At What Age Should You Give Your Child A Watch?

Wanting to share your passion of watches with your kid is an exciting prospect, but as I’m sure you know all too well, they are pretty good at breaking things.

Which leaves us wandering when is the right time to give them one. When are they going to responsible enough to look after it as well as be able to use it? The truth is that age doesn’t really matter, You get give your child a watch at any age, although I would hold off lending them one of your decent watches until they are almost fully grown. 

Age Doesn’t Matter, Just Give Your Child A Watch

When it comes to kids and watches, age isn’t as important as interest. Some children are going to take an interest in watches at a very young age. They will see it more as a play thing and have no concept of what time is, let alone how to read it.  This doesn’t matter, if they want to wear a watch, let them.

This interest will be spurred on by them seeing you wearing one and wanting to copy you. The good news is that you can buy plenty of super cheap and super small watches, so no matter what age they are, if they are showing interest, you can get them something to wear that will fit.

When they get a little older and start to get genuinely interested in watches (not just see them as a toy) you can start to introduce them to your own collection.

Can You Give Very Small Children A Watch?

When I say small, I mean toddlers and very early school years. They will have no idea what time is or how to read it, but they may still show interest in watches.

Just give them one. Even if it’s a toy one that isn’t even a real watch it is fine. They will be more interested in the shape and colour and trying to copy you by wearing one.

I think it’s important to understand that at this stage they are more interested in just the fact it is something they can play with. There is no appreciation for what a watch is at this point and that is okay.

 You may find the watch get thrown around or never actually worn. This is totally normal and they are just discovering the world at this point so you can’t really do much more.    

Giving A Watch To A 6 Year Old

At about 6 years old they will learn to read the time. Now they have an understanding of what time is and how it works, so getting them a watch at this point can be a very good idea.

It is going to help them consolidate their learning as they can be constantly practicing telling the time.

It is also going to help them feel more mature and a little important. They are now able to tell the time and check it themselves. You can of course help with this feeling of importance by asking them what the time is.

This age is probably the most common age that most parents buy some sort of real watch for their kids.

Of course they are still pretty accident prone at this age but luckily there is a lot of watches that are made for them. They are firstly very small, so they actually fit and secondly they are very cheap. You will find most watches are under £10 so there is no reason to not get one and no real risk if it breaks.

These types of watches are all going to be quartz and will either be digital or analogue. They are also going to be pretty colourful, usually covered in whatever cartoon character is most popular at the minute.

Giving A Watch To A Secondary School Aged Child

Once they reach secondary school they should have a watch. Most kids by this point will own a watch and if they don’t you should really make sure you get them one. As they progress through secondary school this should really start to become an essential item. Schools are usually full of clocks, but having a watch is just going to be better. As the kids age they are expected to act more responsibly and independently, which having a watch can really help with, especially since most schools don’t like kids checking their phones.

Some kids will actively ask for one by this age and other might just end up getting one randomly at Christmas. You might also find that at some point it becomes very trendy to have one. When I think back to school, when I was like 12/13, you where not cool unless you had an  watch with an “Animal” strap, which were like a chunky one piece strap, kind of like a Nato, but Velcro.

At this age they can still be quite small, but they are big enough that they can start wearing proper watches. Brands like Casio, Swatch and Timex are perfect as they are usually quite small watches and will fit their wrists perfectly.

While the kids at this age are less likely to break things, these watches are all pretty robust and they are also still every cheap so it doesn’t matter if anything happens to them or they get lost.

Giving Your Child An Automatic Watch?

If you want to give your kid an automatic watch you are usually going to have to wait until they are into their early teens.

Automatic watches can be a bit chunky, so you want to wait until it can fit on their wrist without looking ridiculous. The fact they are a little older also means they are less likely to break the watch and are also going to be old enough to appreciating how they work and how they can be a fashion accessory.

You can still keep it cheap and get them a Seiko which is a great watch for anyone, let alone a young gentleman!

While automatic watches are still pretty cheap, they are usually a little more than the quartz options. If your kid is showing interest in watches I would get them the automatic. They are going to really appreciate that, especially if you can get a clear case back so they can see what is going on.

If they are not too fussed with the whole internal workings I would just stick to a quartz option. However, they may just be interested in digital watches, Casio’s where all the rage when I was younger and if you had a G-shock, then you were like, super cool!

Ask Your Child If They Want A Watch

It doesn’t really matter what age they are, just talk to them. They will all have their own views and ideas on what looks good and what they find interesting. Of course what is trendy in the playground may play a part in this, but if you ask them about watches you might be surprised what they say and you can act accordingly on what watch to get them.

If they only want to be able to tell the time I am sure there are still plenty of watches they will want buy and if they start catching your enthusiasm for watches, well I am sure you can start them down the journey of watch collecting.

Do Children Need A Watch Collection?

I would say that kids probably do not need more than one watch. Unless they are really showing interest in watches and want to start with the hobby of collecting, then they probably do not need more than one watch.

I had a few watches throughout my childhood, but I don’t think I ever had more than one at any time.

As they get older and understand the value of things they might start collecting, but I think they will be more than fine with just one watch that does it all.

Should You Get your Child An Expensive Watch?

If you want to get them a really nice watch I would wait until they are young adults. Giving a kid something with a lot of value is only going to end badly. It’s either going to get lost, stolen or broken, which is not what you want to see happen with an expensive watch.

Just stick with the cheap brands until they are an adult. There is nothing wrong with these cheap watches and you can have a piece of mind that it’s not a major loss if anything happens to them.    

Conclusion

Getting your kid a watch is something you should certainly do and you should do it the second they start showing interest.

As they grow you will notice their attitudes and views change. If you find they are getting more interested in watches support them with this, if they only want it for a functional reason that is also totally okay. 

A lot of watch collectors didn’t care about watches until they were fully grown adults, so don’t worry if you kid doesn’t care about your latest addition to your collection. They hopefully will one day.

(You can read more about – When Should You Buy A New Watch?)