myFirst CareBuds review

In my household, everyone has at least one pair of in-ear headphones. The kids use them for Spotify, YouTube and gaming. I use them for… Well, all of the above, actually, and my wife uses them to cancel out all of our noise and get a bit of peace and quiet. But I often struggle to find a set suitable for my youngest daughter. At only 9 years old, her ears are still delicate enough to be damaged by overdoing the volume of in-ear buds, which is why the myFirst Carebuds are such a great find.

They’re brightly coloured, aesthetically pleasing, and come with a range of small rubber buds to suit young ears. I had to use the largest available to test the audio for myself, and I didn’t find them comfortable at all, but they’re not built for me. My daughter loves them, they let her feel like her older sister and the 85db limit means she can’t overdo the volume. Again, no good for me; I like to feel my teeth shaking in my head.

The literature says they have noise-cancelling but if they do, it’s not noticeable, even in relatively quiet environments. My daughter wore them for an entire car ride to Cornwall though, almost 6 hours in her ears, and they never became uncomfortable or ran out of battery. I did have to charge them shortly after, but that was quite impressive. Being able to restrict the volume is the major selling point here, though, and it’s great for parents to have that peace of mind.

As with most earbuds, the CareBuds come with a little charging case, as well as a sheet of stickers that kids can use to decorate it, which adds a nice personal touch. I also noted that the voice that greets the user and reports on battery percentage is a child’s, which made me smile. The case is just about sturdy enough, but could stand to be a little more robust since these are designed for children to carry around.

If it matters, the CareBuds are also IPX4 water-resistant. They can be used in the rain, walking home from school or whatever, but they won’t survive being dropped in a cup or a puddle. Most young children won’t be working up a sweat in the gym I presume, but it’s better to have some resistance than not.

Most importantly, the myFirst CareBuds allow even the youngest members of a household to have their own pair of earbuds, and they won’t do any damage thanks to the volume restriction. They’re also very easy to use and, once paired via Bluetooth, automatically connect every time they’re taken out of the case. You’d argue this is a standard feature, but I’ve had many a pair of low budget earphones that failed to connect after long periods without use. The myFirst CareBuds really are the perfect option for younger listeners.