7 Best Kids' Headphones of 2023

Nov 04, 2023

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Protect their ears (and your sanity) with a pair of top-rated headphones for children.

Kids are so happy when we let them watch their shows, listen to their favorite music or join their friends in online games. Adults, though, have a hard time listening to all of that while we drive, work or otherwise try to get things done. That's why you want a pair of kid headphones that connect to your kid's tablet or their computer. Then they can have their fun while adults get some peace and quiet. Headphones are also perfect for helping kids concentrate if they have online learning and need to listen to instruction with the other noise in the house cancelled out.

At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we focused on safety in our search for great kids' headphones. With the latest news about young people being at risk for hearing loss, it's important that kids' headphones have a volume limit. Many experts say that volume should top out for kids at 85 decibels; The World Health Organization suggests you set volume at more like 75 decibels for kids. All of our picks have volume control and most can't go over 85 decibels; a few go up as far as 94 dB which can be useful when using headphones on an airplane.

When trying out kids' headphones we also considered fit. By sending many of these headphones to kid testers, we could determine if they were comfortable and if kids were willing to wear them. Finally, to make sure headphones are durable, we scoured online reviews to be sure that we're recommending headphones that hundreds of families have found to be of good quality over time.

Read more about how we chose the best kids' headphones and what you should look for when buying them at bottom of this guide.

We find headphones to be most versatile when they work wirelessly or can be plugged in with a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack, as is the case with the Puro BT2200s. In Bluetooth mode these pair easily with a phone or tablet; the jack comes in handy on airplanes so kids can listen to music or watch movies, and it can also be plugged into some devices such as a Chromebook. If you have two kids and two pairs of these headphones, they can be daisy-chained together so that the siblings can listen to the same device.

While not completely noise-cancelling, these do block about 83 percent of ambient noise, which is pretty ideal for a schoolkid. While they're listening to their show or to their teacher, they won't hear the low hum of family conversation, but they will be able to hear you loudly announcing that it's time for dinner.

We disagree with the brand's hype about these being studio-quality for sound — a real audiophile will want something more adult — but the sound quality on these is excellent for kids and a huge step up from the rest of the under-$100 kid headphones we tested. We like that there's a built-in microphone in case your child wants to do gaming with friends, or if they're doing online learning.

Durability-wise, we found these hard to break when just twisting them. There are many online reviewers who say they've been using the same pair for years. Others report that the headband and headphone jack can break with rough usage (kids can be aggressive with their tech!) but Puro's customer support is top-notch, so don't hesitate to reach out if you do have an issue. There's a one-year warranty and also a one-month money-back guarantee.

These are excellent for their low price, but are sized especially for the preschool set — either a pro or a con, depending on the age of your kid. They fold up small for storage. They'll work only via headphone jack, so be sure you can plug it into your child's favorite device, or for very little money you can buy a headphone jack adaptor, separately, for iOs devices, Samsung devices and others.

Many parents jumped on these to fulfill a school supply list, for when their kids are using a tablet in the classroom or doing online learning from home. The fact that they fold up also makes them great for travel, though because they have the safe, limited volume paired with limited noise-cancelling ability, some online reviewers have noted little their preschoolers can't hear through these over the noise of an airplane engine. We find they work best during car travel or at home.

For travel, you can't beat that the batteries in these can last for more than 50 hours in wireless mode. Also, though we believe in capping volume at 85 dB whenever possible, we know from experience that if you're the family sitting over the wings on a big airplane you may need a pair of headphones that can go up to 94 dB for your child to hear a movie or show on their device. For that reason we are including these headphones as an option.

These also have a fast charging time, in case you realize at the last minute that they're not charged up and ready for wireless use. Ten minutes of charging gives you up to seven hours of listening. They also come with a wire and jack in case you prefer to plug these directly into a device. The colorful LED lights are a decorative bonus but also indicate that the headphones are charged and working. There are eight different color patterns available, and there's also a new version that features pink and purple cat ears that has the same features in a cute style for a couple more dollars.

Cute and customizable, these headphones are built for school-age kids and won a Good Housekeeping Parenting Award. The sound quality works well, as does the inline microphone that's built into the wire and sits near your child's mouth. For that reason the headphones have also become popular with young gamers who use the microphone to talk to each other.

This wired-only Explore+ version is less expensive than the brand's wireless Play+ headphones and made to be foldable for travel, which we appreciate since our editors who are parents often let our kids use headphones in the car or on a plane. This set even comes with a soft travel bag. But if wireless connectivity is important to you, check out the brand's more expensive versions as well.

Let your child listen to the the built-in content like songs and stories, connect this to a device via Bluetooth or plug it in to a device with the included auto jack — it's a very versatile set of headphones that gives you plenty of options.

"These were a game-changer for us with our daughter," says Rachel Rothman, Chief Technologist and Executive Technical Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute. "She’s a sensory seeker and responds so well to music, but doesn't like it to be tethered to anything. These work so well, and letting her pick her own age-appropriate content has been such a blessing!"

Many families intent on limiting screen time gravitate to these since the included games are all screen-free. Though the headphones can pair with a device streaming a movie or other visual, parents have mentioned that they use these to stream audiobooks and kids' music since their children associate the headphones with listening to learn.

This is our only pair for teens who want top-quality sound and great noise-cancelling ability. You pay a grown-up price for those features, but for some it can be worth it. "My firstborn struggled with misophonia, where certain sounds triggered anxiety, and short of isolating them from the family I didn't know what to do until I found these," says Good Housekeeping contributing editor Jessica Hartshorn. "Where before my kid was squirming every time someone coughed or took a sip of a drink, for instance, they could sit with us and work on homework with these on and be fine. The headphones got us through a lot of plane rides, too, and now my kid has them at college."

Note that these can go higher than the child-suggested 85 dB, so for that reason and for their adult fit we don't recommend them for young children. But for teens they fit well, and we like that there are two modes of awareness: Quiet Mode, for full noise cancelling, or Aware Mode, so your child can hear outside sounds such as a beeping horn or you calling to them.

In wireless mode you can connect these to two devices at the same time, so for instance you can be listening to music from one device and watching a YouTube tutorial on another. The headphones remember your last eight paired devices, making Bluetooth connection easy. These also come with an audio cable and jack if you'd rather plug them in.

If you've got multiple kids watching the same device and can't be messing with Bluetooth pairing — you just want to plug in and have them all listen to the same thing — these headphones are made to easily connect to others. The brand comes with technology they call SharePort where you plug their headphones into your device, then plug the next pair of headphones into these headphones — even if the second set of headphones is a different model! No additional wires or splitters needed.

This is another pair that goes slightly up in volume, to 93 dB, which we don't recommend doing at home but recognize can be helpful in loud places, such as on an airplane. Because they are only wired and lack any wireless function this pair is also very affordable, making it easier to buy several. They're sold in seven different colors so you can get each sibling their own easily identifiable pair.

We started with trusted brands and well-reviewed headphones that are built with kids' ear safety in mind. Whenever possible, we tested headphones at home in real-life conditions, testing their strength when twisted and trying them on children for fit. We looked at the same specs that we use when testing adult headphones including sound quality and ergonomics. For some newer models we have also leaned on online reviews until we're able to test in homes over a period of time; we'll update this story as we test more.

Knowing what options are important to you will help you pick out the right pair. Think about:

✔️ Wireless or wired. Headphones that only work when plugged in using an audio cable with a jack are always cheaper than headphones that also connect wirelessly, via Bluetooth. Wireless connection can be useful because then your child is not physically hooked into a device. But a wireless connection can also drop. We prefer headphones that have both options.

✔️ Remember that wireless headphones have to be charged. Most charge with a USB cord. In many instances your child should not be wearing the headphones and using them while they charge. Read the instructions carefully.

✔️ Fit and comfort are important, but also hard to determine when shopping. With every pair of headphones there are some parents saying that they fit their child well and others saying that they slide off. Head shapes vary, but we did try these on children when possible and can verify that the fit is adjustable on all of our chosen pairs. One thing to note is the intended age range for the headphones; that will help you guess fit. Also, some children are highly sensitive to having things on their head, and those children may never want to wear headphones for a very long stretch of time.

✔️ Keep packaging and keep track of your receipt. We're pleased to note that most headphones are easy to return if they're not working for your child or if they break soon after you buy them.

The experts and analysts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have been testing consumer products for more than 100 years, awarding the Good Housekeeping Seal since 1909 to products that meet their rigorous standards. Now, for goodhousekeeping.com, a team of reviewers continue testing, comparing and recommending a wider-than-ever scope of products for homes and families.

Lead author Jessica Hartshorn joined the ranks of contributors at the Good Housekeeping Institute in the past year. Before that she was a senior editor at Parents magazine, where she reviewed children's products. She's the mom of a teen and a 20-year-old.

This article was overseen by Chief Technologist and Executive Technical Director Rachel Rothman, a 15-year veteran of the Good Housekeeping Institute. Rothman has three children ages 6 and younger.

Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.

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