The Best Smartwatches for Kids of 2026

The XPlora X5 Play watch looks a lot like the OG digital watches from the 1980s. There are no exciting design elements here, just a basic black watch with a big black face. While I found the single color look boring, our 7-year-old tester loved it and consistently chose to wear it over the more colorful kid-looking options.

The face on the XPlora X5 is really large—it looked huge on our tester’s small wrist—but instead of complaining that it was too big, she pointed out that it’s both easier to read and easier to use since you’re not trying to hit buttons on a small screen.

The companion app for the XPlora is fantastic, especially with regards to the geo fencing safety feature. You can easily set “safe zones” that will trigger a text message to the parent when the child gets outside the boundaries. My only complaint about this feature is that the smallest radius available is 300 feet, which, if one lives in a large metropolitan area like we do, can mean your child could be crossing busy streets without your supervision. That being said, I did appreciate that I got a text message from the watch the second my daughter left her safe zone (don’t worry, she was in the car with me).

Another feature where the Xplora X5 stands out is with the parent notifications. Every time your child receives a text message, voice call, or video call, the parent gets a notification on their own phone detailing who communicated with the watch. With the other smartwatches we tested a parent has to open the app to gain access to information about past calls and text messages.

The only other minor complaint we had about the Xplora X5 is that it initially showed up on my phone as "spam" when our tester would (repeatedly) call me. I suspect this is more the fault of my cellphone carrier rather than the X5, and once I programmed the number into my contacts as "X5 smartwatch" it solved the issue, but it's worth noting nonetheless.

The second iteration of the Verizon GizmoWatch has a lot going for it: a fun design kids will be proud to wear, lots of exciting games to play with, and best of all, parent options and controls that really make this watch stand out above the rest.

Through the GizmoWatch parental control app (which is synced with the watch easily via a smartphone) parents can set privacy and security options, including who their child is allowed to contact and receive contacts from while using the watch. The watch itself is also GPS enabled, with the wearer’s location being tracked on the home screen of the parental control app—making this watch not only a fun entertainment provider, but also a safety device that can help parents locate their children in a variety of circumstances.

The GizmoWatch2 comes with a sleek and well-calibrated screen that is easy to use, even for adult fingers. It can be comfortably worn all day, is simple to set up, and comes with some fun activity apps to help get kids moving outdoors.

The one downfall some parents may find with the GizmoWatch2 is that service for the GPS and communication options can only be established through Verizon.

If you're purchasing the Apple Watch SE with the intention of setting it up for a child, learn from my mistake: You need to have a model with GPS + cellular in order to "assign" it to a child. I ended up spending upwards of an hour getting the watch all set up before finally being notified that it wouldn't work unless it was a different model (#FAIL). This wasn't made clear on the Apple site, so we ended up having to purchase a second Apple Watch in order to effectively test the watch with a child.

Our testers were really excited to test the Apple Watch SE, but that's where the excitement ended. After testing the other watches that were designed just for kids, we all agreed that the Apple Watch SE doesn't have the features that appeal to younger kids, and that it was actually difficult for them to navigate it. If you have a tween or teenager who has an iPhone and is used to the quirks of an Apple device, the Apple Watch SE may be a good choice for them, but if they already have a phone, they likely don't really need a watch, too.

By far my biggest complaint about the Apple Watch is that no matter what I did and how many settings I adjusted, I couldn't get the location tracking to work. For me, the main point of giving my kids smartwatches is so that I can keep track of where they are—thereby allowing them more freedom and independence—so not being able to use this feature essentially rendered the watch completely pointless.

The Spacetalk Adventurer seemed really promising: it’s cute, it’s colorful, and its features include GPS and fitness trackers. Unfortunately, this smartwatch gave us problems from the get go. The first watch we received wouldn’t charge, and we were only able to use it for a day before the half charge that it came with ran out.

The replacement watch we received didn’t have issues charging, but it wouldn’t connect to the wireless network despite a new SIM card being properly installed and activated. A quick search on the internet revealed that we weren’t the only ones experiencing issues with the Spacetalk Adventurer—quite a few customers posted about having the exact same issues we did.

We also encountered problems with the design and build quality of the Spacetalk. It's difficult to insert or remove the SIM card without first removing the watch straps, and you need a special small plastic tool in order to do that easily. The Spacetalk came with the required tool, but it promptly got lost, so I ended up having to use a butter knife for subsequent strap removals. But here's the kicker: the spot where one of the straps connected to the watch face broke off of the replacement watch before our testers got a chance to wear it. Overall, the Spacetalk Adventurer was an epic fail.

The problems with the Spacetalk were disappointing, because the companion app is well designed and it’s easy for parents to set up approved contacts. The GPS tracker worked well during the short time that we were able to use the watch, and the quality of the phone calls to and from the watch were good.

This watch is super fun and interactive. Of all the watches tested, it probably had the most engaging games and activity apps to play with. That’s about where the wins for the Little Tikes Tobi Robot Smartwatch ended, though. Like the TickTalk3, it had a less than comfortable band and also seemed poorly constructed, with a watch face that wasn’t actually attached to the band and could instead be easily popped in and out. This made for a cheap design feel and a watch that seems as though it could be easily lost or damaged.

While it came with plenty of fun special features, it was the least aesthetically pleasing watch that was tested, and didn’t seem like it would last very long after purchase.