Watches for children: a present that brings responsibility

What matters isn't age so much as whether your child actually needs the time for something. In England, telling the time is part of the national curriculum for maths in Key Stage 1 and Year 3 — from o'clock and half past in Year 1 to the nearest minute in Year 3 — so a child in the infant years is learning clocks at school, and a watch on the wrist gives them practice every day.

A good sign is when your child starts asking “what time is it?” or “how long until…?”. A pre-schooler who can't read a clock yet gets nothing more from a watch than a bracelet — a sand timer or a light-up clock that shows when it's OK to get up works far better.

In practice it looks like this: ages 5–6 an alarm clock or a light-up sleep clock, ages 6–8 a first analogue watch, ages 8–10 a digital or combined watch with a stopwatch and alarm, 10 and up possibly a smartwatch, if your family has a reason for one. For a child about to start school, you'll find more ideas in A present for a new schoolchild.

A smartwatch with location tracking is really a small phone. In 2017 the Norwegian Consumer Council had several models tested by a security firm and found serious flaws: a stranger could take control of the watch, track the child's location, listen in and even talk to them. Alerts that a child had left a safe zone weren't reliable either.

So there are three things to check before you wrap one up. First, who is behind the app and whether the manufacturer releases updates. Second, whether you can set a list of approved numbers, so not just anyone can call the watch. Third, what the SIM and charging involve — a watch that's flat by lunchtime won't teach anyone responsibility.

And one more question that's easy to overlook with a present: are you giving your child responsibility, or yourself peace of mind? A watch that lets a parent track their location all the time mostly teaches that someone else is keeping watch. If you're buying it for the walk to school, agree with your child in advance when you'll check their location and when you won't. It's also worth finding out whether the school allows them during lessons at all.

A watch in a drawer is the most common end to this present. Usually it isn't laziness — it's that your child doesn't need the watch for anything, because a grown-up is still keeping time for them. Go back to the job that came with it: when your child has to know for themselves when to leave the playground, they'll start looking at their wrist.

The second reason is comfort. A heavy case, a pinching strap or a watch ticking by the bed at night gets put aside. Swapping to a fabric hook-and-loop strap solves most complaints.

And if the watch gets lost or broken? That's part of responsibility just as much as wearing it. For a first watch, a cheaper model is the better bet — your child is meant to learn to keep time, not to worry about an expensive object. Agree together whether the next watch comes out of pocket money or arrives as a birthday present. Both teach that things have value, just at a different pace.

With young children, responsibility is easiest to “wear” through a story. When your child gets a watch along with a book in which they, as the hero, beat a deadline all by themselves, the new rule comes with a picture. At Hero of the Book you can create a personalised book featuring your child's likeness from a single photo; the digital version costs £5.99 and is usually ready within 15 minutes — so it works even as a last-minute present. You can add your own dedication to the book; for inspiration, see Book dedications.