What is the right age for a watch? Do you know any good kids watches?

[tealady]

My ds will be 7 soon and my dh would like to get him a 'proper' watch as an extra birthday present. I feel he is still a little young and wonder whether it will be a nuisance for him at school(he is in year 2 at the moment but would be year 3 by the time he starts to wear the watch).

I would be interested in hearing your views/experience. Did you wait until your child asked for a watch or did you buy one to get them interested? If so, at what age?

Also does anyone know of any good makes for kids watches - something that is not too flashy or gimmicky. Thanks for your help.

Hi, tealady - a watch like this might be good - it has "to" and "past" on either side and doesn't cost a lot. Kids do like watches and it's only a tenner so not a huge problem if it gets lost or broken.

There used to be a brand called tiktok that made these too, but can't find them with google so think they must have gone. Lorus do one too but have only found a rather girlie one with flowers on.

There are these Swatch ones too. Like Janh, I think they are quite a good idea, especially at your ds's age when they start learning proper telling-the-time at school.

The swatch kids watches are called flik-flak and are great. My ds1 had one for his 5th birthday. Chose the design himself off the website, and I ordered it from the swatch shop. He had the rocket one.

I remember that I got my first watch for my 7th birthday - it was a Timex one, a white face with a red strap - aaah memories.....

My kids are still only little though so I'm not up on current kids watches, but I think the age will be fine.

Thank you - those are all really useful sites.

Tetley - my dh and I were just saying that we had Timex watches as our first watches!

My Grandma bought me a Timex for my 7th b'day ... It lasted TEN years!

I haven't read these notices I must admit and may be too late to admit my tuppence worth but in our family it is tradition not to receive a watch until your 16th birthday. Each child on their 16th birthday gets a very special watch and to be honest all of us kids (including my mum and her sisters and brothers where the tradition started) all have their original watches. It taught me the value of looking after something special as I was hopeless all my life and always lost things etc. I'm keeping this tradition for my kids and have asked all the immediate family not to purchase watches for our kids.

I think 7 is a great age for a watch,it really encourages them with learning to tell the time. I taught dd (then aged 6) to tell the time last school summer holidays and bought her a flik-flak to celebrate her quickness at learning (about half an hour!) When she went back to school last September (yr2) she was the only one in her class who could tell the time.

another vote for Swatch, though my ds is now 10 he still refuses to wear it, just fiddles with it and gets in his way...

My dd has had her Timex watch for nearly 3 years (since age 5). It has lasted really well, never even had to replace battery. There was a guarantee with it which would get you a replacement at any time during the first year of ownership even if the child lost it! Haven't looked at their website but it's www.timexkids.com.

Dd is not encouraged to wear her watch at school as it would be a nuisance having to take it off for PE, etc, and probably get lost.

We just recently bought DS1 (aged 5 1/2) a watch from the Early Learning Centre, it's along the same lines as the one in Janh's post with 'to' and 'past' on it. It has a velcro strap which makes it easier for him to put on and take off.

In our family the 'tradition' was that you got a watch when you could tell the time ... and it so happened that each of us got our first watch on our 8th birthday ...
Mine was a Timex one too ... with a blue strap!