Garmin Vivofit Jr – An activity tracker for kids!

Garmin Vivofit Jr – Here is something good for Junior!

Garmin’s Vivofit Jr looks much like a wristband won to track the activities of a child. This tracker has made the lives of most parents who are overprotective (of course we all are, or aren’t we?) easier. It’s not a brand new product, but this review article is more of a reminder of a good health gadget for children.

UPDATE: Version two, the vívofit jr. 2, is on the market! Check it out.

The Vivofit Jr will help you know what your child is doing through monitoring the child and channeling the progress to a simple app installed on your phone.

Something fascinating is that this band can help you communicate with your child. That simply means that you don’t have to go to your child’s room when you want to remind him/her to take a shower. The only thing you have to do is text the message and the child will read it on the wristband.

For grownups: Garmin Vivoactive 3 Smartwatch – Pay-n-play!

This band also acts as a reminder; it will inform the child when it is time to do his/her homework and so on. The wearable also rewards children the moment they have finished a task within the allocated time, this will motivate the child to be more responsible and doing work on time as it encourages positive competition among the children who have the Vivofit Jr.

Happy, active kid with a fitness tracker.

It is made for children aged between four and nine in order to motivate them to work and be active.

Then again, I will still be very wrong to block adults who wish to wear it. You see, sometimes I too do get “sic” and tired with work or I just want to be lazy (you know how we roll out Monday blues, don’t you?) In such cases, I personally will not mind having it to track how I utilize my time in each and every activity (if only my wrist could be like that of a child).

Can be worn while brushing teeth obviously.

Features and design

A list of important features you should know about.

• This smart band comes in only three colors.
• The strap of the band is made of silicone while the case is made of polymer this makes it more comfortable for the delicate wrist of the child. This material cannot rust hence the child does not have to remove it when swimming or even doing a chore involving getting in touch with water like washing.
• The Vivofit Jr has a task timer that enables the child to work within the time set. For example, the child needs to take a shower, the parent will set the time and the child will try to take a shower within the set time. This will help to minimize wasting time carrying out an activity.
• Vivofit has w/coins that motivate the child once the task is done on time, just like playing a game you on your phone you are rewarded with extra points once you beat the record. Positive reinforcement is very important to children as this will raise their self-esteem hence have a healthy social development. Once the child time has been recorded the child will want to break the record set hence they will learn to do tasks using less time hence saving time.
• The tracker can keep records of the activities done for up to four weeks.
• The resolution of the screen is 64by 64 pixels with the display being black and white hence the child can read with fewer difficulties.
• This tracker will monitor the child’s sleeping habit. The child will not sleep less or more as the timer will act as an alarm. The alarm will signal the child to sleep as well as wake up. That is where the other feature of the band having a digital clock comes in. this tracker ensures that healthy lifestyles in children are inculcated since the parent is involved in the supervision of the child.
• Battery life of the band is more than one year, this means that the once won the tracking of the child is continuous. What do I mean by saying the tracking is continuous? Well, I will give an example of a phone that dies because of low battery, if the data stored on the phone are not backed up they will be lost. I just want to imagine the case where the child was keeping records and trying to break the record each time and the tracker goes off. The child will be disappointed and demoralized. You get it now, don’t you? The long battery life ensures the child is motivated and tracked all the time for maximum output.

Garmin Vivofit Junior in three different colors.

Connectivity to the phone

Basically, it is not too hard to configure the tracker and connect it to your phone. Here is all you will need to do:

1. Go to play store, download an app by the name Garmin Vivofit jr app and install it.
2. Just like Bluetooth, pair the phone with the tracker by confirming pair once it appears on the screen of the phone.

• There will be guidelines to follow to complete the setup process.

It’s also important to note that the Vivofit Jr can be paired with up to three devices. Once the device is connected to the tracker all the activities will be monitored and saved.

Vivofit Jr Activity Tracker Overview

Pros

• A unisex design: Vivofit is the tracker for all. Owing to its unisex design, the little tracker is not limited to gender.
• Waterproof: Unlike other trackers Vivofit the child can swim with it because it is waterproof, the other trackers are made to be sweat proof and little amount of water. This makes Vivofit to be ranked highly because of the nature of the children playing with water. When it comes to tracking a child swimming Vivofit will be the wise choice to make.
• Automatic detection: The Vivofit also has an automatic detection of an activity being carried out without even login in to set counting for the new activity. The tracker also will notify you of the calls or even text messages that have been sent to your phone. This will help you to be in touch with people even if you are working out. The tracker will also note the moment you have slept and will keep the record of the average time you spend in bed.
• The tracker is easy to use and read; the child can interpret the results displayed easily unlike other trackers. Vivofit is also pocket-friendly compared to other trackers and yet offer quality services.
• It has many educational activities which will allow the child to expand their knowledge while having fun.

Cons

• The band of the Vivofit is inelastic. This is sad if the growth rate of the child is very high and the size of the wrist increases as you will have to buy another one. Unlike other trackers, Vivofit does not have extra wristbands.
• These devices do not offer the location of the child. As much as you can know the activity the child is doing the parent has to be very keen not to forget to watch where the child is.

Product video

What’s in the box

Here are what’s in the box. Also, check out this unboxing video.

• User manual
• Garmin Vivofit Jr
• Band in chosen color

The box itself can be turned into a piggy bank for saving allowance money.

Conclusion

Tracking a child’s activity is important as it will inculcate a healthy lifestyle in the child. This is achieved by the app keeping a record of the activities of the child all day long. This record can then be later discussed with friends or even with parents. The fact that Vivofit Jr rewards a child could make him/her feel motivated to do better each day. The app will also help the child to set reasonable goals to be achieved and he or she will be reminded by the tracker on when the task should be done. The app also gives parents an opportunity to be part of the activities their children are undertaking even if they are physically apart.

The parents can also assign duties even when they are at work just by the use of a wristband. Honestly, Vivofit Jr is a very recommendable device for all parents. On the overall, it had an 8.6 rating of the possible 10. A good indication that the device is good enough to give a try.

It is easy to buy new straps in other colors if your kid is tired of how it looks.

Remember the update: Version two, the vívofit jr. 2, is on the market! Check it out.

Where can I buy it?

Check the latest price on the first version and consider buying it from my favorite and trustworthy online store, Amazon both in Europe and the US.

More info & Questions

Write your questions, comments, concerns or happy thoughts in the commenting section below. I would love to hear what you think of this cool wearable for kids. Here are some examples of what other Amazon buyers have to say about this activity tracker:

“Fantastic device .” by Beau J. Randall

“I cannot say enough good things about this.” by Whitney Knoll

“Great for 9 year old. Encourages active minutes and allows for sleep monitoring and multiple alarms.” by kolbrkr

Another Cool Smartwatch: Fitbit Ionic

 Technical Specifications

Important tech specs:

Did you find my gadget review of this product useful? Let me know in the comment section. Have a nice day.