Garmin Bounce Kids Smartwatch Review

The Garmin Bounce kids smartwatch is a safe, simple, and fun introduction to wearable technology for children. Ideal for active kids who enjoy playing outdoors, it offers essential features that help parents keep track of their children while encouraging physical activity. We especially like that the Garmin Bounce smartwatch comes with one of the lowest monthly service plans on the market, at just $10 a month.

We picked the Garmin Bounce as the best smartwatch for active kids in our first-ever Kids Safety Awards.

Garmin's pricing is straightforward, with the Bounce watch selling for around $150 and some of the most affordable service plans we've seen. You can opt to pay for your service monthly or save by paying in one lump sum for the whole year. 

Monthly plans cost about $10, which is nearly half of what most other smartwatches require. With the month-to-month plan you can cancel service at any time with no penalties. If you want to save, you can get about two months free with the annual plan. The annual plan costs one payment of $99.99, but that puts you into a contract.

If you want to cancel your annual plan early, you will be subject to cancellation fees. Cancellation is immediate, with no prorated refunds for the monthly or annual plans. If you want to restart your Garmin subscription, you need to start over with a new service activation. 

Even though there are some cancellation fees, we like that Garmin makes it easy to cancel. You don't have to jump through a bunch of hoops or call to talk to someone. You can cancel directly in the Subscription Portal, with no hassles.

• 2-day battery life
• LCD display
• Touchscreen
• 5 ATM water rating
• 1.3" (33.1 mm) diagonal color display
• Garmin proprietary charger
• 14 days of activity tracking memory
• GPS tracking and geofencing
• BLUETOOTH®, ANT+, Wi-Fi®, LTE (with subscription)
• Step tracking
• Activity goals
• Sleep tracking
• Voice and text messaging

The Garmin Bounce combines fitness tracking and online safety, making it one of our top recommendations for a kids' smartwatch. One of its standout features is its robust safety measures, including no social media or internet access. This significantly reduces the risk of exposure to inappropriate content or cyberbullying.

One standout safety aspect is the "Assistance" feature, which sends emergency alerts to designated contacts, making sure it's easy for kids to get help when they need it.

This smartwatch also offers comprehensive parental controls. These allow you to manage your child's contacts and set geofencing boundaries—ensuring you always know where your kiddos are. Communication is also a breeze with the Garmin Bounce, which supports two-way text and voice messaging. This feature makes it easy for kids and parents to stay in touch throughout the day.

As with other Garmin smartwatches, the Bounce excels at fitness tracking. It encourages children to stay active by setting activity goals and monitoring steps and overall activity levels.

Lastly, there's no need to switch phone providers, as it uses Garmin's own network, making it easy and convenient to manage. But you can't add the Garmin Bounce to your current phone plan, which may seem like an inconvenience to some parents. 

Here's a summary of the Garmin Bounce's top features: 

• Communication:Two-way text and voice messaging via the Garmin Jr.™ app.
• GPS tracking: Real-time location tracking with geofencing capabilities.
• School mode: Two levels of school mode (silencing and restricting activity) to minimize distractions during school hours.
• Assistance feature: Sends an emergency alert and initiates live tracking to show the child's location.
  Fitness tracking: Monitors steps, sleep, and general activity, encouraging kids to stay active.
• Durability: Swim-friendly, durable design suitable for active kids.
  Parental controls: Guardians and caregivers can monitor and manage the device with different levels of access.
• Games and rewards: Includes basic games and a rewards system for chores and good behavior.
• Notification system: Provides thorough notifications for battery life, charging, and geofence alerts.

Unfortunately, nothing is perfect, and there are a few things that we think could be improved with the Garmin Bounce.

• No camera: This means no video calls and no way to send photos to or from the device. While this can create a safer experience (no explicit images), there's no way to visually check in on your child.
• Battery life: The Bounce has around two days of battery life, which is lower than other Garmin devices and can be challenging if kids and parents forget to charge the watch.
  Limited contact options: Only allows contacts with other Bounce watch or Garmin Jr app users. T-Mobile's SyncUp watch is the same, which makes it tricky to add all caregivers or family members.
• Slow charging: The charging time is slower than that of other devices. This is a bigger deal because the battery life is so short.

The Garmin Bounce Kids Smartwatch is an excellent choice for parents seeking a controlled, safe introduction to wearable technology for their children. Its robust safety features, fitness tracking, and communication options make it a well-rounded device.

While the lack of a camera and slower charging may be drawbacks, the overall benefits make it one of our top picks. For families prioritizing safety and activity over multimedia features, the Garmin Bounce Kids Smartwatch is a highly recommended option.

For our Garmin Bounce review, we compared its features and specs to other top kids smartwatches. We conducted research and read reviews, and our safety tech expert, Katie McEntire, is swapping out her adult Garmin watch for the Bounce for a whole month to see how it performs and what the differences are. Watch for her updates coming soon! Learn more about how we rank and review products on the SafeWise methodology page.

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