Garmin Jr.™

Updated review: I was contacted the same day I left a review by tech staff. They worked to resolve my issues and followed up twice. I’m raising my stars to 4, as I still preferred an older version of this app. But I really appreciated the responsiveness of their staff. We’ve been using this app and the watches for my 7 and 8 year old since March of 2017. The recent updates (in Oct 2017) that change the way chores are added and removed is frustrating. I’ve had to add and subtract chores twice for each child to try and recreate the list we had before the updates started coming. My children and I review chores at the end of each day, before we read bedtime stories. They are keenly aware of their coin count and which chores they are responsible for. It’s aggravating to keep receiving updates that don’t seem to add value to the experience. Instead they add labor on the parents’ end and confusion for kids. Like other parents have mentioned, having an option to go back and give kids credit for chores on a previous day was a helpful feature. Every so often we miss a night of reviewing and they still deserve to receive their coins. It was a super app until the middle of Oct. when these changes kept rolling in. What gives?

My son has a vivofit jr. I saw an update for the app last night (version 2.6) and updated the app. The update mentioned a new tap challenge when you’ve earned your 60 minute activity goal. This included a picture of what I believe the tap challenge looks like. Thanks My son came home and we synced his vívofit Jr. to the app on my phone. It showed that he had earned the 60 minute goal and could make his move on the adventure trail. He made his move, but then we couldn’t figure out how to get to the tap challenge that was highlighted in this update. I tried looking for help on the website, but was unable to find anything on how to get to the tap challenge once the 60 minute activity goal has been met. I chatted online with two different support center chat agents. Nether of them could help me because neither of them had heard of this tap challenge. Clearly I’m missing something or they highlighted a new feature in the app that they didn’t actually add to the app. Other than this issue, my son loves loves loves his vivofit jr. He asked for it for Christmas and we were a little hesitant (thinking why does a 6 year old need to count his steps- he’s a super active kid). But it’s so much more than just a step counter. We love it!

Originally I had thought the latest app update had broken the ability to pair, but I was mistaken as our other boys unit pairs and unpairs with ease. We contacted Garmin support and they are sending us yet another device that will hopefully be able to pair with our devices. That being said we have had the Vivo JR since they came out last year and are excited to use the new kids mode app. Oh and with the SW bands, I’m very surprised that the bands do not also bring new band icons to the devices. Come on we paid $40 for just a new adventure? I just assumed new icons would come but no big deal. What I have learned from this whole ordeal though is a new feature to allow complete removal of devices from your garmin connect account. With “grown-up” devices you are able to log in on a “real” computer and completely remove or suspend devices, really helpful for troubleshooting etc. The device has enough hardware features for the price point please do not change this! Especially now that Vivofit Jr. units for now less than $50 in stores! Makes for a great addition to garmin households. One “magical” feature I would adore, but would kill your profits would be to perform a “one-time” “hack” for the Vivofit Jr into a Vivofit. With the amount of bands available your child could conceivably have the same device forever! Our house is full of Garmin so keep them coming!

I love this watch an app for so many reasons. I use it with my seven year old and he is very motivated to meet and exceed his exercise goals daily. He has a friend at school who has one and they like to compete to see who can get more steps. I also love the fact I can set a chore list and can give coins to reward when things are complete. I love that it tracks sleep patterns. We also use the timer to help with transitions such as getting to the bus on time and brushing teeth before bed. I love that it’s simple and there is no camera on it or distracting games. Everything is controlled from the app on my phone. He’s also more aware of keeping time since he got the watch. I would highly recommend it and am planning to get one for my daughter.

When you do this in a routine, you have a cleaner house in my responsible children! There coin redemption is for things like going to the park, pick out a movie for family movie night, another quality time redemptions. My eight and six-year-old love it and have helped me keep the house more tidy on a daily basis. Our bedtime routine includes awarding their points for the day. I just wish that it would sink better. I always have to turn my Bluetooth off and back on. Also, I have turn all alarms off of one of theirs and it still goes off three times in the morning even after checking all settings. I wish you could deduct points too. Like if someone get sent to the room and they get a point taken away. Overall, because my children are rewards driven, this has enhanced our life!