We all want our kids to be healthy. Parents are always telling me they’re concerned that their kids play video games too much and just need to play outside for a bit. I agree. Couldn’t agree more! The fitness wearable (think Fitbit and Apple Watch) industry has made some huge promises about giving us motivation and inspiration to get out and get moving. The wearable trend is making its way to children now too. Garmin and Fitbit have both put out new products that are made for kids. These wearables serve as a watch, a step tracker, a sleep habit monitor, and even reward your kids for meeting goals with achievements and celebrations. My eleven year old son likes wearing a watch. He doesn’t necessarily care about tracking his steps or heart rate, but I’m sure he would love a Fitbit. Should I get him one. I have to ask a few questions first.
Do Fitness Wearables Work?
There have been multiple studies since the invention of the Fitbit that have tested the effectiveness of these health tracking watches. Of course the earliest studies featured products that could only track your steps. These “one trick” smart watches weren’t very smart but they promised to get you out and moving so you’d be healthier. The studies showed that those who were originally committed to fitness stayed pretty committed and were a little bit more effective at working out since they could monitor what they had done. People who were given an incentive to work out using their Fitbit tracker did exercise more but no more than those without a Fitbit who received the same incentives, also they stopped excercising as much when the incentives ended. Finally, the extra activity that was logged didn’t result in increased health outcomes. Basically, you are going to be as committed to fitness with a fitness wearable as you would be without one, the same thing is true about your kids.
Does Your Kid Need a Fitbit or Garmin?
These products can help those who use them keep track of the amount of activity they are getting. They can use this information to make better decisions about what they do through their day. As mentioned above, however, awareness doesn’t always equal action. Especially when it comes to fitness. Nobody will tell you you shouldn’t do something to keep your kids from being healthy. You know your child. You know if they will be inspired or intimidated by activity tracking and goal setting. You know if they will use their watch for ten days and then set it down, never to pick it up again. Finally, you are the only one who knows for sure if your child will just loose the Smartwatch within ten minutes of putting on their wrist.
You have to take all of these factors into account when deciding if a fitness tracker is right for you child. As for which ones work best, I don’t have any data to provide you with a conclusion on that. I do, however, have a few family tech safety tips to encourage you to think about while you decide on a wearable for your kids.
- Data Security
It is pretty obvious that the companies that sell fitness wearables use your data quiet liberally. They have to use it to affectively communicate your health information to you and to keep records for you to access later. Fitbit requires parents to make accounts for their children in order for their kids to use their products. By creating this account parents are giving Fitbit permission to access their children data and us it according to their Privacy Policy for Children. - Smartphone Sync
Most (basically all) of these devices require you to sync with a smartphone of some kind. While it is possible for you to sync the device up with your own phone, your child will see another opportunity to try and convince you that they need a smartphone of their own. Let’s be honest, none of us need our kids to have more points to support the argument that they need a smartphone. Maybe they already have one, great, maybe they have a device they are only allowed to use at home, that’s good too. Be sure you’re allowing them time to sync and use those apps in junction with the smartwatch or you kind of defeat the purpose. - Location Sharing
The security policies for Fitbit and Garmin both state that they do not automatically collect location data from Fitbit accounts created for children. However, they do collect IP addresses which often contain location data, and you are able to share your location manually which kids could do without realizing it. It is especially important, if you are concerned about leaked or sold location data, that you don’t allow your kids to use a fitness wearable that is connected to an adult’s account. These accounts do share location information by default.
Be Fit, With or Without a Fitbit
I’m not going to tell you what to do. As I said above, you know your child and their habits. You know if they are active or not. Some of these wearables can save lives, for kids with diabetes for example, but those are specific situations and, in my opinion, the absolute best and intended use of these products. Most of us have discipline and motivation problems and a fitness tracker can only bring our lack of a healthy lifestyle to our attention, we still have to do something about it. I speak as one who loves pizza and begrudgingly runs about six miles every two weeks. I am “preaching to the choir” as they say, and while I think an Apple Watch or one of the latest Fitbit Smartwatches would be cool to have, the truth is, there are data security issues to discuss, and the trade off for increased health outcomes aren’t guaranteed. Lets just get our kids to a playground more often, and maybe even get out there and play tag with them.