How old should a child be to use binoculars effectively? (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone,

I have a daughter turning 4 in a month and she loves to go for "nature walks." I am wondering if I got her binoculars if it would be something she could use and have fun with, or if they would just be frustrating and it would be better for her to use her naked eye.

I let her look through my Meopta 10x42 and told her to tell me what she's sees and she said "whoa your truck is big daddy." So she can indeed see through them; but, the IPD won't go small enough and the Meopta's are fairly large, heavy and expensive for a child to use.

So can a 4 year old use binoculars effectively? If so what pair would be appropriate? I was thinking Kowa 6x30. I haven't measured her IPD, but she does have a fairly large head, I think she would need just a slightly smaller IPD than the Meopta's provide.

i had cheap $5 plastic bins for years and my daughters used them at 3to 4 yrs old and regularly afterwards. i have no idea how they saw anything except by pushing them as close together as they could but they certainly managed and at times spent ages looking through them down the paddock. they saw and identified rabbits which would have been very small to the eye alone but to be honest until they were 5 or 6 i couldnt be sure it was the bin image. but at 6 they could identify deer and wallabies and birds i couldnt see way down in the bush and in amongst trees so it was definitely binocular vision. they used to look at moon too.

brands change, kids' faces come in all sizes. take her to a good store and get real expert help or as i did, ebay a cheap bino or get a telescope. i think a pink plastic pair in a bright case would please her, to be like daddy or mummy, far more than an expensive set. she will enjoy looking the wrong way through them just as much at 4!

and remember to teach them from beginning DO NOT LOOK AT SUN

My youngest started managing with bins at five going on six, but to be honest I didn't try much before that.

i found some good reviews but the best have a butterfly and are pink and only cost a fiver!
https://www.geekwrapped.com/outdoors/best-affordable-and-fun-binoculars-for-kids
some are too heavy for a youngster in my opinion

Hi,

sillyak said:

So can a 4 year old use binoculars effectively? If so what pair would be appropriate? I was thinking Kowa 6x30.

Click to expand...

I recently lent my Nikon 8 x 25 to a 4 year old when we were visiting the zoo, and it was difficult to tell if she was able to acquire the animals she was pointing the binoculars at. She certainly became frustrated with them when she had no luck finding a soaring bird others had pointed out. Just as Jape's daughters, she was very enthusiastic about the view she got from looking wrong way through the Nikon, which I had suggested to cheer her up after the soaring bird disappointment.

With regard to the best binoculars for kids, one contender might be the Papilio II 6.5x21. With its short minimum focusing distance and the inward Porro layout, it's great for viewing about anything kids might take an interest in.

Regards,

Henning

Thanks for the advice. I bought her a toy pair:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000ERAIW4/ref=oh_aui_i_sh_pre_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hopefully they are somewhat usable and she can enjoy them. I may get the Kowa 6x30 any ways for myself (hey a 4th set of binos can't hurt) and give them to her in a couple years.

I let my 3-year old look through my Zeiss T-FL 7x42 and she loves it.
She can hold them steady but I have to help pointing the binocular, and she can't focus.

She loves the view though and from what she's saying, she actually sees the bird (or other things) quite well.

Most important in a children's binocular would be ease of view (low magnification, wide field of view), followed by weight and ease of grabbing. I don't feel any binocular out there has all those characteristics without compromise.
The ones with low mag. and wide FOV and low weight that could fit the bill would be the Pentax Papilio 6,5x...or something similar in 6-7x25-32.