{"id":2012,"date":"2019-01-13T16:50:18","date_gmt":"2019-01-13T23:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allclimbing.com\/?p=2012"},"modified":"2024-04-03T08:17:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T14:17:36","slug":"best-fitness-trackers-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allclimbing.com\/best-fitness-trackers-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Fitness Trackers for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of children with obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s according to the CDC<\/a>. And data collected from 2015-2016 indicates 1 in 5 children between the ages of 6 to 19 years has obesity. Childhood obesity has immediate and long-term effects — children with obesity are at a higher risk of having other chronic health conditions, tend to be bullied and teased more compared to children with a healthy weight, and increases the chances to become obese as an adult.<\/p>\n

Kids who are physically active tend to have better grades, school attendance, memory, concentration, and behavior. As an active family who likes to hike, rock climb, and ski, I want to instill in my kids the desire to stay fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Packing protein bars<\/a> for our adventures ensures we have a nutritious snack to keep our energy levels up while enjoying outdoor activities together. Also, the more technologically advanced kids become nowadays, the higher the chance they\u2019ll succeed in the future. There’s no better way to accomplish this than incorporating the use of technology into their daily lives.<\/p>\n

To encourage this, I decided to get fitness trackers for our daughters who are six and nine years old. The primary functions in fitness trackers I was looking for were pretty basic: waterproof, displays the date and time, step tracking, and relatively long battery life.<\/p>\n

I’ve found that these devices are useful even for young children. My 5-year-old can benefit from a fitness tracker by being aware of the current month, day, and time. She can answer many questions on her own now — How much longer until lunchtime? Is it almost time to go home? With the addition of timers, kids also get a better feel for time and actually how long is five, ten, fifteen, etc. minutes. Time is one of those concepts that is difficult to explain and needs personal experience on a repetitive basis to truly understand.<\/p>\n

With the ability to set personal timers, children can also learn time management. Kids can tell what time of the day it is and choose when to start their thirty minutes of daily reading as an example.<\/p>\n

Kids are also intrigued by tracking their physical activities, like hiking, walking, or running, and comparing step counts. It’s a fun way for the family to engage in friendly competition, encouraging each other to reach our individual fitness goals. If you’re looking for additional resources or tips on family fitness, websites like Americansportandfitness.com<\/a> can provide valuable insights.<\/p>\n

All that said, below are some of the best fitness trackers for kids that made my list.<\/p>\n

Garmin Vivofit Jr<\/h3>\n

\"Vivofit<\/p>\n

The popular Garmin Vivofit Jr is first on the list. With a battery life of 1+ year, it\u2019s one less thing for kids (and me!) to worry about. After all, frequent battery charging is a hassle. Combined with the waterproof feature, the Garmin\u00a0Vivofit Jr eliminates the need for kids to remove (and possibly lose) their fitness trackers.<\/p>\n

The device capabilities are intuitive to use. There is only one button on the device that lets them cycle through the functions and make selections. They can easily see the month, date and time, the number of steps they have so far, and how close they are to their daily activity goal. As a side note, the United States Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day.<\/p>\n

The stretchy band is pretty small though. It fit my 5-year-old, but not my 8-year-old. Fortunately, that’s not much of an issue since there are replacement bands for purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Pros<\/td>\nCons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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    \n
  • 1+ year battery life<\/li>\n
  • \u201cSwim friendly\u201d which means waterproof<\/li>\n
  • Functions are intuitive to use<\/li>\n
  • Tracks steps, set timer (2, 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes), tracks sleep (light and deep sleep), displays date and time and provides reward games if the 60 minutes daily activity goal is met<\/li>\n
  • Setup is a breeze<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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