Fitbit watches for kids

[Anonymous]

My daughter tells me that a lot of kids her age (11) are wearing fitbits. I'm curious as to what the parents' motivation is for buying these watches. If your kid has one, did you buy it mainly so your kid could track their activity or more as a way to send messages to them that are more likely to be seen than if you were texting them on their phone.

[Anonymous]

Kid wanted it for Xmas. All the other kids have one. She likes it. They compare steps...

[Anonymous]

My 11 year old had one. Many of his friends did. They liked to compete to see who can get the most steps. There are challenges you can do together. He doesent have a cell phone, so no that wasn't a motivator.

Just a warning, I love fitbits (I had one too) but they are incredibly flimsy. Their customer service is great and they will replace them, no questions asked, however after my sons 2nd broken fitbit we just gave up. I also had to replace mine once. When it broke again I gave up too.

[Anonymous]

My 7 yo got a vivofit jr. it serves as a watch and counts her steps. She loves it! My 11 yo will sometimes wear the basic fitbit that I have and rarely wear (the one with the dots)

I wasn't sure about it at first - but then saw how encouraged she was to get the 10000 steps daily.

They definitely don't have phones and their trackers don't have texting capabilities- I've not seen a single kid with one of those in elem. (but realize someone somewhere might)

[Anonymous]

Both my elementary kids have one. Several of the kids at their school have them. They love competing on who has the most steps and I like that it tracks their sleep as I see a correlation between the sleep quality and behavior.

[Anonymous]

My 11 yo has a different brand of fitness tracker because he's a swimmer, but he LOVES being able to track his daily activity levels. He checks into the cumulative info on my phone because he doesn't have one. He compares numbers with his friends and with me. I love the sleep info and he sees the importance of good sleep now, too.

His younger sibs want the fitbit versions. They're not swimmers, so I will go with the actual fitbit when they get theirs.

[Anonymous]

My 10 year old got one from my MIL. She really likes tracking her steps. I occasionally use it to check her sleep and like that feature, but I'm not sure how much I trust its accuracy on that. She does sometimes use it to text, which is not something that i even realized it did, so I was a little irritated at the MIL for that. I'm also a little worried that the step tracking is a little pre-anorexic, as she now paces the floor to get her steps up to 10K every day.

MIL also bought one for the 8 year old, who lost it immediately. His sister found it, and he lost it again within the day.

[Anonymous]

The oldest of my three children is recovering from anorexia (with an exercise compulsion)-- so none of my kids ever had a FitBit and no one in our house will be owning one, for obvious reasons. (My oldest is now in very good health, thankfully.) My kids are all active, play a sport, go outside a recess, often play ball or frisbee outside after school-- they do not need a FitBit to tell them whether or not they're moving enough. I can see why kids are intrigued by them, but frankly, unless you have serious problems with your kid being too sedentary or with weight, I think they're a little ridiculous for children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid wanted it for Xmas. All the other kids have one. She likes it. They compare steps...

+1

[Anonymous]

My 9 yo needed a watch and he liked to use my fitbit so he asked for one for Christmas. Better than a video game...

[Anonymous]

I told them no and that it's a fad which will pass. I don't care if the want to track and compare their steps wth kids at school. To me it's a waste of money. I told them to wait 5 years and we'll buy them apple watches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I told them no and that it's a fad which will pass. I don't care if the want to track and compare their steps wth kids at school. To me it's a waste of money. I told them to wait 5 years and we'll buy them apple watches.

So you are ok with wasting money, just not on a young child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I told them no and that it's a fad which will pass. I don't care if the want to track and compare their steps wth kids at school. To me it's a waste of money. I told them to wait 5 years and we'll buy them apple watches.

So you are ok with wasting money, just not on a young child?

Yes, actually. (NP)

[Anonymous]

I'd like a fitbit but I'm totally opposed to its on-line data tracking. Is there anyway to use it remotely or must you use the on-line service?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd like a fitbit but I'm totally opposed to its on-line data tracking. Is there anyway to use it remotely or must you use the on-line service?

I don't think so. That's why I won't be buying them for my kids.

http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fitness-trackers-open-effect-citizen-lab-report/