Garmin vivofit jr. 3, Fitness Tracker for Kids, Swim-Friendly, Up To 1-year Battery Life, Marvel Black Panther

Before buying, there were a few things I didn't know or took a long time to figure out: 1. br>br> Additional themes/adventures will set you back $30br>2. I put the watch on an 11-year-old's wrist and it fit perfectly. br>3. The watch can be connected to a variety of devices.
4. "Family Guardians" can be enlisted to assist in the supervision of children's devices, chores, and rewards.
5. You have complete control over the earned points of the child, adding or subtracting as needed.
6. A half- The backlighting is activated for a few seconds after a second press on the button. br>br>I have three different designs of the Vivofit Jr 3 watches. The main reason I bought these was to keep track of my chores and rewards. The importance of fitness tracking was secondary. If you just want a fitness tracker for your kids and don't already own a Garmin watch, the Fitbit Ace is the way to go. I've found it to be a better fitness tracker, despite the fact that it requires charging every 5 days. br>br>The tracking of chores and rewards is the best feature of these watches for me. You can assign different chores to each child or watch. Each chore can be a one-time event or something that happens on a regular basis. You can schedule when the task must be completed. You can, for example, schedule "Take Out Trash" for Monday and Thursday at 7 p. m. , with a weekly recurrence. You can set a reminder for the watch to notify you. A graphic (choice from perhaps 20 images) and a brief title/message can be included with the reminder. That's fantastic, and it functions similarly to a smartwatch's calendar/task reminder alert. Kiddified, to be sure. Also, while the system refers to "chores," you aren't restricted to traditional household chores. You have complete control over your title and, as a result, your task. "10k Steps," "30 minutes on the trampoline," or "4 miles on a stationary bike" could be the "chore. " br>br>You can assign a point value (gold coins) to each chore, which makes it more motivating. It's possible that feeding the dog is worth one point. Taking out the trash could earn you two points. The child then checks in with you so you can confirm that the chore has been completed and mark it as completed in the app. The points will be synced back to the watch once you've done so. They can check their point balance at any time on the watch. br>br>In the app, you can (and should) set up a rewards shop where the child can spend their points. This is the kid's main source of motivation. It only takes a few minutes to set up the watch. I had to think about and balance the items in the reward shop for quite some time. Every family will have a different look, and each child will have a different look, and you can be as simple or as complex/creative as you want. I have about 20 items in my shop, ranging from a "chore pass" to an extra bedtime book to a boardgame of your choice for game night. to adventures and outings in the great outdoors or varying-value app/game purchases, cash redemption, or matching for larger purchases for which they had been saving their money. To get ideas, it would be fun to look at other families' reward shops. I made my own, but any allowance/rewards idea list can be found online and converted into a digital shop. ANNOYANCES AND WISHLISTbr>br>Short screen wake time — Garmin claims a 1 year battery life, but the experience suffers as a result. While the screen is dimmed and power-saving mode, If you're in a brightly lit area, you can still use it normally while it's in the saving state. You can make a long-term plan. Activate the button (0. It takes 5 seconds to turn on the backlighting, but it fades away after a few seconds if you aren't actively clicking or navigating. As a result, there are always long periods of time. Backlighting is turned on by pressing the button. Even if we can't define the exact time, having the ability to select a "suggested" or "extended" backlighting option would've been nice. br>br>Only one button — Everything on this watch is controlled by one single button. This is something the kid can get used to, but it would've been nice to be able to set the backlight duration at the cost of shortening the 1yr battery life. br>br> The Fitbit Ace 2 has a single button as well as a touch screen. That is not the case. To cycle through the screens, press and hold the button for a few seconds. You press the number 0 several times. The backlighting will be turned on in 5 seconds. You can manually sync with the app, start a step challenge or timed activity, or use the timer and stopwatch by pressing and holding the button for two seconds. The media - You can also select items from the menu by pressing and holding. It would have been nice if there were two buttons. Personally, I would have preferred a second button to control backlighting or a mappable shortcut button to launch a challenge, timed activity, or something similar. Additional Adventures are costly — Each watch design comes with one of three watch themes as well as an app Adventure game: Disney Princesses, Marvel Infinity Saga, or a generic World Tour adventure theme are all possible options. The only difference between the two Marvel watches is the band, as both watch faces and character options are identical. Watches from Disney Princesses have a similar design. The Camo, Floral, and Star watches are all themed after the World Tour adventure. The only way to change themes/adventures is to spend $30 on a brand new band. The code to unlock that theme is included in the package. This irritates me greatly, and I would have preferred the option of purchasing themes separately. As of this writing, the only way to get the bands is to buy them directly from Garmin. So, if your child prefers a green band and wants the Marvel theme, you'll have to buy the $80 watch from Garmin along with a $30 band. br>br>No unified organizer or family chore calendar — The app currently only has two chore views. You can see what chores a specific child has for a given day, or you can see a list of all the chore titles that have been assigned to that child. So you can see that Child01 has a list with "Take out Trash" and "Unload Dishwasher," but you won't be able to see any details until you drill down into each. Some chores may be worth different amounts of points, have different recurrences, and are due at various times throughout the day. Organizing chores is difficult due to the lack of a detailed overview. Particularly if you have several children. It may be fine if you don't have a lot of chores, but you may still need a master calendar or chart to keep things organized elsewhere. Even if it's only a week view, it would be nice to be able to see a child and family calendar. While we're at it, having the ability to control everything from a browser (a la Garmin Connect) would be even better. br>br>Cannot view chore list from watch — The child can only see how many chores they have that day, and they can get a notification for each chore at a specific time, but they can't see a list of chores they have for the day on the watch; For that, they'll have to use the app. They can't plan ahead, finish chores early, or review chores because they can't see what they have to do. If they dismiss a notification to "Feed the Fish" at 5 p. m. , that chore will never appear on their watch again. Unless you switch up your chores, your child will eventually figure out what they have to do every day. Nonetheless, I believe that a daily chore list on the watch should have been an obvious feature. As it stands, the system appears to be geared toward children who have regular access to a phone or tablet. Those who don't may need to use a separate calendar/chart, with the watch notifications acting as reminders only. br>br>Challenge options are limited — the "challenges" are divided into two categories: "Family Challenges" and "Toe-to-Toe Challenges. " "Toe" challenges are a lot of fun. You can set Step Count, Active Minutes, or Goal Completion challenges for selected family members over the course of at least one day with Family Challenges. It's impossible to set a time limit for a family challenge, such as 15 minutes. Toe- Toe allows the kid to start a two-person game. for themselves, or a one-minute Personal Best step challenge one 2- Compete against another watch in a minute-step challenge. There is no way to make a toe-hold. For more than 2 minutes or for more than 2 children, stand on your toes. Even with both options, it's impossible to complete a 10-mile run. Minute Step Challenge for the Whole Family something that appears to be a squandered opportunity br>br>FINAL THOUGHTSbr>br>Ever since the first Vivofit Jr was released, I've been surprised that chore/reward tracking on children's watches hasn't gained traction. Sure, it's essentially a fitness smartwatch with a slightly more robust task reminder function (as well as a widget to display accumulated points), but it works quite well. It could definitely be better, but it's good enough for now. br>br>I do wish that other companies offered a chore/reward function, as I believe some would do it better than Garmin. or, at the very least, some improvements might be possible if there was some competition. Garmin hasn't exactly been breaking new ground in this area recently. Those who already own a Vivofit Jr 2 will see little benefit in upgrading. The screen is the only real difference between versions 2 and 3. However, while the larger size is appealing, the upgrade from the previous 8-inch model is not. 64-color palette Colors sounds a lot better in theory than it is in practice, because the screen is dim and the added colors are hard to see. Despite the fact that the Jr 3 appears to be a significant upgrade over its predecessor, it ultimately feels like a dot release. This iteration is a little disappointing due to some design and pricing decisions. At least for someone who has been waiting a year for the release of this watch. Having said that, I still think it's a good watch. This is a good option if you don't have the Jr 2 and want to encourage your child(ren) to do chores and stay active.

Remy Shelton

| Jul 05, 2021

We were completely enamored with this timepiece. I thought it was so cute that I could send him his chore lists, and it actually kept him interested in earning rewards, meeting his daily activity limit, and competing in steps! The screen is dim, and it frequently disconnects from my phone, but neither of these issues were a major concern for us. He was fine until he awoke with severe burns on his wrist. The blisters and burn marks lingered for nearly two weeks! We have no idea what happened because we had been wearing it for weeks with no problems. I'm very disappointed that this was a problem.

Ryan Rosales

| Jan 13, 2021

Pros:
- In terms of shock, it is childproof. It'll last because it's well-protected. br>- There is no requirement to refuel. Every year, the battery should be replaced. br> The presence of a color screen is advantageous. br>- To prevent children from taking it out, it must be waterproof. br>- Children's activities are rewarded in an interesting way. In any case, my child doesn't use it very often. br>- The alarm is a plus because it allows my child to wake up alone for school. br>Cons:
- Syncing with the app is not automatic. The watch must be placed in sync mode by pressing the button.
- Waterproof and childproof. However, it is not resistant to sand. The beach/park sand goes inside the button, and once it's there, you're finished. br>- It's a small screen. I suppose having a battery that lasts a year helps in some ways.

Rhys Dalton

| Apr 25, 2021

I'm really kicking myself for buying this. It took several attempts to connect, and the result is nearly unreadable. Nothing is visible in the sunlight. I assumed it needed to be charged, but this is not a rechargeable battery. br>br>It is not recommended. My 7-year-old is extremely dissatisfied.

Alanna McKay

| Jun 25, 2021

For our family, this watch/app has been revolutionary. I used to have to constantly monitor and remind my children to complete their daily chores before I got this watch. My son was irritated with his father last night because he couldn't get a coin for bringing in the trash can from the curb. br>br>I'm not sure how having an app to track chores and redeem electronic time is so much better than me telling the kids that they can play with their devices after they finish their chores. But it does the job, so I'm not complaining! br>br>In terms of what the watch should do, I like being able to monitor their sleep and steps taken. We all have watches that count steps in our family, and the kids are always checking to see if they are still ahead of us. br>br>Recent changes: br>br> They aren't really using the coins/chores part of the watch after 8 months, but they are still tracking their steps because they are only allowed dessert if they walk at least 10,000 steps, so they are very motivated to get moving. I've had to replace a lot of watch bands because they've ripped - I bought a ten pack of bands after a guinea pig chewed on one, so they can switch out the colors almost every day. I admire them for even wearing a watch to keep track of time (they had previously refused to do so). Overall, I'm still pleased with my watches.

Makenzie Kirk

| Feb 02, 2021