Choosing a pair of kids' headphones – like any headphones – requires a bit of thought. True, little ears might be less discerning than those of us grown-ups, but there's a lot to consider beside sound quality.
I know this because I recently bought my son a pair of Belkin SoundForm Mini wireless headphones. While I'm mostly happy to be using a proper pair of grown-up cans, the Belkins do have one feature that I could really do with, especially during a long flight.
Kids' cans
Most kids' headphones share a fairly similar feature set. A lot of them have volume limits (85dB, in the case of the SoundForm Mini) to protect your little one's hearing. Wireless connectivity courtesy of Bluetooth is standard, though which version of Bluetooth does vary. And plenty of pairs come with a set of stickers to add a neat personalised touch to your cans – as you can see, the pineapple in shades adds a certain je ne sais quoi.
The SoundForm Mini aren't the most advanced kids' headphones you can buy. Some pairs – like the JBL Junior 320BT – come with mobile apps to add a layer of parental controls. Some pairs offer a longer battery life: the Belkins give you 30 hours, while the JBL can last 50.
And Pogs' The Gecko 2 can share audio wirelessly to another pair, much like JBL's Auracast tech on its Charge 6 and Flip 7 Bluetooth speakers.
So why did we buy the Belkins when other pairs are more advanced? Two reasons: price and experience.
The SoundFormMini are currently around £15 – that's under half the price of the rivals mentioned above. For that saving, I'll happily forego yet another app on my phone.
But more importantly, we know they're going to last. We previously bought the same pair of headphones for my son's older brother. Having seen the punishment he's meted out to them, it's reassuring to know they can handle whatever a three-year-old puts them through.
Also: stickers.
No wires, no worries
As I've mentioned, the SoundForm Mini have Bluetooth for connecting wirelessly to your device. But they also come with a cable for wired listening.
Now, this is a 3.5mm headphone cable, so you'll need an adapter for your phone (unless you have a very old model). But considering our main use will be with a Yoto Mini Player, that's not an issue.
You can't beat a bit of wireless connectivity, especially when you're dealing with kids who fidget a lot and would get tangled up in their shoelaces given half a chance. But here's the thing – if the headphone battery dies, you can still listen using the cable.
That might not sound like a big deal, but it's a feature that's becoming less common on proper grown-up headphones.
The AirPods Max, Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Sony WH-CH520 all require some battery power to function, even when plugged in. Though this isn't the case with all over-ear wireless headphones: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless and Sony WH-1000XM5 can all deliver wired audio with no battery.
Having wired listening as a backup is a godsend, especially when you've forgotten to charge your headphones in the somewhat fraught process of getting two small children out of the house. And it just goes to show that even if you buy the best headphones around, they might still be outdone in one regard by some cheapo kiddies' cans.
As a side note, while we have compiled an article on everything we know about the Sony WH-1000XM6, I'm guessing they won't come with a sticker of a pineapple in sunglasses. But I would be very happy to be wrong about this.
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