AIBU to not buy my child a Fitbit for his birthday?

[Tootired1]

My son wants a ‘watch that counts steps’ for his 7th birthday. I looked online and the kids Fitbit is £80 but there are cheaper brands that seem to do the same thing for about £20-£25. DH thinks I should buy the £80 one because the reviews are mixed on the cheaper one. DS is a really good lad and not a wanter. This is the only thing he said he might like for his birthday or he said he might have it for Christmas. I really want to get him one but think the Fitbit is overpriced compared to the competition. DH reckons you get what you pay for. What do you think?

Just get him a cheap one. Do you thikn he'll get bored of it after a while and just use it for a watch.

I don't see the point of it for kids to be honest. I have one, I'm quite keen on fitness so I like to see that I push myself to my maximum heart rate when I excercise and I can see for how long I reach that level. I also like to eat, so I have a goal for the amount of activity I do in a day to ensure I can eat what I fancy. So unless you have concerns over you DS activity output for the day, it's not really necessary.

My son has a Fitbit. Worth the money. He used to hate going walks and now loves it so he can see his steps. Cheaper ones aren’t as accurate. Had a few of those in my time

Get the Fitbit on Black Friday if he’s willing to wait till Christmas.

I bought one as a gift, half price.

All the kids round here have the £20-25 one from Amazon.

The garmin junior is very popular I think that's about £50 if you'd like a bit less than the fitbit but a reliable watch.

Buy cheap buy twice is my thought. Fit bit have a good follow up service. I have the charge 3 and received an email from them about 6mths later saying it had a hardware issue and they were replacing it. I thought it was a scam, a new one turned up in the post a week later.

IF you can afford it, get there Fitbit, my 8yo is getting one for his 9th birthday soon

Get a Mi Band

DS3, aged 10, got a Fitbit for Christmas last year, he lost it in February when he had to take it off for PE and it went missing out the locker changing room. He loved it up until that point. I refuse to buy him another one.

Mi band! They're fab

We got Fitbits for ours and are really pleased with them. Personally I think they are worth the money.

Mi band 3, better than a fit bit because of the quality for the price and the app is great. My 9 year old has one and loves tracking her sleep.

We have fitbits here, the main plus is definitely the after care (no nonsense replacement under warranty) and the mobile app is very good. I think you will find cheap ones hit and miss in terms of app availability

My husband always used to get a cheaper version of what he'd asked for because his parents thought all things that did the job were created equal. It led to many disappointments for him and whilst he isn't traumatised by it by any stretch, he doesn't want to do the same with our children.

If our children ask for a specific item for Birthday's or Christmas, we endeavour to get them what they want rather than substitute it for the brand/model of our choosing.

Mi band are great - you can get dif colour bands.... has been bullet proof and I've not had to worry too much if it gets lost!

in a year or so if he still likes then maybe upgrade to a garmin - or if he is careful I would go for a Garmin (not a fan of fitbit -battery rubbish in comparison)..

I agree that you get what you pay for (in most situations ) I definitely think so with the Fitbit.

If it's affordable to you and he doesn't usually ask for a lot, I would get it from him.

My 7 year old has been wearing my cheap Amazon one. He completely lost interest after 2 weeks. I have a fitbit and it is better, but unnecessary for them at that age. I also don't trust them not to lose it as they're always faffing around with stuff and letting their friends have a go, taking it to school etc.

My dd has a cheap one she’s more than happy with it.
I offered to get her a ‘better’ model last Christmas she said “nah, this one does the job”

Thank you for your feedback. DS doesn’t need to be more active. He is already active enough between his sports and generally playing outside in the park. He is just fascinated by the whole notion of counting his steps. Think we’ll go for the Fitbit. Can I ask those of you that have bought a Fitbit for a child, did you buy the ACE aimed at children or a different one?

We've bought the garmin versio , it's around £50 haven't tried it yet but looks good

My 9 yo daughter had one for her birthday and loved it, got in on Amazon for £60, I love that it tracks her sleep too, she's actively trying to sleep more as a result

The purple one on Amazon is down to £60 but I know he wants the blue one which is still nearly £80. It’s so annoying 😣

DS (& DH too) has one that cost about £30 & does blood pressure, too. I can get the brand name if you want. Been working well for months, as well as the Charge 2 I bought off a friend for £10.

ps: we do NOT recommend the ones for like £8 or £13. Barely lasted 2 weeks!

I got DS a mi band for his 8th or 9th birthday, and while it served its purpose it’s not particularly accurate. He was happy with it as that’s the type that most of the children at school have but the novelty wore off quite quickly and he now goes weeks/months without wearing it! He’s a keen runner though, so will replace it with a garmin running watch at some point in the next year when his training steps up a notch.
What I’ve always done with mine is a trial type of thing- eg prove you’ll look after a £20 watch and I’ll get you an £80 in the future, or use my old mobile and if you take care of it for a year you can get a new one.