A lot of adults fall victim to being sedentary most of the day, and a lot of children are succumbing to this, too. Only one-in-three kids is physically active each day, and now there are fitness trackers for children that try to fix this. Garmin is the first major fitness company to come out with a kids' activity tracker, a new device called the Vivofit Jr. Until now, most kids' trackers have been one-off devices from startups, but Garmin's hoping to change the game and make activity more fun for kids.

The Vivofit line is the most accessible family of fitness trackers Garmin has (both in price and in features), so it's no surprise it lumped the Vivofit Jr into it. Meant for kids ages four to nine, it looks like a thicker version of the Vivofit 2 with a small monochrome display and a singular button beneath it. The band is chunky and stamped in different patterns, including green camo, geometric red, and pink-and-blue floral designs, so there's something for everyone. It doesn't have a watch-like closure but instead slips over the hand and sits on the wrist, which is probably easier for kids to put on and take off on their own. It's water-resistant up to 50 meters, too, so kids can go in the pool or bathe with it on without any issues. Garmin may have made it easy to wear the device through basically any situation kids gets themselves into, but its one-year battery life is what really lets your kids keep it on all day and all night.

The Vivofit Jr monitors kids' steps, sleep, and active time, and it will display on the screen how close they are to achieving 60 minutes of active time each day. There's a move bar on the display, too, to remind them how much more they need to move to reach their goal. The device also acts as a watch, and it can be personalized with your child's name. All of the data feeds into a free, parent-controlled mobile app (different from Garmin Connect, simply called Vivofit Jr) where you can monitor your kids' activity levels and set goals and tasks they should complete.

We're not just talking about activity goals, we're talking chores—parents can assign their child chores to do around the house and the Vivofit Jr will alert the child when they need to complete them. If it sounds like a parent's dream and a kid's nightmare, it really is. There's even a timer you can choose to use that will count down the amount of time needed to finish the job. Every time your child completes a task, he or she will earn "coins" that Garmin says "can be redeemed for agreed-upon rewards," which probably means parents and kids negotiate how they are compensated for completing chores. There's also a "mobile adventure trail" that unlocks fun facts the more a child moves and family step challenges that kids and parents can take part in to motivate the entire family to move more throughout the day.

There aren't many kids' activity trackers out yet; the few that are out there include the snap-bracelet $50 KidFit from X-Doria that has swappable bands, uses a light-based notification system, and needs regular charging, as well as the $20 LeapFrog LeapBand that encourages kids to move by giving them points they can spend on a Tamagotchi-like virtual pet. They all follow the same gamification method that Garmin is channeling, but none has really taken off yet. That could be because many adults themselves are not convinced fitness trackers will help them get healthier (a new study shows that they aren't actually effective weight-loss tools), so why would it be any different for kids? The possible differentiator is motivation: the Vivofit Jr, along with many of the existing kids' trackers, emphatically gamify fitness more so than even adult fitness trackers do. This could be especially effective for children since they respond well to games—if exercise is disguised as play (remember when it actually was play?), kids may be more motivated to participate without feeling like they're being forced to do something they consider work.

The parents who are most likely to buy this first are those who are already invested in their own personal health and fitness. It's likely that kids with parents like this may already emulate the healthy habits they see in their parents, in turn making the fitness tracker useful yet not entirely necessary. But if other big companies follow Garmin's lead and create more kids' trackers, other families with kids who actually need to move more and get regular exercise to better their health may be encouraged to try one. The Vivofit Jr is available now for $80 via Garmin's website and some brick-and-mortar retailers including Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.