Introduction
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Kids these days lead busy lives, and with so much to do, it’s no surprise that some things might get skipped. The Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 is here to help make sure that that doesn’t happen.
This smartwatch links up with an app to help motivate your kids. The Vivofit Jr. 2 also allows you to keep a closer eye on their health and functioning. Its focus is on personal fitness, but you can also use it to improve performance on things like chores and homework completion if it suits you.
Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 – Design
This smartwatch is a new addition to the Garmin Vivofit line. Like its predecessor, it is fitted with silicone straps that can fit wrists between 130mm and 175mm in circumference. The bands stretch easily and grip lightly onto the skin. With the Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 you should have no trouble getting it on or keeping the smartwatch in place.
When it comes to colours and styles, your kid is in for a pleasant surprise: the Jr. 2 has added branded characters to the product. This wearable comes in Frozen 2, Minnie Mouse, Disney Princess, Marvel’s Avengers, Spider-Man and Star Wars variants. Every kid can find a version that appeals to their tastes!
Many of these options include two or more potential strap choices. For example, the Frozen ones come in both an Anna version and an Elsa version. This allows your child to have some extra customization options if they want them. Since it’s easy to remove the device itself from the strap, you can even buy multiple straps. You can switch straps around when your child gets bored of the previous one. This may help hold their interest for longer and keep them wearing and using the device over time.
Cosmetics aside, the device itself is a small but hardy piece of technology. The Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 should withstand getting knocked around a bit by kids. It sports an 11mm by 11mm memory-in-pixel display and is safe to take swimming (although not diving, so be careful). The battery can last up to one full year even with regular use. The Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 connects to both Android and Apple smartphones via Bluetooth. You can store up to 4 weeks of activity data on the watch itself. After that you’ll have to transfer the information over to the app in order to keep it around.
Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 Features
This Vivofit wearable comes with a huge variety of features that should help make sure your kid accomplishes all the daily tasks they need to.
Advanced clock functions
Whether you need an alarm, a stopwatch or a timer, this smartwatch can do it all. It also, of course, displays the time in an easy-to-read digital format.
Track activity and sleep
The device accurately measures things like step counts, heart rate and sleep time to give you a detailed picture of your child’s health. The Move Meter will also prompt them to get up and move if they have spent too long sitting still.
In-app rewards
Kids can unlock game time and special story art displays by hitting their recommended daily activity goals.
Distribute chores and rewards
Kids sometimes need a little help keeping up with their obligations. You can set goal tasks for them through the app and assign reward coins to each, which can later be redeemed for rewards you set up yourself.
Interact with others
If you or your children’s friends also own a compatible Vivofit device, you can participate in Toe-to-Toe challenges and weekly step challenges together.
Take fitness further
Through the app, your child can receive guided instruction on how to do simple exercises like jumping jacks and basic yoga poses.
Note that the paired app that children use with this device actually changes depending on which version you choose. All of the charts, games, tutorials and other materials included on there all incorporate the franchise characters. For instance,
children using one of the Star Wars version can play virtual missions to escape from the Empire by doing physical activities in the real world.
The Tap Challenge game will also feature Star Wars characters and iconography and Yoda will help instruct them through the fitness exercise flash cards. This turns the experience of using this device into something more comprehensive and immersive than the original version was able to offer.
This is especially nice for younger children who may lack the motivation to use the device if the interface is generic; getting to play with Elsa or Iron Man is a strong motivator to an imaginative kid who may really believe that they are interacting with those characters. Those who don’t engage as easily may prefer to stick with the original version. That’s okay, since the two sister devices are usually available at the same price point.
Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 – Usability / Ease of Use
The Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 is meant to be used by children, so naturally it’s easy to operate. Kids can use the basic features on the wearable itself just by pushing a few buttons to toggle between modes. Most of the functionality is built into the app, though, and that’s even easier to navigate. With big kid-friendly buttons, bright colours and minimal text, even a child who can’t read yet can learn to use the app quite proficiently.
The app also pairs any numbers involved (such as the coin count your kid has accumulated) with a visual that puts that number into context (a circular progress bar showing how close they are to a particular goal, in that case), so children don’t necessarily need to have strong math skills to use it either. Children on the lower end of the recommended age range (4 to 9 years old) might struggle a bit at first, but with encouragement even they should be able to handle this device well.
An online user manual and full instructions can be found on garmins website.
Parent App
The app this device is paired with is partly intended for parental use, and it offers a bevy of useful features to make it worth your time. With it, you can check up on how your kids are doing with their stated goals and tasks, as well as track how they’ve performed over time. You can also set up chore lists, assign rewards and schedule reminders as you see fit, all of which will then sync to your child’s Vivofit. You may be worried about your children getting in and awarding themselves mountains of reward coins when they play with the child-centered parts of the app, but there’s no cause for concern – the software includes child password locks that you can use to keep younger users locked out of the control systems while they have their fun.
Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 – Warranty
This Vivofit Jr. model comes with a limited warranty for one full year if purchased new. This means that if some part of it breaks while you are using it normally during that time, Garmin will repair the device or replace those parts. If they can’t easily do that, they may replace the whole device. If the device fails after that 1-year period, though, you’re on your own.
Summary
The Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2 is a dependable kid-proof device that can help keep kids on track with all of the things they need to do in their day, from fitness to schoolwork to chores. While it may be very similar to the original Vivofit Jr. model, the choice to bring popular characters into the fun may be just what is needed to hook kids in for the long run.