Best smartwatch for kids 2022: With games, cameras and trackers

Best: Overall

• Screen size: 14.11mm²
• Battery life: Non-rechargeable, up to one year (CR2025)
• Weight: 25g
• Water resistance: 5 ATM
• Connectivity: Bluetooth to parent’s smartphone
• GPS: No
• Camera: No
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Four and above

We love the positivity of Garmin’s vivofit jr 3 – it’s all about encouraging children to be more active, with either Marvel superheroes- or Disney princess-themed games and challenges providing an incentive for taking more steps, doing more chores around the house, or spending more time moving. Setting it up is straightforward and takes less than 10 minutes – a parent needs the Garmin jr app, then the watch connects and is controlled through that. From there, challenges and tasks can be created and rewards set – and kids can earn a certain number of coins to unlock more games.

The watch itself is well made and straightforward; it can be worn when swimming, and our young tester loved the Marvel design details. One button on the side controls the data shown on the screen and acts as a timer, stopwatch and challenge starter. It’s a great piece of kit.

Best: For fans of Paw Patrol

• Screen size: 27mm²
• Battery life: Rechargeable, 24 hours with normal use
• Weight: 39g
• Water resistance: Splashproof
• Connectivity: Micro USB
• GPS: No
• Camera: Selfie camera for photos and video
• Works with: N/A 
• Suitable for: Six and above

Think of this fun Paw Patrol watch as more of a toy than a smartwatch, and its young wearer won’t be disappointed. It’s not the most sophisticated here, but that’s not the point – Paw Patrol fans will love it, and it’s a great starter watch (with a timer, stopwatch and alarm), plus a camera for selfies and videos (a micro SD card can be installed) and six simple games. 

The starting age of six is spot on, except the touchscreen controls are a little fiddly. It’s a straightforward smartwatch: it doesn’t need to be connected to another device to work, it’s splashproof, and it takes an hour to charge. 

Best: For younger kids

• Screen size: 1.4in
• Battery life: Rechargeable, two to three days
• Weight: 410g
• Water resistance: Splashproof 
• Connectivity: Micro USB
• GPS: No
• Camera: Dual camera for photos and videos 
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Four and above 

Brilliant fun for younger kids, the VTech kidizoom smartwatch has a great selection of games and features to encourage children to move more (the “crazy dance action challenge” is particularly fun), to teach them to tell the time, and to improve their logic skills with puzzles and challenges.

It doesn’t need a smartphone to work (simply save media to a laptop via USB) and is easy to set up, but is well worth exploring fully as there’s more to it than meets the eye. Pictures and video can be taken from either the side camera or the front-facing one, and silly special effects can be added. Our young tester’s favourite bit? Using the camera to search for monsters in the real world with the monster detector app.

Best: Light watch

• Screen size: 33x12mm
• Battery life: Rechargeable, up to five days on standby
• Weight: 18g
• Water resistance: 50m
• Connectivity: Bluetooth
• GPS: No
• Camera: No 
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Six and above

If you’re a Fitbit fan and your child is also keen to start tracking their movement, it makes sense to buy the latest Fitbit ace 2, aimed at children aged six and above, as you’ll just need one app to control all the family Fitbits, and you can easily create family challenges and targets.

Really light on the wrist (the lightest here), the ace 2 is simple to use; most of the settings are controlled from the app on a parent or carer’s iOS or Android device and the Fitbit mainly shows daily steps and active minutes, so is easy to navigate. We love that it can be worn in the shower or while swimming, and our young tester liked being woken up by the silent alarm (a quiet buzzing on their wrist). Available in coral pink or dark blue.

Best: Interactive watch

• Screen size: 1.54in
• Battery life: Rechargeable, up to two days
• Weight: 60g
• Water resistance: Splashproof
• Connectivity: Wireless connectivity with other Tobi smartwatches (to share photos and messages)
• GPS: No
• Camera: Dual camera for photos and videos
• Works with: N/A
• Suitable for: Four to six and above

The tobi robot smartwatch is first and foremost an interactive, wearable robot – poke it, shake it or swipe it to prompt one of its more than 100 facial expressions. Our young tester was utterly absorbed and it reminded us of a Tamagotchi – the more you interact with it, the more you get from it. 

It’s worth reading the detailed user guide and fiddling with the settings before handing it over to your child – there’s a lot going on with tobi, including fitness games (it has a pedometer), messaging (to other tobi smartwatches), and taking pictures and video, as well as learning to tell the time. For versatility, tobi can be popped out of the silicone strap and comes with a clothing clip that doubles as a display stand. It’s also available in pink or blue.

Best: For older kids and teens

• Screen size: 20mm x10mm
• Battery life: Rechargeable, up to 14 days on standby
• Weight: 28g
• Water resistance: 50m
• Connectivity: Bluetooth
• GPS: No
• Camera: No 
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Older children and teens

First and foremost a fitness tracker, this is a great option for older kids keen to measure their performance on the track or in the pool. Able to monitor movement across multiple fitness modes and record heart rate, it’s a neat piece of kit for young athletes. You can also use it to set targets (eg. calories burnt, distance covered) while training, plus it’ll keep track of your sleep pattern and receive phone notifications.

Easily paired with a smartphone, you’ll need to download the Huawei health app and set up a profile – but it only takes a few minutes. The watch is sleek and streamlined, but as a result there is only one button in addition to the touchscreen, so it’s worth spending a bit of time getting used to the menu and function layout. It comes in black, navy or pink.

Best: First smartwatch

• Screen size: 1.4in
• Battery life: Rechargeable, up to three days on standby
• Weight: 34g
• Water resistance: Waterproof
• Connectivity: Bluetooth
• GPS: Yes
• Camera: 2MP
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Four and above

Billed as your child’s first smartwatch, the X5 play comes with lots of features to protect your child’s safety, such as being able to monitor their location from your smartphone app, and the fact that only up to 50 registered contacts can message your child. With a built-in step counter, two-megapixel selfie camera and video, and GPS, the watch itself is straightforward and intuitive to use. The action really starts when you choose to join various “campaigns” through the Xplora app. Current campaigns include tie-ins with Peter Rabbit 2 and Spy Racers – children earn rewards, places on a leaderboard and the chance to win prizes for every 1,000 steps they take. 

Setting up the watch requires creating an account with Giffgaff (it comes with a free Giffgaff SIM and £5 credit) and downloading the Xplora app – it’s not complicated, but is worth doing before giving the watch to its recipient. It’s available with a blue, pink or black frame.

Best: For security features

• Screen size: 1.2in
• Battery life: Rechargeable, up to 24 hours on standby
• Weight: 58g
• Water resistance: Water resistant
• Connectivity: Bluetooth
• GPS: Yes
• Camera: No
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Five and above

A mobile phone, GPS tracker and watch, the Spacetalk is designed with your child’s safety in mind. Pair it with the Allmytribe app on your smartphone and only approved contacts can message or call the watch. You can also activate alerts that indicate if your child has (or hasn’t) arrived at school, and SOS contacts can be called by the press of a button.

There’s no social media or open internet available on the watch, and you can enable school mode, so during certain hours it is only a wristwatch. There’s a pedometer to help reach fitness goals and an interactive reward star chart – both are controlled through the app. We particularly liked being able to edit and add preset messages for our child to use in the chat function, so they can just select and send. It’s available in teal, grey and pink.

Best: Cellular kids’ smartwatch

• Screen size: 1.7in
• Battery life: Up to 24 hours
• Weight: 40.6g
• Water-resistant: 10m for up to 30 minutes
• Connectivity: Built-in Vodafone Smart SIM
• GPS: Yes
• Camera: Yes
• Works with: iOS, Android 
• Suitable for: Six to nine

A secure, intelligent smartwatch for kids, the new Vodafone Neo puts some of the favourite Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel characters straight on to our young ones’ wrists. The characters, affectionately called sidekicks in Neo world, bring the activity tracking challenges to life, making their catchphrase sound effects when the watch moves and leaping into life throughout the day to encourage movement. 

Not just an activity tracker, the Neo encourages your child to stay in touch with you (and a close group of controlled contacts) via calls and chats. Everything is set up through the Vodafone Smart App installed on the parent’s phone, which connects via the watch’s built-in SIM card – so distance isn’t an issue. Via the app, you can check their location, set their permitted contacts, add events to their calendar and send instant messages. On the watch, the child can take photos, check the weather and see their daily activity, as well as easily switch between the different characters. We love the independence this watch encourages, as did our young tester. 

The watch comes with a second strap, which sets the watch face at a more ergonomic angle – it’s a nice touch.  Available in mint or ocean. 

Best: For encouraging movement

• Screen size: 1.4in
• Battery life: Rechargeable, up to five days
• Weight: 148g
• Water resistance: Waterproof
• Connectivity: Bluetooth to parent’s smartphone
• GPS: No
• Camera: No
• Works with: iOS, Android
• Suitable for: Older children and teens

The feature we like best about this watch? You can set a “sedentary alert” to go off after a certain amount of inactivity. Very much aimed at teens rather than younger kids, it tracks your steps (running or walking), cycling and sleep, plus it has a heart rate monitor and connects via Bluetooth for smartphone notifications and music control. Stylish and very much modelled on Apple’s far pricier version, it’s a great-value first smartwatch that’s available in rose gold or black.