Finding the best binoculars for your kids is a different process than buying ones for yourself.
That’s because our children have unique needs, and let’s be honest, most parents don’t want to spend an enormous amount of money on their kid’s binoculars because of the fear they are going to get lost or broke.
To help point you in the right direction, this list is organized into three categories. From there, I tried to find the top-rated and best-reviewed binoculars for each price range.
Kid’s Birding Binoculars Over $100: (3 options)
If you are willing to invest over $100, there are many binoculars excellent for kids and teenagers to use in the field. In fact, the binoculars featured in this price range are also great compact binoculars for adults!
Kid’s Birding Binoculars $30 – $100: (3 options)
This price range offers many legitimate binoculars that kids can use while watching wildlife and won’t break the bank.
Kid’s Birding Binoculars Under $30: (3 options)
These binoculars are typically designed for younger children. Even though they tend to look like toys because of their bright colors, they are packed with functionality!
The Best Kid’s Binoculars For Watching Birds Over $100
The three binoculars found below are not just for kids! They represent some of the best compact birding binoculars available with respect to their price.
Spending over $100 on optics will provide a much better viewing experience than the less expensive options on this list. Depending on your child’s age and interest in watching birds and wildlife, it may be worth the investment to buy one of these quality binoculars.
*WARNING! If you’re unclear about common binocular terminology, you may want to read this post:*
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You will become the parent of the year if you buy the Trinovid HD for your child! Or you’re going to be really mad and waste a ton of money when your kid loses them at school! (There is probably no in-between 🙂 )
Regardless, the Lecia Trinovid HD is an amazing binocular for watching birds. The 8×32 model is light, compact, and comfortable to hold. It should fit in an older childs or teenagers hands with no problem.
The reason it’s so expensive is because of the outstanding image you can expect to see. The high-quality glass and excellent engineering offer crisp images and brilliant colors. The close focus is exceptional at only 3 feet.
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The Zeiss Terra is an excellent binocular and designed to be used for watching wildlife, birding, or other nature activities. It’s compact size is a desirable feature that make it one of the best birding binoculars for kids, as it’s easy to hold, focus, and should be light enough for even small children to carry.
The Terra ED is not cheap, typically costing at least a few hundred dollars. You are paying for the excellent image that consumers have come to expect from Zeiss products.
The Zeiss Terra is not only for kids. It’s an extremely popular compact binocular for adults and should be a valuable piece of equipment in your family for a LONG time.
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The Prostaff 7s is a wonderful birding binocular for kids and typically priced below $200, which is much less expensive than the Terra ED or Trinovid HD listed above.
The binocular is light and surrounded by a rubber armoring, which helps make it durable in case of the accidental drop. Did I mention it’s also waterproof and fogproof?
The image quality is far ahead of other binoculars in its price range. It has extremely accurate color reproduction, thanks to its phase-correction coated roof prisms. All of the lens and prism surfaces include multiplayer coatings, which minimize loss of light due to reflection and allow more light to reach your eyes.
The Best Kid’s Binoculars for Watching Birds $30 – $100
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If you are looking for a bird-watching binocular that provides the best combination of PRICE and FUNCTION for your child, then the Nature DX gets my vote.
First, it’s very affordable, typically priced below $90.
Second, the image quality is just as good as many binoculars that are more expensive.
Celestron packs in as many features as possible. The Nature DX is light (1.25 pounds), waterproof, fully multi-coated lenses, BaK-4 prisms, and a surprisingly low close focus (6.5 ft).
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The Trailblazer ATB is definitely one of the best bird-watching binoculars for kids you can purchase. It’s compact and easy to hold and focus. Even though it’s small, Nikon packs in as many features as possible.
The image is bright and clear thanks to its lens coatings and Bak4 prisms. And it’s built to survive careless children, as the Trailblazer is waterproof, fog proof, and has a rubber-armored coating for protection.
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The Outland X, typically priced under $50, is the minimum price that I would spend when it came to buying birding binoculars for older kids.
Yes, can go to Walmart or other stores and find binoculars for $10. But I’m telling you that those pieces of junk are just going to get tossed aside because they are frustrating to use and your kids won’t be able to see anything clear.
Celestron seems to specialize in low-cost optics that perform well, and the Outland X is no exception. It includes multi-coated optics and BaK-4 prisms.
I think it’s great for kids because it’s compact and easy to hold, waterproof, fog proof, and has a nice armored exterior to provide protection.
The Best Kid’s Bird-Watching Binoculars Under $30
Most binoculars for young children that you will find are not actually binoculars at all, but just cheap “toys”. These products look like binoculars but typically just have plastic inside that provide little (or zero) benefit of actually getting your child closer to birds or animals.
The three binoculars you will find below may look like toys, but they are actually functioning binoculars (especially #7 and #8). I think the following options would make a great first binocular to use when your kids want to come on birding adventures with Mom or Dad!
“It is in no way a toy binocular!” – Besbin
Even though they resemble a toy, Besbin is very clear that these are functioning binoculars.
There are a lot of kids binoculars for sale that are nothing more than a cheap toy. Luckily, these optics will help your child enjoy birds and wildlife up close and can be their main binocular until you are ready to upgrade to one of the other options on this list.
It actually includes BaK4 prisms, is fully adjustable, light, and of course extremely durable and waterproof!
For a low price, Kidwinz provides almost all of the features that parents are looking for in kids birding binoculars.
Easy to focus and adjust, protected from drops, and provides your children with a reliably good image.
Once again, Kidwinz is clear that these are not a toy, but a fully functioning binocular that was designed with kids in mind.
These binoculars are perfect for young kids ages 5 and under. They were designed specifically for preschoolers, and most adult eyes will be too far apart to see through the lenses.
I like that there is no focusing, which is nice for small, uncoordinated hands.
Second, the eyepieces are designed to make it easy for young children to look through, as they are large and comfortable.
The binoculars are large enough for kids to hold but light enough that they won’t become tired from carrying them around.
Overall, a great binocular to get young kids interested in watching birds!
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Conclusion
In my opinion, choosing the best binoculars for your child comes down to their specific situation.
For example, I would recommend entirely different binoculars for each of the following children:
- Your 4-year-old has been expressing interest in the birds she can see from your kitchen window and wants to go exploring in the woods to find them.
- An 8-year old wants binoculars to observe animals for their families upcoming trip to Yellowstone National Park.
- Excited to join a local birding organization, a 13-year old girl needs binoculars that she can rely upon for an upcoming trip.
In my opinion, different amounts of money are also needed for each kid. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that its safer to spend more money on a binocular for the 13-year old who wants to join a birding group, then a 4-year old who is excited to explore their backyard.
Regardless, the final decision is up to you!
I hope you were able to find a kid’s binocular that is perfect for your child. Thanks for reading!
