Walkmans and Discmans – the older ones among us will vaguely remember them – have long been the absolute exception when it comes to listening to music. Today's children and adolescents don't just listen to other music. Instead of putting in cassettes or CDs, their favorite songs, radio plays, podcasts, etc. can be accessed around the clock on audio streaming portals such as Spotify, Amazon Music, and others.
But children receive acoustic stimuli on their little ears much earlier. There are sounds hidden in books and toys that delight children who are still crawling through life. Among other things, in order to relieve the strain on parents' eavesdropping (as a father of two sons, I know what I'm talking about), the music industry has developed headphones for small heads and adapted them to sensitive ears.
Six wired models for children's heads. In this article you will find out what you should pay attention to when buying and which tools can be used to have listening fun for several children at the same time.
Accurately tailored to the six designs of the popular Toniebox, the so-called Tonie listeners take children aged three and over into their own audio world. The frame is printed with small motifs from the musical cosmos and the lightly padded temple can be easily adjusted to the wearer's head size. Weighing just under 100 grams, the Tonie eavesdroppers are among the lightest in this small comparison. Nice: The generously sized textile cable is equipped with a 3.5 mm jack at both ends. This means that the children can be a little more rough with the cable without it breaking and the eavesdropper no longer being usable. The standard socket also makes the Tonie eavesdroppers flexible. So they can be plugged into any playback device with an appropriate input. There can be problems on planes because some airlines use double mono audio jacks. An adapter can help here. Here you can find the Toniebox starter set with a box, eavesdropper and a storage box for Tonies.
Like all other children's headphones in this comparison, the volume of the earphones is limited to 85 decibels (dB), which is child-friendly and gentle on developing hearing. The volume can also be limited manually via the Toniebox configuration menu in the "meinetonies" app.
How could it be otherwise: There are also matching eavesdroppers for the Tigerbox. The brightly colored tiger buddies have been winking at their little wearers since summer 2023. Funky green and crazy pink, plus a bright red: what more could children's ears want? Brilliant: The tigerbuddies can be used both via USB-C audio cable and wirelessly via Bluetooth. This means they are compatible with almost all devices. The Tigerbox itself must be connected to its buddies via the jack plug.
Like the Tonie Lauscher, the Tigerbuddies can also be folded up to a practical pack size for travel. Nice: They are adjustable and can be adapted to four different head sizes. However, at almost 50 euros, the stylish eavesdroppers are not a bargain.
tigerbuddies info:
These children's headphones from JVC are colorful. They are available in four two-tone designs. Additionally, the little music fans can customize their headphones. Each headphone comes with four sticker sheets on different topics. Technically, the JVC HA-KD5 children's headphones can definitely keep up with the competition. The unfortunately unpadded temples can be easily adjusted by more than three centimeters on both sides. The permanently installed cable leads in the classic way from both ear cups to the 3.5 mm jack. In contrast to the Tonie eavesdropper, JVC uses the letters "L" and "R" to indicate how the headphones should be put on. In short: parents with a slightly tighter budget can get solid headphones for their children at a fair price.
At POGS we focus primarily on the topic of sustainability. The young Dutch company says it donates 10 percent of its profits to conservation projects that take care of planting trees and plastic in the oceans. Both the packaging and the headphones themselves are made from recycled materials. The website says that no single-use plastic is used. POGS also adheres to the maximum volume level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and limits the noise level to 85 dB using SafeSound technology. The temples of the wired POGS "The Elephant" are partially padded and can be flexibly adjusted to different head sizes. Smart: As a guide, POGs has marked the hangers with tent symbols (from one to three). A large print inside the ear cup shows how to put the headphones on. In addition, the ear cups can be rotated during a musical break and folded inwards to save space. Overall, a well-thought-out pair of headphones designed exclusively for children.
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These headphones for children come from the US speaker and audio manufacturer JBL (by Harman). In terms of comfort, the Jr310 leaves nothing to be desired. Both the ear cups and the headband are softly padded to fit the child's head (and ears). The little rock stars can also personalize their headphones with the included (and reusable) stickers. This is otherwise only possible with the JVC model. The JBL Jr301 can also be folded up and stored and transported to save space. In short: the JBL children's headphones can do everything that makes children's ears ring. The designers could rethink the color selection alone.
JBL Jr310 children's headphones information:
Simolio tries to score points with a 3-level volume limit. With this comparatively heavy model, the noise level can be limited to either 75, 85 or 94 dB using a slider on the housing. The retractable nylon cable of the Simolio headphones is a remarkable 150 centimeters long. An HD microphone and volume control have also been integrated. Nice for your next vacation trip or weekend trip: the ear cups can be conveniently folded inwards. This means that the part also fits securely into a small bag that is included. An integrated sharing socket on the Simolio children's headphones also allows siblings or friends to enjoy an audio book or music together. All in all, an attractive pair of headphones with the most important features and even a little more.
Next to the Tonie eavesdropper, they are the lightest headphones in this small comparison. The SHK2000PK children's headphones from the traditional hi-fi house Philips weigh only 100 grams. In combination with the attractive price, the children's headphones from the Netherlands are an alternative to the sometimes much more expensive competition. To do this, you have to make a few compromises when it comes to comfort. There wasn't enough foam padding on the headbands. In contrast to other models, the cables are also permanently installed. Unfortunately, the Philips headphones are only available in two color designs. The bracket can be extended to a length of 36 centimeters and therefore fits comfortably on larger children's heads. Philips also has the obligatory volume limit of 85 dB. The fully padded ear cups are visually more reminiscent of a rectangle and appear relatively voluminous.
Perhaps the most useful and practical tool for little music fans is a so-called audio splitter. Simply plug the 3.5 mm jack into the Toniebox or another playback device. And five children can listen to their favorite sound or an exciting radio play story at the same time.
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