Fit Bit for my 10 year old? Good or Bad?
Goal179
Posts: 314 Member
Hi MFP;
SInce you are a community of experts and I really value your opinion, I would like to ask a question about getting a fitbit (the little cheap one that clips to your clothes) for my ten year old daughter. I ordered a fitbit for myself last week and i cannot wait to get it. When my daughter asked me what it was, she was over the moon with excitement and wanted one for herself. But i have reservations about getting something like this for her at such a young age. I have struggled with weight for at least the last 20 years and I want her to live differently and not have the same challenges that I do. My focus with her has been to teach her healthy eating (as much as I can, still trying to learn myself) and keep her focused on being active. I don't want her obsessed with her weight (she is very tall and somewhat bigger than the other girls in school but her weight is perfectly within healthy range for her height). If I get her a fitbit, I am worried that she may develop some unhealthy obessionsion with her weight or with counting calories. She is only ten. She should be focused on running and jumping and playing, not necessarily counting her steps. But at the same time, this may be a great introduction to teaching her to monitor her activity and make sure that she stays active everyday for life. Who knows, this could spark her to become a marathon runner or speed walker or something awesome like that. It is very important to know how physically active you are and the fitbit could help. It could be really fun for ME to be able to monitor how much activity she actually gets during the day. If I notice that she is not moving as much as she should, I could drag her out to go on my walks with me. I am torn:sick: . Am I just over reacting? Should I just get her a fitbit and let her enjoy it?
SInce you are a community of experts and I really value your opinion, I would like to ask a question about getting a fitbit (the little cheap one that clips to your clothes) for my ten year old daughter. I ordered a fitbit for myself last week and i cannot wait to get it. When my daughter asked me what it was, she was over the moon with excitement and wanted one for herself. But i have reservations about getting something like this for her at such a young age. I have struggled with weight for at least the last 20 years and I want her to live differently and not have the same challenges that I do. My focus with her has been to teach her healthy eating (as much as I can, still trying to learn myself) and keep her focused on being active. I don't want her obsessed with her weight (she is very tall and somewhat bigger than the other girls in school but her weight is perfectly within healthy range for her height). If I get her a fitbit, I am worried that she may develop some unhealthy obessionsion with her weight or with counting calories. She is only ten. She should be focused on running and jumping and playing, not necessarily counting her steps. But at the same time, this may be a great introduction to teaching her to monitor her activity and make sure that she stays active everyday for life. Who knows, this could spark her to become a marathon runner or speed walker or something awesome like that. It is very important to know how physically active you are and the fitbit could help. It could be really fun for ME to be able to monitor how much activity she actually gets during the day. If I notice that she is not moving as much as she should, I could drag her out to go on my walks with me. I am torn:sick: . Am I just over reacting? Should I just get her a fitbit and let her enjoy it?
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Replies
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I think it could be perfectly fine if it were approached with a healthy attitude about just being active. I teach in a middle school. The kids in PE go through a unit where they all wear pedometers for a couple of weeks and compare steps. Most of the kids think it is fun. I've worn my fitbit to school every day for two years. I have quite a few kids who ask me on a regular basis how many steps I have. But this is all done to promote activity and health, not connected to weight or body image in any way.1
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When our kids were between the ages of 6 and 10 ( daughter was 6, twin boys were 10), the whole family got pedometers as a way to get us all more active. It was quietly aimed partially at one of the boys without him knowing. We had a weekly family competition to see who could get the most steps and the winner got to pick the Friday night movie for us all. We all got way more active and the one son who needed it most was usually the winner. It is all in how you approach it. We emphasized that it was to make us more healthy as a family and was to have fun.
The short answer is just let her enjoy it
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I seem to recall the Fitbit site won't let you make an account for a child, at least not that young and not based on her own stats. Not that she'd need it but just fyi.
I think it'd be better to get her a $5 pedometer that just shows steps and not calories, maybe?2 -
I definitely don't see a problem with her having one! It will be a good way to encourage a healthier lifestyle not necessarily make her obsessed with calorie counting and stuff.0
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Gamification of fitness really works for a lot of people, not just kids. The Nintendo 3DS game system also counts your steps if you carry it around in sleep mode, and you can trade those steps for in-game purchases on a lot of games. It's an attempt to make kids more active, and for some it can really work.
If you got a Fitbit or any other pedometer for a child, I would not connect it to an account or app (does she even have a smartphone?) I would get one with a screen, goals which can be set by the user, and memory for tracking over time. No nutrition info should be needed. I wouldn't want my child counting calories. Also, a child is quite likely to lose this item, so I wouldn't invest much money into it.
If you can find one that meets those criteria, then sure, it's a good way to motivate your child to get out from in front of the computer or TV. If not, then it's probably not worth it, unless your kid likes video games and then I'd just go for the 3DS.
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Have to agree, she would probably have as much fun with a pedometer, no need for the calories, but the flower feature is funI seem to recall the Fitbit site won't let you make an account for a child, at least not that young and not based on her own stats. Not that she'd need it but just fyi.
I think it'd be better to get her a $5 pedometer that just shows steps and not calories, maybe?0 -
I can't remember the name of it but I know that there was a pedometer available geared towards kids. That was a couple of years ago so it may not be available now. My 15 y/o has a wii fit meter. I see know problem with it as long as she's wanting to pay attention to how active she is and not starting to obsess about weight. It's a fine line between being conscious of and obsessed with. Especially when it comes to kids and teenagers.0
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I got a Geopalz pedometer for my daughter (6 at the time). She would log numbers of steps into their website to earn minutes playing games. Plus she would try to beat me (I have a Fitbit). It was for fun, more like a game. I think they were coming out with newer ones with Bluetooth. It's all in how you approach it with kids.0
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In reply to 'wildly inaccurate'--
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/activity-monitor-accuracy-fitbit-jawbone_n_5516156.html
I guess 10%ish would be 'wildly' to some, though. Mine have been good predictors, better than a TDEE calculator that just applies a multiplier to BMR based on 3-5 activity level settings you pick between.0 -
In reply to 'wildly inaccurate'--
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/activity-monitor-accuracy-fitbit-jawbone_n_5516156.html
I guess 10%ish would be 'wildly' to some, though. Mine have been good predictors, better than a TDEE calculator that just applies a multiplier to BMR based on 3-5 activity level settings you pick between.
I find the step count bang on, but the distance to be off if you use it for running, since my run stride is much bigger than my walk stride. Number of steps always seems to match very closely, but distance travelled for running can be under by up to 25% compared to my GPS.0 -
There is both a running stride and a walking stride setting in Fitbit's profile data. It uses a default formula if you don't manually enter values. GPS will always be more accurate, though. Fitbit just does 'steps times stride length' to estimate distance. Distance doesn't count into calorie data or anything, though. It's just a stand-alone metric, like floors.0
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Good. A fitbit will help your daughter develop healthy habits, so she'll grow up with the knowledge to make healthy choices.0
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I got a Geopalz pedometer for my daughter (6 at the time). She would log numbers of steps into their website to earn minutes playing games. Plus she would try to beat me (I have a Fitbit). It was for fun, more like a game. I think they were coming out with newer ones with Bluetooth. It's all in how you approach it with kids.
That's the name of it. About drove myself nuts trying to think of it last night.1 -
I think a pedometer (a cheap one - not the more expensive fitbit) is a fantastic idea. My boys have done sessions in school where they had to carry a pedometer around, and it became a competition between them regarding who was most active. I may just see if they'd like one - then they can try to out do their old mom... Like previous posters have said - just make it about their activity levels alone, and it should be fine. :flowerforyou:0
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In reply to 'wildly inaccurate'--
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/activity-monitor-accuracy-fitbit-jawbone_n_5516156.html
I guess 10%ish would be 'wildly' to some, though. Mine have been good predictors, better than a TDEE calculator that just applies a multiplier to BMR based on 3-5 activity level settings you pick between.
I find the step count bang on, but the distance to be off if you use it for running, since my run stride is much bigger than my walk stride. Number of steps always seems to match very closely, but distance travelled for running can be under by up to 25% compared to my GPS.
You can set your running stride as well as your walking stride in the settings.0 -
My son is 7. He wanted a Fitbit......we told him if he paid half then we would pay the rest. He doesn't log/care about food but he does care about his steps. He likes competing and having the leaderboard......What would the downside be? He is too active? Too competitive? I think he'll be ok.0
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Hmmm yes this is a tricky call. If she seems like she is kind of obsessing about the way she looks and trying to lose weight when she is perfectly average for her age I would say don't get her one and try not to let her see you wearing one since this might give off an unhealthy vibe for her if she is already displaying signs.
I'm not sure though because I'm not a parent, I just am very passionate about little girls developing disordered eating habits.
I think that what you are doing right now, giving her healthy options and letting her know it's good to be active is an amazing step in helping her be healthy. Ultimately the choice is up to u though. If you see a nutritionist or a dietitian it might be helpful to ask them since they are professionals about this kind of stuff.0 -
You're lucky to have a child that wants to emulate your healthy habits! Every day, I invite my son to join me in exercising and he always declines. I force him to walk the dog as part of his chores in the evening just so he can go outside at least once during the day. I also bribe him that he can use my apple product to watch videos while on the treadmill, but he can't do more than maybe 6-10 minutes before wanting to quit. He enjoys roller skating and swimming, but that's it. It has been determined that he has hyper mobility in his joints, so I don't push him. I've offered my step counter to him, but he is totally not concerned about his health or appearance. I have to threaten his life to make him bathe and brush his rancid mouth. I'm just going to let him be the smelly immobile lug he wants to be until he's ready to make changes for himself. Of course he's still going to eat the relatively healthy foods I have to choose from, do some form of daily exercises, and bathe/brush daily. With this being said, I have to say it again: You're really lucky that your child wants to emulate your healthy habits.0
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I see nothing wrong with a kid having a FitBit, as long as s/he enjoys it and is showing a healthy attitude towards it.
I don't know if you are aware, by LeapFrog has an activity band for kids coming out called LeapBand. The idea is the kid's activity level allows them to play with their pet on the their device. It's supposed to encourage more then walking (eating healthy, dancing, jumping, etc). They do list an age range of 4-7, so a 10 year old may or may not like it.
http://www.leapfrog.com/en-us/products/leapband0 -
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I would mostly be worried about a younger kid losing the darn thing (depending on how expensive it is). If she just wants steps, maybe just a regular pedometer or the kids' version? There's also one for the Wii U system (my son has one).0
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In reply to 'wildly inaccurate'--
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/activity-monitor-accuracy-fitbit-jawbone_n_5516156.html
I guess 10%ish would be 'wildly' to some, though. Mine have been good predictors, better than a TDEE calculator that just applies a multiplier to BMR based on 3-5 activity level settings you pick between.
There have been a handful of studies in regards to the accuracy of accelerometer-based fitness trackers and the consensus is that they are quite inaccurate. Again, I'm not knocking them as I believe they are extremely valuable in that they are motivating people to exercise, but I don't think they're terribly valuable in terms of tracking actual calories burned.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/how-accurate-are-fitness-monitors/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
If used properly then based on my experience I'd disagree with your thoughts. I've been using mine since March last year to track my TDEE. I log all non-walking exercise on the Fitbit site and adjust the calories burned for steady state cardio based on my HRM reading (alhough I've found that usually the Fitbit site is pretty close and tends to under estimate slightly rather than over estimate burn). I've set my walking & running stride as well as adjusting my weight as I lose. I log my daily TDEE and daily intake ina spreadsheet and base my deficit on a rolling 8 week average of my TDEE. Over the last 9 months I've been doing this (prior to taht I was eating a set cals + exercise cals back) I've lost 4.5lbs less than I "should" have based on 3500cals = 1lb loss. This can be attributed to me estimating weight of veg plus a few days on non-logging on special occasions. My weight loss is directly attributable to the data I've gathered using my Fitbit as I've based calorie intake on that information. 117lbs down and losing steadily so I think in my case using the devise peoperly along with other tools like MFP & a HRM I'd say the Fitbit is extremely valuable in terms of tracking actual calories burned.
However if people just clip them on with default settings and don't log non-walking exercise properly then I can see how they'd just be a movement motivator. But that's blaming the tool for incorrect use when its user error (or lack of wanting more form the tool).0 -
It's always good. This tracking device motivates your kid for exercising and it will make your child more active. https://www.thecrazybuyers.com/best-fitbit-for-teenagers/1
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Zombie thread from almost four years ago1
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Davidsdottir wrote: »Zombie thread from almost four years ago
OP - So how did it work out? The kid is 14 now. Did she like it? Did it have any positive or negative results?3 -
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Knowing myself as a child, and knowing I have mental problems when it comes to calories etc I would say no steer away from a Fitbit.
I like the suggestion of a pedometer which just shows steps and not calories etc! I think she’s too early to be obsessing over stuff like that. I think if you’re teaching her how to prepare healthy proportioned meals and good proportions and when to eat etc she shouldn’t have to worry about calories etc! Nothing good comes from obsessing over calories from a young age, and I know having a Fitbit at that age would have been toxic for me.
Obviously it’s down to you and how you see your child and how she’ll use it0 -
(Also to add) it’s hard to know what your child is thinking or how it develops, so although she might act as if she’s using it maturely keep an eye on her usage and make sure it doesn’t become an obsession. (Link accounts?)0
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I have to research Fitbit for my daughter. As I am searching got this Fitbit for Teenagers0
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