 minutes. A video call gets automatically disconnected after a duration of 3 minutes.
• The old versions of the smartwatch lacked the feature that did not provide a location history. They also lacked Bluetooth connectivity. But the third edition, Verizon Gizmo Watch, has Bluetooth compatibility and great battery life (approximately 3.6-day battery life). Bluetooth compatibility of the device can let the child listen to the audio output of the smartwatch. The third edition also has a location history for your child. So, with the application, you can track the history report of your child’s location and keep your child safe.

4. Fitbit Ace 3

• Ideal for kids between the ages of six and twelve, this smartwatch is a reliable and affordable watch with a style that astonishes kids. The watch tracks the activities of kids, like step counts and rest. With a P-OLED display type, the smartwatch supports touch gestures. The smartwatch comes in different colors like black & sport red, cosmic blue, and Astro green.
• The watch comes in one size that will fit wrists from size 4.8 to 6.8 inches. The silicon strap of the smartwatch is very comfortable for kids to wear. The charger of the smartwatch magnetically attaches to the watch’s bottom. The battery life of the smartwatch is pretty good compared with other watches, with a duration of 2 hours to completely charge the watch.
• The simple interface of the watch makes it easier for kids and parents to make usage convenient. It is one of the kids’ favorite watches, but why is it so? Kids can view their step counts and use timers and alarms. But the fun part for kids is they can earn and view badges and make their avatars that they will love.
• The smartwatch is an activity tracker. Hence, it can monitor your kids’ movements. The watch can track sleep time, count steps, etc. To set up the watch, install the app (Fitbit, latest version) and create a family account and a personal account for your child. Once you pair and set up the watch, you can control the permissions and monitor your child’s account. Most of the things are managed by the Fitbit application, and with the help of parents, the kids can manage and use their accounts.
• If your concern as a parent is exposure to inappropriate content, Fitbit is a great fit for you because the smartwatch provides no access to social media like its other alternatives. While the smartwatch is good for tracking the activities of the child, it lacks the feature of GPS tracking, which is one of the loopholes of the watch. Unlike most smartwatches, Fitbit also lacks a system for heart rate monitoring.

5. TickTalk 4

• Ticktalk 4 is a great pick, being an all-in-one smartwatch. The smartwatch supports voice, video calls, and texting. And integration of GPS tracking makes it a smartwatch, phone, and GPS tracking device, all together for your kids.
• With approved contacts, your child can easily connect through a call or message. The communication rendered by the smartwatch doesn’t end here. The smartwatch also allows users to send digital greeting cards to approved contacts.
• The smartwatch is compatible with both operating systems, i.e., iOS and Android. The smartwatch stands out from the competition of other smartwatches for kids with its excellent battery life. The smartwatch has an estimated battery life of about 60 hours, which is commendable.
• The design of the smartwatch may appear to be a bit bulky, but it renders the watch a durable and long-lasting life. The design of the watch provides protection against any potential damage. The smartwatch is currently available in three different colors, i.e., black, blue, and pink.

Wrapping Up

Parents are embracing smartwatches for their kids more and more. Smartwatches have made parenting easy with easy accessibility to the kid’s location, GPS tracking, and all the parental controls.

A smartwatch can help parents to ensure the safety of their children. Smartwatches are not just for health and fitness, but kids that are entertained in the end is what is great about smartwatches. With entertainment, the parents can control what the child is getting exposed to, protecting them from inappropriate exposure.

Apple watch for kids is a great hit, but there are other affordable and reliable options for smartwatches that will impress you. A few options to consider are Spacetalk Adventurer, Garmin Vivofit Jr. 3, Gizmo Watch 3, Fitbit Ace 3, and Ticktalk 4.

Comment below if you have any queries!