As writers and As a tester for WIRED, we're immersed in all kinds of personal technology all day. It's probably no surprise that if we work on computers during the day and enjoy gaming in our free time, our kids do too. Reviewer Adrienne So has a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old used to go to school from a distance And play video games. Reviewer Simon Hill has a 12- and 15-year-old son. Between us, we—our kids—have tested most of the kids' headphones on the market, including everything we're recommending here.
These are our top picks, along with some advice—like why you might want a pair of specialized headphones for kids. Don't forget to check out our other parenting guides, like best children's pills and this best kids podcastsAre you looking for a pair for yourself? Check out our list of best headphones,
Why special headphones for children?
Some of the criteria we use to evaluate adult headphones don't apply to young children (although It's still worth a lookSound quality matters a little less. We look for ease of use, a variety of colors (Adrienne's daughter won't use anything that isn't pink), comfort, and durability.
Most headphones that are explicitly for children have a feature called Output Limitation, which automatically reduces the volume to about 85 decibels. That's the Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace performance limits And what will you hear in heavy traffic. However, this is still really too much!
Even if your child's headphones have a volume output limit, it's a good idea to check them from time to time. To check if the sound is too loud, I pay attention to whether my child can hear me when I sit next to them and say, “It's time to give your brother a turn.” If she can't hear me, she'll have to turn the volume down.
There are four kids between us, and they test each pair of cans. They typically use the headphones for at least a week, which means some gaming, video streaming, chatting with friends, and maybe even studying. Simon's wife is also a teacher, so she uses the headphones in various classes at school, which is a great way to test their wide appeal and durability. We put each set in our minds, where possible, to hear the sound quality and thoroughly test noise limitation, noise cancellation and any other notable features.
Updated November 2024: We added headphones from SteelSeries, Juice, BuddyPhones, and iClever, new sections for honorable mentions and how we test, removed discontinued headphones, and updated prices.
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