Over the years I’ve tested hundreds of headphones, and most of them work just fine for kids. But when parents are looking for headphones for their children, especially younger ones (under 11 years old), they tend to look for more compact models, and also headphones that don’t cost too much. Additionally, some parents look for headphones that have a volume limiter to protect their child’s hearing. But you can also set volume restrictions in the settings of a smartphone or tablet, so it’s not an essential feature to have in a kids’ headphone.
Skullcandy’s Grom Wireless over-ear headphones are being targeted at kids, and they’re a good choice for the 12-and-under set. They have basically everything you’d want in a kids’ headphone, including a comfortable fit, decent enough sound, a volume limiter, a shared headphone port and a wired option in case you need it for an in-flight entertainment system. Battery life is rated at 45 hours, which is also good.
Note that this headphone also comes in a wired-only version for around $25 in white and blue.
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Sony released its new entry-level CH-720N noise-canceling headphones in 2023. They’re quite good, but if you can’t afford them (they list for $150), the company’s new budget on-ear CH-520 headphones are an intriguing option for only around $50.
They lack noise canceling and are pretty no-frills, but they feature good sound for their price, are lightweight, and pretty comfortable for on-ear headphones, and also have excellent battery life (they’re rated for up to 50 hours at moderate volume levels). Additionally, they have multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with two devices simultaneously, such as a smartphone and computer, and switch audio. Voice-calling performance is decent, though not up to the level of what you get with the CH-720N.
Note that there’s no wired option — this is a wireless Bluetooth-only headphone. The CH-520 offers overall balanced sound with decent clarity. The bass has some punch to it but doesn’t pack a wallop, and you’re not going to get quite as wide a soundstage as you get from Sony’s more expensive over-ear headphones. But these definitely sound better than Sony’s previous entry-level on-ear headphones and sound better than I thought they would. I tried the white color, but they also come in blue and black.
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JLab is known for its value headphones, and the JLab Studio ANC is one of the few on-ear inexpensive on-ear headphones to have active noise-canceling. The ANC is fairly middle-of-the-road, and while these aren’t the greatest sounding headphones, they sound better than you’d expect pretty decent given their low price. Note that only the black model has ANC; the other colors don’t (they cost $30 instead of $33). Also, these are wireless-only headphones, so they won’t plug into an in-flight entertainment system.
While the JVC Flats may not be terribly durable, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better sounding set of wired on-ear headphones for their low price. They’re available in multiple color options, all of which cost around $13. If you’re just looking for a compact set of kids’ headphones for plugging into an in-flight entertainment system, these are easy to recommend.
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I was a fan of Creative’s original Sound Blaster Jam headphones that came out in 2015 and had a decidedly retro look and feel, with good sound for the money. Now they’re available in a 2.0 version that has some key upgrades, including Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C charging, improved call quality and multipoint Bluetooth pairing that allows you to pair it to two devices simultaneously. Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours.
I was able to pair this wireless headphone set with a Mac Mini and an iPhone 12 Pro and then switch audio between them. Often when pairing Bluetooth headphones with Mac and Windows PCs, one can encounter some issues, but once I got the headphones paired with both my PC and phone, they made a good pair of work-from-home headphones. Also, the price is right for parents looking for a decent set of kids’ headphones for remote learning and everyday use.
Comfortable for on-ear headphones, the Jam V2s are lightweight and have nicely balanced sound with good detail and bass that’s ample but not overpowering. Call quality was good in my tests with callers saying they could hear me well even on the noisy streets of New York. No carry pouch is included, but you do get an extra set of foam ear pads, which is good, because they will wear out over time.
The headphones have physical buttons for controlling volume and playback, and there’s aptX support for devices that support the wireless streaming codec.
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Puro Sound Labs BT2200: Puro Labs has long been a leader in kids’ headphones as all its kids’ headphones include a volume limiter. While the BT2200s have a somewhat generic design, they’re built sturdily and offer decent performance and sound. They’re just a little bulky and a tad expensive at $99. The company also sells a $30 on-ear model with a volume limiter that isn’t as durable.
Belkin SoundForm Mini: Available in four color options, the SoundForm Mini are in many ways your typical pair of budget on-ear headphones for kids. But they’re decent-enough looking, reasonably comfortable (don’t expect supersoft ear pads, however) and sound OK. While they charge via Micro-USB instead of USB-C (that’s less than ideal), they have good battery life — up to 30 hours — and their volume is capped at 85db to protect your youngster’s ears. A charging cable and headphone cord are included for wired listening.
Before anything else, you’ll want to figure out how much you’re willing to spend on new kids’ headphones. The quality of value-priced headphones continues to improve, so you can find good affordable kids’ headphones for less than $50. The premium models, which offer better build quality and sometimes extra features such as noise canceling, tend to cost $100 or more.
Fit (comfort)
It’s key that the headphones you buy fit your child’s ears well. They should offer a comfortable fit that’s snug yet not too snug. A lot of kids’ headphones are on-ear models, which are more compact.
Durability
You want headphones that hold up well over time, so look for models that we note have sturdy build quality.
Wireless or wired?
Wireless headphones are the way to go, but if you’re traveling on a plane and want your child to be able to plug into an in-flight entertainment, look for a model that also has a cord you can plug into the headphone jack for wired use.
Return policy
It’s critical to buy your headphones at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case you have buyer’s remorse.
We test headphones and earbuds based on six key criteria. These criteria include design, sound quality, noise-canceling performance, voice-calling performance, features and value.
Design: Evaluating design, we assess not only how comfortable the headphones and earbuds fit (their ergonomics) but their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. When it comes to earbuds, we also look at water- and dust-resistance ratings.
Sound quality: We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of music tracks and comparing the earbuds to top competing products in their price range. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment.
Noise-canceling performance: If the headphones we’re testing feature active noise canceling (ANC), we evaluate ANC performance by wearing the headphones in the same spot indoors near a noisy HVAC unit to see how well they do at muffling lower frequencies. Then we head out to the streets of New York to test the headphones in a real-world environment, where we see how they muffle not only street noise but people’s voices.
Extra features: Some great-sounding noise-canceling headphones and earbuds aren’t loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from quick-access awareness to transparency modes (your music pauses and the headphones open up to the outside world so you can have a conversation) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears. We also take a look at the companion app for the headphones if there is one and how user-friendly it is.
Voice-calling: When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls in the noisy streets of New York and evaluate how well the headphones or earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear our voices.
Value: We determine value after evaluating the strength of the headphones and earbuds against all these criteria and what they’re able to deliver compared to other models in their price class.
The majority of kids’ headphones tend to be more compact on-ear models. On-ear headphones are typically not as comfortable as over-ear headphones (also called around-ear headphones), but on-ear headphones can be better for younger kids with smaller heads. Smaller headphones are also more travel friendly.
