Earbuds for kids – how to pick based on sound quality, comfort and durability, age and gender – The Best Earbuds
Earbuds are the most portable option when your kids go out and have sometime to enjoy audio content from handsets. But do they use it right? because earbuds are able to blast the noise level that kids’ ears can’t jsut endure.
It has been 5 years since I first posted this article, nothing changed much. Unlike “adult”earbuds which involved to totally wireless, earbuds for kids may shift a bit to Bluetooth but wire earbuds still persist for ease of use.
Certainly if you are looking to buy a gift for your kids – this time it is a pair of earbuds – a question may pop up in your mind, can I buy earbuds used for their dad.
The answer is probably you can if you take advantage of volume limiting app.
If you don’t know for sure how your kids abuse earbuds – it is safe to pick a volume limiting earbuds -The killer feature that doesn’t exist in stock earbuds. Audio makers such as Etymotic Research, LyreBeats or Logitech has a couple of models but they haven’t frequently updated their products so you don’t have a lot of choices from those brands.
When I was a child loud music is an excitement, not a stress thing today, possibly so are your kids – while they play game or listen to music the more loud the more they feel excited, uintentionally putting their ears at risk (the excitement of music overcomes the hurt caused by high volume)
If your kids like to listen music turned up loud, definitely there will be an effect to their hearing. Of course, you couldn’t figure out how loud the music is played and listened by your kids while they wear it.
A study about kid hearing – Generation of M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18-Year-Olds. A Kaiser Family Foundation Study, January 2010 points out:
“Children ages 8-18 devote an average of more than 7 hours to using entertainment media (more than 53 hours a week)”. Because the tablets and smartphones become common, and kids are easily getting along with more features by just “touch and play”. So children tend to listen more from the entertainment devices when they spend more time to engage in “touch and play” games. See more at: http://www.asha.org
So How To Keep Your Kids From Potential Hearing Damage?
The idea is limitation the loudness to the safety level, watching out your child when he uses earbuds (not let them listen for a long time like 4 or 5 hours continuously even at low volume level) and choosing the best earbuds for your kids is very important.
How To Choose The Right Earbuds For Your Kids?
- Color and style: check which color your kids ( color preferences of boys and girls are a bit different) mostly like, cute style and our best earbuds with volume limiting feature recommended for kids. Worry no more! since the volume level is technically limited and they won’t pose the health risk to your kids’ ears. The volume level is restricted to safety levels by implementation of the high impedance in earbuds.
- Good sound and comfortable to wear: And the most importantly, these earbuds give your kids comfortable with soft-silicon eartips made by high quality material. Let make your kids hear the wonderful sound and amused sound from the games on smartphones or tablet or even sweet voices from best audio books for kids. If you travel with your kids, let’s them watch a movie for long flight or listen to audio books with these earbuds for kids.
- Durability: Finally, earbud for kids should be light, durable and comfortable, and the ear tips material(normally silicon or comfy) don’t cause any allergic reaction to the sensitive skin.
- Good noise isolation: When the earbuds are good at blocking out the noise, your kids don’t have to turn volume up.
- Size: small earbuds and eartip should fit to small ears. Large earpieces may cause unstable fit and sound leakage.
- Wired vs Wireless: Wired, Wired wireless and Bluetooth true wireless you have 3 options to choose from.
- Buy cheap earbuds
- Types of jack: 3.5mm jack, lightning jack and USB type-C jack
Here is our top picks: Best earbuds for kids
JVC Soft Wireless Earbud
You can’t get this for your kids unless your kids have Bluetooth enabled devices.
With 5 hours of battery life and compatible with both Android and iOS, the JVC Soft does sound good and are Bluetooth connected with your phones. They are also small enough to fit kids’ ears.
An alternative to JVC Soft is VC Marshmallow Wireless which is 8 hours of battery life, neckband-style, more durable and comfortable with Memory foam and IPX4. They are great for podcasts, audiobooks, and enjoy video content on social networks.
Etymotic Research ETY-Kids Safe-Listening
Wired earbuds with maximized noise isolating capacity.
Though Etymotic Research ETY is specifically designed for kids, parents can use these earbuds as well.
The 3 layers structure of earbuds tips–triple flange make it better in noise-isolating even in the noisy environment, you still hear music detail and clear sound (it is not all about that bass).
The triple flange goes directly into ear cannal, so your kids with small ears may not feel comfortable for the first time. We recommend trying earbud tips with more shallow insertion like Ultimate Ears for Children first for more comfortable. The tips are designed specially for small ears, so the body is a little long, but dont’ worry they will not be easy to loosen.
The drawback is that it looks quite boring, would be nicer with kid theme.
Etymotic Research ETY-Kids‘s sound quality is overall pretty good with clear treble and detailed sound. However, It’s moderately expensive.
Panasonic ErgoFit In-Ear Earbud Headphones RP-HJE120-A
Cheap wired earbuds
These small, lightweight earbuds are the best sellers on Amazon. They are not built with high impedance but they are the most favorite gifts for kids in holiday seasons.
Available in a bunch of color option, black, blue, etc, you get the great value for the price, because they sound good for all kinds of music, are comfortable to wear and provide pretty snug fit and they cost less than $10. They don’t have volume limiting feature but as long as you can monitor how your kids use the earbuds it’s just fine.
Panasonic ErgoFit also has a Bluetooth version, if you kids are careful – recharging the earbuds and know how to manage Bluetooth connection, Bluetooth can be a good way to go.
LilGadgets BestBuds Volume Limited In-Ear Headphones with Mic for Children (includes travel case and splitter)
With volume limiting feature
The earbuds that your kids can share what they listen to with others. It is recommened if your kids are over 6 years old. The Bestbuds feature volume control and flat cable (which resists to tangle), a nifty carrying case.
The BestBuds sound good, with decent mid-range, present bass and clear treble.
JVC HAFR37B Marshmallow
Foam eartips will increase comfort
These earbuds are specifically designed for small ears. The foam tips give users more comfortable fit.
It values for the solid audio performance with the reasonably cheap price, $13. Most smart devices today have the features that let you to litmit and lock the volume levels so it’s safe for kids. However, you need to choose the earbuds with small earbud tips that can fit to kid’s ears, and the JVC Marshmallow would be a nice choice.
However, if you can monitor the volume while your kids are wearing earbuds check out some of our favorite cute and funny earbuds in the holiday gift guide.
Wireless earbuds seems to be complicated for kids but if you want to give it a try the Indy True Wireless Earbuds or Jlab Air Go ($30) is a good pick. And a pair of AirPods clone is not a bad idea.
True wireless earbuds
Also consider
Neon Genesis Evangelion Pilot Interface Earphones
If your kid is a fan of Japanese amine, definitely you should give this earbuds to him as a nice gift.
Super Mario Bros. Earbuds
The 3.5mm jack is compatible with most handheld game consoles, smartphones, tables. Your kids will love this earbuds while playing Nintendo games. This is one of the cool Japanese earbuds with decent sound quality. This option is sometime out of stock.
They limit the volume from any portable devices by up to 40%. Solid built-quality and cheap price , comfortable fit for small ears.
LyreBeats kids gears earbuds
LyreBeats kids gears are built to last with metal earpieces. The earpieces are small enough for kids’ ears. The buds are also comfortable to wear and they are noise-isolating.
Another good way to limit the volume is secretly putting cotton balls in the earbuds (put in the hole earbud tips), this cotton will function as a seal, so the volume is reduced to safe levels. This, however, isn’t very effective and doesn’t have any effect to the sound quality.
Tips
- You can also adjust the volume limit on iOS devices.
- Buy a carrying case for your kids that would help manage their earbuds when they are not in use.
There are hundreds of cheap earbuds, if your children like pink check out the 10 best pink earbuds for those who love pink or 10 best cheap earbuds to buy in 2018
The advantages of earbuds (in-ear headphone models) over the on ear and over the ear models.
- They are light weight, easy for your child to carry them around.
- They are less likely to be damaged by kids.
- They can give the more secure fit and better seal, meaning your kids can have better music experiences.
You will find the best earbuds as lovely gifts for your children.
What to consider: Fit, comfort and design, sound quality and volume level (it should be below 85dB).
In fact, these days kids use headphones in many occassions, such as in the car to school or while playing games. If they don’t wear earbuds for kids
These handsets are designed in the way that generates high power output to earbuds. Unlike other type of headphones, when used with these headsets earbuds can blast the loudness level that children’s ears can’t withstand for a long time of listening.
Earbud tips may be too small or too big kid ears, but the tips supplied with earbuds for kids are small enough for fitting. Thes earbud tips function as a cover so that the sound is sealed in ears for better noise-isolation. You will not have to change the higher volume hear sound clearly. Yet whatever tips, encourage your kids keep the volume low. If the volume is controlled at low level, listening music from earbuds is always safe.
An alternative of earbuds: Kidz Gear Volume-Limiting over-ear headphones, one of the best headphones for kids
You may be interested in best headphones for kids including all type of headphones: in-ear, on-ear and over the ears models
Okay, I’ll stick my neck out here.
Please don’t help people choose earbuds for their kids.
Don’t buy earbuds or headphones for your kids.
Don’t let them become aloof brooding obnoxious teenagers who ride in the car, come to family parties, and assemble at social functions only to hang around at the fringes with their “tunes on”.
Make them learn how to (UGH) talk to grown-ups, how to sit still, how to handle a social setting that may be a little boring for them.
What did kids and teenagers do iin the car and at “boring” adult gatherings in 1965? In 1955? They sucked it up and learned how to get along in those situations. Believe me, you’re not doing them any developmental favors by teaching them how to isolate themselves and ignore people.
This isn’t about hating technology or modernism. No, this is about hating a pattern of behavior. The kids can go home or hang out with their friends and listen to their music all they want. I had a really good stereo in my room as a teen (which I painstakingly assembled piece by piece with my own money), and I did indeed sometimes play my music bloody loud. The rules were simple. Keep the door closed. Don’t do it at mealtimes or at night. Don’t be disruptive with it. In short, don’t be a jerk about it.
Well, walking through life with earbuds in is not being serious about your music. It’s being a jerk.
You are a complete moron. Just because someone wants to get headphones for their child doesn’t mean they won’t be monitoring when or how they use them. My daughter likes to watch the shows and movies that she likes and sometimes my wife or I don’t want to watch or hear it. So we got her some headphones for tablet so she could watch her videos while the wife and I watched the tv. And there’s times when we’ll put my daughter’s video on the TV and I’ll use my headphones with my tablet. This way the family is still together in the same room. Whenever we go somewhere the tablets and headphones stay at home. Now I’m looking for earbuds that would fit my daughter so I checked this website for help and information. Don’t try to predict how people will turn out in life because of something you don’t agree with. The person a child becomes when they grow up is solely dependant on how they were parented. Not technology or any other certain item. And remember that this isn’t 1965 or 1955. Times change and everything and everyone changes with it. And just for your information my daughter happens to be one of the most social person out there. And she has headphones. But she also has parents that watch, discipline and correct her.
WOW i have to buy headphone and earbuds for my kid for school how ignorant you are.
Our school has put earbuds (not earphones) on the school supply list, so I checked out this website to make the most informed decision I can. Technology is not something we can ignore, but it is something we can use without driving those around us crazy. I love our kids but one more rendition of let it go will likely drive me bonkers. But the love the song. So they can listen to it in the car with headphones, while I listen to traffic reports.
To the author, thank you for posting this article, I’ll add it to the information I’ve already gathered. I appreciate that you took the time to include potential products.
Volume limiting feature is not the most important, we also need to teach our kids how to use earbuds since young age, so when they grow up the never blast music loud into their ears.
You’re right! Cindy
I think earbuds are not the main source for hearing problems with children, traffic noises, gun shooting and the noises in stadium largely contribute hearing impair. Kids abuse their headsets so it isn’t necessary to buy expensive pair go for cheapies, under 15 bucks would be good.
Thank a lot for your comment, Cathy. It is true in some case and if you often tell your kids how bad it is if they listen to music loud. They will know how to use their earbuds right – that is important!
Which wireless earbuds you would recommend, I think children can learn a bit about Bluetooth things. It is quite easy for pairing and charging the earbuds
Hi Myers, I would recommend the Panasonic RP-HJE120B-A, 4-5 hours of listening time between charges. It sounds good, though doesn’t as good as the wired Panasonic Ergo fit.
very useful information about which headphones are useful for out children and what to look for when buying new ones. Thanks