Garmin Vivofit Jr. Activity Trackers Make Moving Even More Fun
I’ve been wearing my TomTom fitness tracking watch most days since I got it earlier this year. My kids and I have gotten into the habit of checking my step count each night at bedtime. Whoever I’m tucking in that night will ask how many steps I’ve gotten, and I’ll light it up to check. They love watching the line go around the circle when I’ve met my goal, and it’s a good way for my oldest to learn big numbers.
So when Garmin sent me vívofit jr. fitness trackers ($79.99) for my kids to test out, they went bonkers they were so excited.
Luckily, there was very little setup required, so they were able to get going right away. I downloaded the vívofit jr. app, paired it with each watch, and got their profiles set up.
Like trackers for adults, the vívofit jr. was designed to motivate kids to get moving and create healthy habits. It tracks steps and total activity, and you can use it to track chores. Handy timers of various lengths let you keep track of the time for certain activities, so if your kids have a 30-minute screen time limit, you can set the alarm instead of keeping an eye on the time. When your child is inactive for more than 15 minutes, red arrows appear to remind them to get moving.
My kids love it, and they love to see how many steps they got in a day and if they met their goals. If the 60-minute activity goal is met, their avatar will move on an adventure trail on the app, which is a fun way for them to log their progress, even if it leads to them being competitive with each other.
The sleep tracking is also interesting because I can pull up the app and see exactly when my 4-year-old got up at night; there will be an activity spike at midnight and 4 a.m., on good nights. My only beef is that although the battery life is supposed to be a year-plus, my son’s wore out within a couple of months, so he’s wearing it with a blank screen until I track down one of those button-cell batteries I can never seem to find. Overall, though, I think it’s a really fun way to encourage kids to get moving. Plus, they feel like big kids with watches just like mom’s!
Have your kids ever worn activity trackers? I have a feeling I’ll be getting another one when my youngest is a bit older so she can keep up! —Erin