When buying a watch for a child, there are a few things that should be considered. The first thing to consider is the age of the child. This will probably determine the amount of money you spend on the watch. Keep in mind that a very young child will see a watch as a toy, and something else they can use to imitate adults as they often do.

For them, a simple and inexpensive Mickey Mouse (or other character) watch will do just fine. You probably won't need to worry about things like accuracy or how durable the watch is. You should. Remember that a majority of younger children have a very short attention span and that the watch they liked so much at first, will probably end up in the corner with the other toys after a few days.

When buying a watch for an older child you might have a different purpose in mind. It might be a gift for a special occasion such as Christmas or a birthday. Also, you might be thinking of buying it as a learning tool to help them learn how to tell time. But with older children there are some other factors that come into play. First of all, these days many children are just as fashion conscious as adults. There may be a certain design or style that they prefer (what all the other kids are wearing). Another thing is that we live in a digital age with technology constantly growing and changing. There are so many different styles and varieties to choose from. That brings us to another issue you may have to consider, should you buy an analog or a digital watch?

If you're buying the watch as a learning tool, an analog watch would obliviously be the right choice. Yes, we are all "digitized" everyone wants that "instant info" Some parents find that digital watches don't encourage children to learn how to tell time. They wake up to their digital alarm clock, and while eating breakfast they check the time by looking at the clock on the microwave instead of the analog clock on the wall. If they still insist on digital you might want to compensate for this by purchasing an inexpensive digital as a second watch.

Digital or analog, with so many designs and styles to choose from it may be a good idea to let them pick a watch for themselves (after setting a budget of course). Shopping at a place where there is a large selection is a good idea, but that still won't guarantee that you won't have to go to more than one store.

Better still, shopping on the internet may be a good idea. Also, you can usually find that really great "online only" sale. Since most kids like browsing on line anyway, this can be a lot of fun for them and a lot less wear and tear on your feet and on your patience as well.