Smartwatches for children are quickly becoming a parenting essential in China. Demand from parents who want to track their children's safety and limit smartphone use has combined with peer pressure among children themselves, creating pressure to buy a specific brand.
Watches Instead of Phones: One in Three Chinese Children Wears One
According to The Wall Street Journal on the 27th, a growing number of parents in China are buying their children a smartwatch instead of a smartphone. Tallies by Chinese state media show that about one in three children aged 5 to 12 owns a smartwatch, with penetration exceeding half in urban areas.
China is also the center of the global market for children's smartwatches. Global market research firm Counterpoint Research said revenue in the worldwide smartwatch market for children and teenagers topped $1 billion (about 1.3 trillion won) in the first half of 2026. China accounted for 58% of global unit sales over the same period.
Local market analysis confirms the growth. The Chinese market for children's smartwatches was worth around 10 billion yuan in 2020, approached 13 billion yuan in 2024 and was estimated to have surpassed 16 billion yuan in 2026. Online and offline sales topped 8 million units in the first half of 2025.
The role of the devices has changed as well. Early models centered on safety features such as GPS location tracking, emergency SOS calls and geofencing, and later added 4G voice calls, messaging and learning tools. More recent versions combine health monitoring, education and social features.
'We Can Even See Which Floor They're On': From Calls and Payments to Adding Friends
The biggest reason parents choose a smartwatch over a smartphone is that it is easier to stay in touch with a child while restricting what the device can do.
Children's smartwatches take a SIM card for voice and video calls. Through a linked app, parents can manage who their child is allowed to contact and block games and other apps. Parents can also load a set amount of money onto the watch so the child can pay directly at shops.
Location tracking has grown more sophisticated. Some high-end models use satellites, cell towers, Wi-Fi and barometric sensors to offer three-dimensional positioning that shows not only where a child is but which floor of a building they are on. The Journal reported that being able to pinpoint a child immediately after losing sight of them in crowded places such as shopping malls or parks eases parents' anxiety.
Prices vary widely by features. Xiaotiancai, the top brand in the Chinese market and known overseas as Imoo, starts at about $90 (about 120,000 won), with some models topping $300 (about 400,000 won). Local market analysis shows a segmented price structure in China, ranging from entry-level models in the 500 to 800 yuan range to mid-tier devices around 1,000 yuan and premium models above 2,000 yuan.
'All My Friends Have One and I Don't': Peer Culture That Moves Parents, Too
Xiaotiancai's appeal goes beyond safety features. Children can tap their smartwatches together to add each other as friends on a dedicated social network, then send messages, share photos and posts, and exchange likes and comments.
The catch is that the feature does not work with other brands. A child using an Apple, Xiaomi or Huawei device cannot join the social network used by Xiaotiancai owners. As a result, the Journal reported, an expectation forms that children must use the same brand to avoid being left out of friendships, and parents end up choosing a product with their child's peer relationships in mind.
Parents' desire for control is also driving the market. Zhang Hongli, 39, who lives in Shanghai, said, "I have no intention of buying my 12-year-old daughter a smartphone before she goes to high school or college." She added, "A smartphone is hard to manage, but with a smartwatch I can limit her to only the functions she needs, such as location tracking and calls."
At the same time, concerns are growing that smartwatches create another form of digital dependence. Chinese state media and social media users have pointed out that social features increase the time children spend on the devices and fuel comparisons over expensive new models. That is why many schools restrict the use of smartwatches in classrooms or bar them from school grounds altogether.
Zhang Kai, 48, who bought smartwatches costing about $200 each for his two children, said he worries the children will be disappointed as they compare their own devices with pricier ones owned by friends.
Even so, Chinese parents see smartwatches as an alternative that is easier to control than a smartphone with unrestricted internet access. For parents, the device is a safety tool for managing a child's whereabouts and screen use; for children, it is a social device that connects them with friends.
