The Best Fitness Trackers for Kids Review – Top 8 in 2023

Do you have trouble helping your child stay fit and active? Your job as a parent is hard enough, that’s why a fitness tracker for kids is a great option to help motivate your kids to get moving, exercise and have fun while doing so!! But there are a ton of options out there, so how do you know which tracker to choose?

We put in the legwork, by analyzing pages and pages of user reviews, specs lists, and feedback from real parents. After all of our research, we’ve come up with a list of the best options to help parents to make the right choice, for their children. At the top of the list is the Garmin Vivofit Jr 2. This is hands-down the best of the best, thanks to its comfortable, kid-proof design, and reliable activity tracking. It also includes a free app, with tons of helpful features.

Check out our full review of the Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2, along with seven other great options. See if you can find the one that even helps your kids to do their chores!

IMAGE PRODUCT DETAILS

Garmin Vivofit Jr 2
  • Fun and comfortable design
  • Swim-friendly & Kid-tough
  • Reliable app with countless features and games
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LeapFrog LeapBand
  • Pre-loaded with 50+ fitness games for kids
  • Parental playtime controls
  • Nutrition education
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VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch
  • Additional features than just fitness tracking
  • Camera
  • Affordable & Interactive games
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8 Best Fitness Trackers for Kids

1. Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 – Our Top Pick

Garmin makes some of the best fitness trackers and smartwatches for athletes. They’re known for their durable construction and excellent features. The Vivofit Jr 2 lives up to this company’s reputation. Which is why it’s our top pick for your little athlete.

The Vivofit Jr 2 sports a durable swim-proof construction that’s ready for any water that may come your way. Sprinklers, playgrounds, gymnastics class? The Vivofit Jr 2 can take it and still be comfortable on the wrist.

One of it’s best features is the Vivofit Jr smartphone app. It’s really like your babysitter and personal assistant all-in-one, which makes your life easier and worry-free. The app enables you to set reminders for your kids to do their chores, finish their homework, and brush their teeth. This app can also reward them with virtual coins, and fun adventures. 

Want to challenge the entire family? Connect the family through the app and create custom challenges so you can get moving together.

Don’t worry about having to remind your child to charge the Vivofit Jr 2, since its battery will last almost a year. That’s right, one year of power! At the end of the year, just replace the battery and you’re good to go for another twelve-months. You may like also like our recent guide on the best Garmin running watch for adults.

Features: One-year battery life, swim-ready, cohesive with the smartphone app, comfortable band.

Pros

  • Fun and comfortable design
  • Swim-friendly
  • Kid-tough
  • Durable app with countless features and games

Cons

  • Small screen


2. LeapFrog LeapBand – Fun Education Features

As a parent, you’re probably familiar with the LeapFrog educational toys and tablets. Now they’ve packed some cool health and fitness educational features into an interactive watch, that gets your kids moving.

Exercising with a buddy is more fun! On the LeapBand, kids can customize their very own pet pal, who then becomes their active playmate. Together with their pet, they can participate in over fifty fun challenges, for instance, “Jump like a frog,” or “Pounce like a lion!” The more active they are, the more points they can win, which will open other fun games.

In Pet Chef mode your child collects food to create healthy snacks for their pet, while simultaneously learning about basic nutrition.

Although it doesn’t automatically connect to a smartphone, like some other fitness trackers, you can connect the LeapBand to your computer, and connect to an app that allows you to control some of its features. For instance, you can control the “play mode,” and when it is accessible for your child.

Features:  Big display, preloaded fitness games, educates children about hygiene and nutrition.

Pros

  • Pre-loaded with 50+ fitness games for kids
  • Parental playtime controls
  • Nutrition education
  • Cost-effective

Cons

  • A bit bulky 


3. VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch – Best Fitness Tracker Smartwatch

The VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch lets your kids do more than just track their activity. The dual cameras allow kids to take tons of fun pictures, which they can customize into new watch faces. What happens when the memory is full? Just connect it to a computer with the included micro-USB cable, and upload the photos to free up space for more fun.

Your kids will love the Kidizoom design, it makes them feel like grown-ups because it looks like “Mom and Dad’s,” smartwatch.

Although the Kidizoom doesn’t have as many fitness tracking features as some of our other options, it does have a motion sensor and several different action challenges that make it fun to stay active.

Features: Built-in camera, active play challenges, rechargeable with included micro-USB cable.

Pros

  • More features than just fitness tracking
  • Camera
  • Interactive games
  • Reasonably priced, considering all the features 

Cons

  • Needs to be recharged daily
  • Splash-proof but not waterproof (Just don’t go swimming with it)


4. Fitbit Ace 2

Even if you’re not a current Fitbit owner, you’ll love the Ace 2. Its quality construction, range of tracking features, and ease of integrating into the Fitbit ecosystem, makes this a great choice for your child’s fitness tracker.

The adjustable silicone band means it will provide consistent comfort, even as your little ones grow over the years. You can even customize the design with fun colors and swappable bands. The comfortable design means it’s easy for your child to wear this 24/7 so you can even track their sleep and make sure they’re getting to bed on time.

Although it doesn’t have games like some of our other options, it does include fun incentives to motivate and reward your child for staying active. They can even challenge their friends or family to step competitions and send each other motivational messages through the smartphone app.

Features: Water-resistant to fifty meters, sleep tracking, swappable bands, five-day battery life.

Pros

  • Fun colors with swappable bands
  • Swim-ready
  • Durable design
  • Easily integrates into the Fitbit ecosystem

Cons

  • No games


5. UNICEF Kid Power Band

The UNICEF Kid Power fitness tracker not only helps your child stay active but also helps them do it for a good cause while learning about other cultures. 

The Power Band is similar to other basic fitness trackers, in that, it tracks steps and movements. Its waterproof, kid-tested design means it is comfortable, durable and versatile.

The main difference from other products on this list is how the Power Band rewards kids for their activity. You can sync it to the app for Missions, and as a family, can learn about other cultures and countries. Your child’s activity will unlock food packets that UNICEF delivers to severely malnourished children around the world. As your children move, they will help malnourished-children around the world to be fed. 

This innovative fitness tracker doesn’t just help your child stay healthy, but also helps them see the importance of helping children around the world stay nourished and happy. You may also like our guide on the best fitness tracker for women.

Features: Steps earn points for a good cause, mobile app to track progress and learn, waterproof IP67.

Pros

  • Waterproof IP67
  • Adjustable band for your growing child
  • Easy-to-read Screen
  • Activity supports a good cause

Cons

  • Activity is only stored on the watch for thirty days (Just be sure to sync to the smartphone app periodically)


6. Kurio Glow Smartwatch

Another good option for a multi-functional kids smartwatch that can help them have fun staying active, is the Kurio Glow. It has many of the normal smartwatch functions like a selfie camera, apps and games, alarms, a stopwatch, and it’s a great watch with music.

Kids will love the seven, cool light effects, that can flash to the beat of your child’s movements. It also includes the interchangeable bands, that they can swap for their favorite color.

Among the pre-installed games are some motion sensor games like Snake, Ninja Roll, and Sport Challenge. These are sure to keep your kids up and moving around.

Features: Front-facing selfie camera, splashproof, scratch-resistant, motion sensor games.

Pros

  • Activity-based games
  • Fun color options
  • Splashproof

Cons

  • Less movement activities than others


7. Garmin Vivofit Jr

The Vivofit Jr is Garmin’s first fitness tracker for kids. Although it’s a slightly older model than our top pick, the Vivofit Jr 2, it’s still a solid choice at a reasonable cost.

The screen isn’t as large or versatile as some of our other trackers, but it can be paired with the free mobile app. With this app, the Vivofit Jr becomes a personal assistant for parents, due to its many useful features. 

Similar to the Vivofit Jr 2, you can reward your children for staying active and getting chores done, and also set reminders for important tasks for your kids, such as, brushing their teeth or taking out the garbage. 

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You can reward your children for their activities with virtual coins which they can then cash in for predetermined prizes like a movie night or extra TV time.

Features: One-year battery life, stretchy band, tracks steps and sleep.

Pros

  • Tracks activity levels and steps
  • Simple, rugged design
  • Swim-ready

Cons

  • Small display


8. Fitbit Ace

The Fitbit Ace is similar to the Ace 2, but it has a much sleeker design. It looks similar to other Fitbit fitness trackers but comes in a smaller package, which is designed for kids.

The sleek, splashproof design means it can keep up with your child whether they’re playing in the puddles or jumping through the sprinkler. If your little ones enjoy jumping rope you may also like the best shoes for jumping rope

Pair it with the Fitbit app and you’ll get even more features. You can track your child’s activity and even their sleep patterns to make sure they’re getting plenty of rest. 

Don’t let the rest of the family fall behind. Challenge each other to step competitions to help keep everyone motivated and fit! And for the rewards, you can offer prizes and badges through the app, to those who meet their goals. You may also like our guide on best running watches.

Features: Five-day battery life, sleek design, splashproof.

Pros

  • Good battery life
  • Light and comfortable
  • Easy to read LED display

Cons

  • Only two colors



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Austin Mills

Austin Mills in an outdoor enthusiast. He's been featured on some of the top outdoor & fitness blogs sharing his expertise in order to help others. In his free time, he likes spending time with his dogs enjoying the outdoors.