Kids Fitness Trackers (including Ace from Fitbit)

After a year of thinking it over, this past holiday season both my kids got fitness trackers. They are, almost 3 months later, still my favorite takeaway from Christmas (sorry Fingerlings).

I did quite a bit of research before I bought the version we have (Garmin Vivofit Jr), and with the recent announcement that Fitbit is jumping into the mix with their new kids version, it seemed like a good time to post a few of the popular options!

LeapFrog LeapBand Activity Tracker – $32.50 – $37.99

This option from Leapfrog has 4 star reviews on Amazon and lots of parents reporting that they love it, although a few mentioned that it can be confusing to use. The activity tracker shows the time in analog and digital, and will also announce the time so kids can hear it. It does have a feature that prompts kids to move with activity challenges but parents also report that there are several games kids can play on it that don’t require moving, so that is something to consider. Overall it seems like a great version for the little kids who are already Leapfrog fans. The LeapFrog LeapBand Activity Tracker comes in Green, Pink and Blue.

• Experience the first activity tracker made for kids – LeapBand is fit made fun!
• Preload LeapBand with 50 active challenges that get kids moving, like – “Pounce like a lion!”
• Parent controls on LeapFrog Connect make it easy to set play times, challenges and more.
• Encourages active play, nurturing and healthy choices.
• Ages 4-7 years.

Garmin Vivofit Jr Version 1, Currently $69.99 – $79.99

I’ll start by saying we have this version of this tracker and my kids love them. They wear them all day, in the pool, and you can set an alarm to go off to alert when it is time for bed. My favorite feature is that you don’t have to charge it. The battery lasts for a year. This also means it hardly gets taken off, which means it doesn’t get lost often, which I love. This version comes in Broken Lava, Digi Camo, Real Flower band patterns, but you can order replacement bands in other colors. 

Features listed on the Garmin Website:

• Features 1+ year battery life; no recharging needed
• Kid-friendly design is comfortable, durable and swim friendly
• Tracks steps, sleep and 60 minutes of daily recommended activity
• Free parent-controlled app5 includes fun and educational mobile adventures for kids and chore/behavior management for parents
• Kids can earn coins to redeem for agreed-upon rewards managed by parents

Garmin Vivofit Jr Version 2, Currently $62.50 – 79.99

I purposely didn’t buy this version because I’m not a fan of the branding. My kids are totally happy with flowers and dinosaurs, we didn’t need to add Star Wars, Super Heroes or Mini Mouse into it, but if your kids are big fans they might love that. There are several color/theme options available including 2 Minnie Mouse versions, 2 Marvel versions, and 2 Star Wars versions (including BB-8).

Features listed on the Garmin Website:

• Swim-friendly kids activity tracker with Disney/Star Wars/Marvel theme
• Kid-tough stretchy band, features a customizable color screen and 1+ year battery life; no recharging needed
• Syncs with free mobile app, which includes chore management and schedule alert tools for parents
• Kids advance in a Disney or Marvel or Star Wars themed app adventure by meeting 60-minute daily activity goals
• Tracks steps, sleep and 60 minutes of daily recommended activity
• Stretchy band comfortably fits a wrist 147 mm in circumference; choose an adjustable band for a larger size

Fitbit Ace – currently available for pre-order $99

Fitbit announced recently that they are also going to start offering a kids version of their fitness tracker. You can check it out and pre-order the Fitbit Ace here. These are the features listed on their website:

• Activity Tracking: Tracks your child’s daily steps and active minutes.
• Rewards & Badges: Acknowledges goals and milestones with fun celebration messages and badges.
• Set Activity Goals: With customizable step and active minute goals, Ace gets kids moving and makes it fun!
• Step Challenges: Kids can stay motivated by challenging others to step competitions in the Fitbit app.
• Showerproof: From puddle jumping to lunchtime spills, Ace can handle whatever your kid gets into.
• Battery Life: Battery life up to 5 days so kids can spend less time charging and more time moving.*
• Sleep Tracking: Ace tracks your child’s sleep duration, sheds light on their ZZZ’s and encourages good bedtime habits.
• Fitbit App Parent View: Parents set up a family account and then create an account for their child where they can view activity and progress.
• Fitbit App Kid View: Kids can see stats or badges and change their clock faces in the app through a secure Kid View that can be turned on and off from the family account.
• Clock Faces: With 10 fun clock face designs that show the date, time, goal progress and more, kids can choose their favorite style.
• Notifications: Kids who own a smartphone can receive call notifications on their wrist. Works with select devices, when phone is nearby.
• Reminders to Move: Turn on Reminders to Move notifications for friendly on-screen messages that encourage kids to stay active all day.
• Track Progress: Ace automatically syncs to iOS & Android devices so you can track your child’s activity trends over time and see how small steps make a big impact!