My 10-Year-Old Tested The Garmin Bounce 2 Smartwatch For Kids

When my eldest son had to take an often unreliable school bus, we gave him a hand-me-down phone. It was important to us that he could call if he was left shivering on the sidewalk because the bus didn't show. But the phone led to arguments about screen time, games secretly downloaded and complicated parental controls that still don't always work.

When my younger son started walking himself to school, I wanted him to have a way to call home—without all the bells, whistles and power struggles. So I was thrilled at the opportunity to test the new Garmin Bounce 2, a smartwatch for kids. As the name suggests, it's the second in the Bounce series, with some significant upgrades compared with the original. It's also significantly more expensive than its competitors, but is it worth it?

We tested the messaging, calling and location services of this made-for-kids watch and spoiler: we love that the data plan is managed by Garmin, not a phone company.

First impressions

First off, this watch looks very similar to many of the adult Garmin models. It doesn't look like a toy—probably because it's not. It has a durable face and an easy-to-adjust band. The screen's vibrant colours and graphics are so impressive that I sometimes get notifications that my son's watch has been turned off and back on because he likes seeing the opening screen so much.

Ease of use for kids

I helped my son set the time when the watch first arrived, but that's about all I did. He quickly caught on to the different menus and is now our resident Garmin expert.

Ease of use for parents and caregivers

The Garmin Jr. app is straightforward, with a fun dashboard. The menus are easy to navigate, and parental controls are simple to set up. My husband and I have full access to communication and location controls as "guardians", plus we can manage my son's account. We'll also get safety alerts.

We've set grandparents up as "caregivers", which allows them to contact our son and check his location. You can set up friends as "communicators" or "friends". "Communicators" can download the Garmin Jr. app and message your child. "Friends" can message your child from their own Garmin Bounce watch.

The Garmin Jr. app

The Garmin Bounce 2 lets you communicate with your child easily, but you need to download an app to make that happen. The Garmin Jr. app is available for iOS and Android and allows parents to add contacts, set parental controls and location limits. The fact that it's an external app versus your phone's native messaging app doesn't make much of a difference. I get direct notifications on my phone and my smartwatch, and only have to open the app to respond.

LTE subscription

Without a data plan, the Garmin Bounce 2 is more like a fun digital watch and pedometer. To get features like messaging, calls and location tracking, you have to subscribe to a monthly plan. Garmin makes this simple. Instead of adding a line to your current phone plan or trying to find the best, low-cost plan for kids, you simply pay Garmin $10 a month in the US or $15 a month in Canada. No SIM cards or new phone numbers needed.

Communication and location features

My son is thrilled with his newfound independence. On Friday afternoons, I'll often get a voice note asking if he can go to a friend's house after school. Kids can text on the Bounce 2, but the keyboard is small, and since voice notes are automatically transcribed for parents, you can choose to listen to your kiddo's cute voice or simply read their message. We've tested the call feature, and it works well, but we don't use it often.

Most of the time, I know where my son is and don't need to track his location, but when he's out for a walk with a friend or I want to know how close his grandparents are to dropping him off, I can check the Garmin Jr. app instead of making a call (call me lazy). When you check your child's location, it might say "updated 15 minutes ago," but you can get a newer reading by pressing the "Refresh" button. The location is accurate enough that I can see which area of the school or schoolyard he's in.

I've set up alerts that tell me when he's arrived or left school. To do that, I selected an area of about 150 metres around his school under "Boundaries" in the Garmin Jr. settings, but you can choose an area as small as 50 metres or as large as a kilometre. I like knowing that he's made it to school, even if it's only a five-minute walk.

While the watch doesn't promise emergency features, they can press and hold the watch's top button, which starts a countdown. If they don't cancel the request, the watch will send the child's location and a live tracking link to select contacts.

Communication features on the watch and in the Garmin Jr. app

• Text messaging
• Voice messages with transcription
• Live calls

Location features in the Garmin Jr. app

• Check your child's location
• Live track their movements
• Set boundaries and get notified when your child arrives at or leaves a location

Activity and chore features

My kid is energetic. He moves a lot, so I'm not too worried that he's getting enough exercise, and most days he surpasses the 60-minute activity and 7,500 steps goals. On weekends, he'll often double them. I know because I get the notifications.

If your kid is an athlete, the Bounce 2 tracks an exhaustive list of sports and activities it can track, including walking, indoor and outdoor running, different types of cycling (biking, mountain biking, BMX), racquet sports, motosports and team sports, among many others. And while the stats it shares are made kid-friendly with cute icons, they're detailed, showing the same kind of data you'd expect from a smartwatch for grown-ups. If you're already a Garmin family, you can connect your accounts and do exercise challenges together.

We set up the chores feature, but don't really use it. You can add a list of chores and schedule them to appear on certain days. When your child finishes the chore, they check off that they've done it on the watch and receive virtual coins they can save for a real-life reward you decide on. While my kid doesn't love doing laundry or emptying the dishwasher, he doesn't feel it necessary to mark the occasion on his watch.

Games

I was hoping there wouldn't be any games on this watch, but there are a few. Luckily, they're not too addictive. The watch comes with a digital pet kids need to keep alive by checking on it daily—a good way to remind kids to put their watch on each morning. It also has math flash cards and a memory game. They feel educational and fun enough to keep bored kids busy in line at the grocery store, but not so engaging that they'll be staring at their watch all day.

Battery life and charging speed

The watch has a dedicated charger (you won't be able to use existing chargers for other devices), and it charges very quickly—in about two hours. My son plugs his in every night, but it could last almost two full days without a charge.

Durability

We've had the watch for almost two months and it's in great shape. No scratches or dings in sight. But, hot tip: wipe down the silicone watch band every couple of days, especially if your kid is extra active. It can get stinky.

My son has worn the watch in rain, snow and swimming—even in the ocean—and it's held up perfectly.

Portability and travel 

We recently went on vacation, and because the wifi signal at the resort was strong, my son was able to message me when he and his brother stayed in the hotel room to watch cartoons or went for a walk without us. The LTE coverage won't extend outside your home country, but if you're somewhere with strong wifi, you should be okay for at least quick messages.

Who should and shouldn’t buy the Garmin Bounce 2?

Best for:

• Parents who want to buy their child a premium smartwatch.

• Families looking for reliable GPS tracking.

• Active kids who can benefit from activity tracking.

• Parents who prefer durable tech that’s built to last.

Not ideal for:

• Parents who want the kind of native integration they'd get with Apple or Google devices.

• Parents who don’t want ongoing LTE subscription fees. (Keep in mind that messaging services require a subscription for most devices.)

• Families looking for a more budget-friendly option.

Is the Garmin Bounce 2 worth it?

At $399 in Canada and $299 in the U.S., the Garmin Bounce 2 is a definite splurge. But if your kid has a birthday coming up or you need a holiday gift (and maybe the grandparents can pitch in), I think it's worth the cost, even considering the LTE subscription.

It's also a great option if your family members (and caregivers) use different device brands. For instance, in my family, some of us are on Apple, some on Android, so downloading the Garmin Jr. app levels the playing field and lets everyone communicate with my son.