Best Fitness Trackers for Kids

Amanda Banta:  This is one of the best fitness trackers for kids; it comes with an especially good mission! It allows kids to earn points with their steps and activity, and by being active, they can also give to the world. UNICEF, which delivers food to needy children around the world, will donate and deliver more food as kids earn more points.

The bands are waterproof, feature a watch and have a rechargeable battery that lasts about 2 weeks on average. Parents can manage multiple devices on the app.

Amanda Banta:  This Fitbit for kids can track their active minutes, steps and sleep and offers group challenges through the FitBit app. The Ace also features a reminder to move, helping kids to stay active all day long, and kids will earn badges and celebrations as they reach activity milestones.

Parents can access their kids' activity by setting up a family account and linking the children's devices on the app. The adjustable and swimproof wristbands are available in a few colors, and the rechargeable battery lasts around 5 days.

Amanda Banta:  The vívofit jr. 2 is a waterproof fitness tracker that can also be used for chore management, sleep tracking, and alerts like brushing teeth or feeding pets. Kids will love connecting with friends nearby to compete in challenges and watch their step counts rise. The comfortable bands come in kid-favorite character designs with a few games and adventures. The battery is designed to last one year before needing replacement, but that will vary based on actual usage. You can view your kid's activity and sleep from the parent-controlled app, too.

Amanda Banta:  The Letsfit Fitness Tracker is not designed specifically for children but its affordable price and kid-requested features make it a top choice for older kids and tweens who are active in sports and want to track their goals. With an activity tracker, color screen and a great variety of band color options, the Letsfit Fitness Tracker has a lot to offer. The activity tracker and heart rate monitor can be used with or without a smartphone. Though, with a smartphone, calls and message notifications can be connected.

The tracker will be OK if your kid wears it out in the rain, but it is not water-proof. Kids should take it off before swimming or showering.

Amanda Banta:  VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2 packs a whole lot of fun into this watch that has a pedometer for tracking activity and step challenges, a colorful touch screen, games and apps and even dual cameras for front-facing and selfie shots.

The watch is splash-proof, which provides some reassurance that it will hold up against your child's play. It also uses a rechargeable lithium battery.

Amanda Banta:  For kids who want more features than a typical tracker offers, the Kurio Watch 2.0+ is a smartwatch for kids with a great activity tracker and fitness games and is tough enough to handle everyday play. The Kurio, which is scratch-proof and water resistant, comes with two adjustable bands, one standard and a second that changes colors with a child's activity.

The watch's features include a camera, messaging between other Kurio watches and Android devices, games and apps, and a rechargeable battery. You can connect this to a parent’ s smartphone via Bluetooth to receive and make calls, too.

Katie G.:  LeapFrog has developed a fun way for young kids to stay active. The LeapBand, with a colorful, interactive screen, challenges kids with fun games and virtual rewards to get moving.

Kids choose one of eight virtual pets to care for and complete physical challenges to earn rewards for their pet. Unlike most fitness trackers, the LeapBand does not count steps, sleep or distance. Instead it provides fun challenges that get kids to walk, run, jump and dance. Parents can log on to LeapFrog Connect to add additional challenges to the trackers and give kids a way to earn more points.

Katie G.:  The GizmoWatch is perfect for older kids who may be venturing out of the house by themselves or starting to stay home alone. This activity tracker watch is also a GPS so Mom or Dad can check on the location of their child no matter where they are.

Parents can program fun fitness goals onto the watch and send reminders to kids to stay active and kids can monitor their steps each day with the step counter. 2-way calling and texting is available for up to 10 trusted contacts. The watch is offered through Verizon Wireless and requires a monthly service fee.