There is a delicate balancing act required of parents. On the one hand you want your children to grow up as well-adjusted people with the necessary social skills to navigate their way through life. On the other, sometimes Peppa Pig or Minecraft or whatever game they are into is a necessary distraction so you can actually get things done.
No one really wants to listen to Peppa cackling in the background on repeat, which is where headphones come in, and the aforementioned concerns about stunting their ability to interact with other people. Likewise, you would rather not be responsible for damaging their hearing before they leave the early years of primary school.
Kids’ headphones have been the saviour of many a parent’s sanity. They are volume limited, eliminating the fear that your child will crank up the sound to hearing-damage level while your back is turned. In my experience they are also usually brightly coloured and plastic, and inevitably last about three weeks before some vital part snaps.
We’ve been through quite a few, in case you can’t tell.
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But things have improved in recent years. Not only are the new generation of headphones more durable, with more flexible materials, they are also more advanced, offering wireless connections through Bluetooth so you can say goodbye to snapped cables and complaints that they can only hear Paw Patrol on one side.
And there are headphones that are suitable for older children, too, adopting a more grown-up styling that won’t immediately mark them out as “for kids”, if it wasn’t for the smaller fit.
The MyFirst Headphone Airwaves is one such set. Ostensibly for children, these lightweight headphones will protect their hearing but don’t look like they were made for a toddler.
They are open-ear headphones and are volume limited so they aren’t pumping loud volumes into your child’s eardrums. The band hooks over the ear to keep them in place, but the speakers are positioned in front of rather than over their ears, so not only are you protecting their hearing, you are also ensuring that they can hear what is going on around them too.
The excuse of “I couldn’t hear you over my music/game/TV show” goes right out the window. Controls for volume and power are on the right side, with small buttons that are manageable for child-sized fingers.
The Airwaves are very lightweight, coming in at less than 22g, and feature a flexible band that can take a satisfying amount of twisting without showing a sign of wear and tear.
They are water resistant, too, with an IPX5 rating. That means you can’t submerge them in water – so keep them out of the pool – but they will withstand sweat, water splashes or rain, and low-pressure jets of water.
Setting up the headphones is easy enough, taking only a few minutes. Once you put them in pairing mode, the Airwaves will keep you informed with voice prompts. Once you connect to a device, it will sing out “Connected”.
If the battery gets low, it will chirp “My battery is low”, all in the same tone that would be at home in an audition for an upbeat children’s presenter. It is slightly unsettling for a jaded tech journalist, but in keeping with the target audience of smaller children.
The audio won’t rival your expensive in-ear buds or over-ear headphones, but it will keep the younger members of the family happy. And you have the added feel-good factor of the 85dB volume limit protecting their hearing now – what they do as adults is their own business.
There are a few downsides, though.
Open-ear means sound leaks, and the louder the volume is pushed the more likely it is that people nearby will hear tinny audio. However, it is minor, and infinitely preferable to the full-volume Cocomelon songs. Add to that the protection that the distance between the ear and the speaker offers your child’s hearing, and you are more likely to be forgiving of the Airwaves’ foibles.
Good
Easy to set up, durable and with decent audio for kids, the Airwaves are suitable for both younger children and those who feel like they need accessories that are a little more grown-up.
Battery life is decent, with a stated time of 14 hours on 60 per cent volume, though pushing it higher than that will impact use. They charge quickly, with a full charge taking only two hours, and the 85dB limit on the audio will help protect your child’s hearing.
Bad
The IPX5 rating is fairly standard for earbuds, but don’t mistake that for the Airwaves being completely waterproof – if they are submerged in water, they aren’t guaranteed to survive in the long term.
They can only be used wirelessly, so when the battery is done, you need to recharge. And the charger is a proprietary one, so keep it safe.
Everything else
If you are simply listening to audio, the battery should last more than 12 hours.
Verdict
A good option for parents looking for more grown-up audio solutions.
