Medical experts have reported that 12.5% of children and adolescents aged 6–19 years have suffered permanent damage to their hearing as a result of earphones and devices turned to a high volume. And with kids spending around 5 hours a day watching or using screens, the risk to hearing is frightening to consider. Putting adult headphones on to your child’s head could endanger their hearing, as they emit sound as loud as 94-110dB. Dedicated kids headphones with volume limiting are better but not 100% safe if used for long periods of time. You don’t get just a more stylish, less kiddy look. The audio quality of these headphones is also noticeably higher, even when using Bluetooth. These wireless, lightweight foldable on-ear headphones feature volume limiting (to the standard 85dB) are look as good as their pricier siblings, the BT2200 and PuroQuiet.

Review: Snuggly Rascals kids headphones - Honest John

Using Bluetooth means that these headphones need to be charged, and the “up to 20 hours” of battery life should be enough for most journeys. They charge via USB-C cable rather than fiddly microUSB, which is often found on kids headphones. While many kids headphones are quite plastic-y the Puro Sound Labs BT2200 headphones look more like a high-end adult audio product, and the cost reflects this, too. These are a big step up from most of the cheaper headphones listed here. Sound quality is great (with a tendency to bassiness) for a pair of headphones in this price range, and the volume is limited to 85dB, although this still sounded quite loud in our tests. Limiting the volume on headphones you give to your kids is obviously a wise decision if you want to help protect their hearing, but some experts warn against children using any type of headphones.

The iClever TransNova (BTH16) Kids Wireless Headphones are great value for money, offer an excellent battery life for Bluetooth headphones, are light and comfortable with an adjustable headband, and come with multicolored LEDs and multiple interchangeable plates for the earcups. Loud noise can damage the structures, hair cells and nerve fibers in the inner ear that respond to sound and transmit sound to the brain. Such hearing loss is known as Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), and it can’t be medically corrected but it is preventable. The BT2200 were one of our favorite kids headphones and they have now been updated to the BT2200 Plus. In case the name didn’t give it away, the Snuggly Rascals headphones are aimed at children. If the name doesn’t give it away, the look certainly will. The headphones come in a range of cute designs, including a penguin, giraffe, pig, unicorn and monster. There’s something for everyone here. As such, you need to trust your child to not pump the volume up when you’re not around, and definitely not for the very young.

Snuggly Rascals (v2 Kids Headband Headphones - Ultra

Conveniently, they fold into a small and robust shape to fit in the tough but colorful travel/storage case, although exactly how robust they are depends on your child, of course! The cord is 0.8m, which is about right for laptop/tablet/phone use but might require an extender for TV viewing.The trouble is that 70dB is quiet and will likely not drown out ambient noise, so 85dB (equal to a lawnmower or leaf blower) becomes the norm despite it being potentially damaging to a young person’s hearing. Sound quality is excellent—possibly the best we’ve heard on a kids product, and these look and feel like quality products. That said, we found the maximum volume to be much higher than others tested here—this may be no bad thing as some find the volume limiters too quiet, but these headphones can go louder than we’d want on our head, let alone a child’s. If the battery does run out there’s a detachable cable included. Volume controls are situated on the left earpiece. The wire is usefully long at 1.5 metres and is braided rather than plastic, so should prove more durable and less likely to split.

Snuggly Rascals SR1- kids Adjustable Giraffe Headband

You need to have these headphones on the right way round for comfort. There’s an R and L to show the correct side, but if your kid doesn’t know his or her left from right you may get a complaint every other time they’re put on incorrectly. Hey, maybe it’ll teach them their left from their right!Belkin is a trusted name in the world of audio, and its SoundForm range of headphones and earbuds now has a set made specially for children. Its SoundForm Inspire, connecting via Bluetooth 5.2, are our choice headphones for older kids. The JVC Tiny Phones (HA-KD5) are well made, and feature comfortable soft padding, which also restricts noise leakage. The headband is wide and seems robust.

SNUGGLY RASCALS Kids headphones - Cheap SNUGGLY - Currys

A sensible compromise would be to invest in a decent set of headphones that limits volume, but also limit the length of time children wear them. There are volume buttons on the left cup, with the power on/off switch.The volume did sound a little higher than some of the other headphones—not excessively so, but still noticeable. If you can trust your child not to keep pushing volume up, then you shouldn’t have any problems. They are available in two vivid models (pink/purple and yellow/blue) with obvious girl/boy choices. They are built for ages 4 and up. Again, they’d expand to fit most (even adult) heads. A Study Mode isolates voices from other sounds, producing clearer vocals to help when studying during online learning. The volume limiter (85dB) is good—slightly louder than the Griffin MyPhones but much more acceptable than others on test.

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You can remove the the headphones to wash the band, which we found useful (thanks Nutella on toast). It washes well too and doesn't need reshaping when dried. We’ve tested quieter, but these often raised complaints from our helpful child testers, so if you can trust your child not to wear these at full volume for hours on end, you should be ok.