When my daughter’s first birthday approached, I got a little overly excited. What did I get her? A Flik Flack with Minnie Mouse on the watch face. But I quickly realized that it wouldn’t work that way. It took a few more years for her to learn to tell time or understand the concepts behind it (and apparently she still doesn’t, because she takes forever to get dressed in the mornings on school days). The first watch she wanted and actually used was a digital one.
My daughter started wearing the Garmin vívofit jr. (Princess Edition) at first. I think it’s easier for kids these days to read the time from the display than to decipher the position of the hands. Plus, the watch can connect to an iPad for games and such. From there, she started looking at Flik Flak and Swatch as well. Her dad also has a few watches with Snoopy on them, so I bought her the black and white Swatch “Peanuts” edition with Snoopy on it. But it’s 34mm wide, so it’s too big for a kid’s wrist. Swatch also offers some watches in 25mm size, but they don’t have the cool prints for kids. Once a kid can read the time properly, the Flik Flak suddenly looks childish, so this was a missed opportunity.
Children’s Watches: What are the Most Important Features?
A watch should be attractive and make your child want to wear it. It seems like a simple thing, but there are so many designs out there that it’s hard to choose just one. But you know what your child likes to do, what they like to watch, what they like to play with, so it’s best to choose something that suits one (or all) of those things. In addition, your watch should:
Waterproof: I remember playing by the creek as a kid. Sure, hands, arms, and everything got wet. I think a waterproof watch is a must for active kids. Whether they’re outside playing with water guns or splashing around in the pool, they (and you) won’t have to worry about getting their watch wet.
Shockproof: Kids fall. They fall. They fall on their skateboards, on their skates, climbing trees. They come home with holes, bruises and scratches on their clothes. And so do their watches. You want them to at least last a while.
Affordable: It’s very tempting to buy a relatively expensive watch for my child (say, 100+ euros), but I want to keep the watch in good condition. Watches will eventually break (my 1985 Casio survived) and kids will eventually want something new on their wrist.
Easy to read and use: I was surprised to learn that kids don’t learn how to tell the time on an analogue display until they’re 8 or 9 years old in school. But a child’s watch, whether digital or with hands, needs to be easy to read. Digital watches in particular need to be easy to use, but if you have kids, you know how quickly they’ll pick up on a screen.
Comfort: Finally, the watch needs to fit comfortably on a child’s wrist. My daughter will take her watch off if it’s uncomfortable or gets in the way.
In the following overview, we will introduce some examples that may spark your child’s interest in watches. And who knows? Before you know it, they might become collectors!
Flick Flack Gameland Collection
Flik Flak has a large selection of children’s watches divided into several collections, one of which is the Gameland collection, which features watches like this Cyberozaurus for kids who love dinosaurs and dinosaur games. The watches in this collection have a diameter of 31.85 mm and all use quartz movements. Importantly, they are water resistant to 3 ATM. This Flik Flak Gameland Cyberozaurus is priced at 44 euros. To find out more about this watch and the Flik Flak collection, visit the brand’s website here.
Loras RRX59HX9
Like Seiko, Loras uses names and reference numbers that are hard to remember. But the RRX59HX9 gets the job done. It has a cool, youthful diving bezel, a quartz movement, 10 ATM water resistance, and a comfortable silicone strap. The 29.5 mm case is made of plastic with a curved acrylic crystal. The watch is priced at 30 euros. Find out more here.
Swatch Something New LB153
This is probably the most boring configuration in black and white, but I remember Swatches from the early 1980s and I didn’t complain back then. There are many variations of these 25mm Swatch models, so you should be able to find one that’s perfect for your child. This watch is water resistant to 3 ATM (Swatch indicates that you can take it to the pool without any problems) and is powered by a quartz movement. When I bought my daughter a Swatch, the boutique drilled an extra hole in the strap to fit her slim wrist. They also offer lifetime free battery changes, which makes spending 60 euros on a Swatch even easier. You can find this watch (and many other models) here:
Casio Baby-G BGD-565-4
These Baby-G watches come in a variety of colors to suit any kid’s taste. There is also a collaboration version with Looney Tunes, but it is sold out. The brand is always open to doing cool things with other brands outside the Casio world (I got the G-Shock x Transformers watch a few months ago). Anyway, don’t be fooled by the name of this watch. It’s still a big watch at 37.9mm wide, but some kids think that’s cool (I did). It’s waterproof to 10 ATM, weighs only 30 grams, and runs for 2 years on one battery.
It has a ton of features, including a backlight, chronograph, split time, alarm, hourly beep (remember those?), countdown timer, and perpetual calendar. It’s also one of the most expensive watches on this list at €79.90, but it’s sure to last a long time (forever). You can buy it here.
Timex Time Machine Panda
I didn’t know that Timex made watches for kids, but that’s probably because Timex is less known in this region. This 29mm Timex is perfect for kids in many ways. It’s panda themed, but they also have versions with other themes (for the tougher kids, there’s one with a helicopter on the dial and a camo strap). Timex also did a collaboration with Snoopy, which sold out quickly. The stretchy strap reminds me of Erika’s Originals, but this one is panda themed. The plastic Timex Time Machine (29mm) retails for 29 euros and is water resistant to 30 meters.
Party School Time
The youngest watch brand on this list was founded by Kara Barretto. She is a mother of two and has quite a career in the watch industry. She worked as a watch expert at Sotheby’s and later as a writer for Hodinkee. The Parchie School-Time watch has a 32mm diameter aluminum case and is water resistant to 30m. It has an adjustable nylon strap, and each hand on the dial is a different color to make it easier for kids to read the time. According to Kara, the watch can be used while swimming (but not scuba diving in deep waters), showering, and bathing. The Parchie School-Time retails for $65. There’s one small problem for those outside the US: Parchie doesn’t ship internationally. Find out more here.
Garmin vívofit jr. 3 (Marvel)
My daughter loves the Princess edition, but Garmin’s vívofit jr. collection also has a few Marvel editions. These are water resistant to 5 ATM and have a range of features including time, date, steps, sleep tracking, emergency function (with parent’s phone number), alarm, stopwatch and games (where kids earn rewards based on activity) with Bluetooth connectivity to Android and Apple tablets. The Garmin vívofit jr. 3 costs 79.99 euros and can be found here (along with all other variants).
If you have any other suggestions for watches for kids, let us know in the comments. Also, if your child is really interested in watches in general, be sure to get them this “R is for Rolex” book.
