The best gift ideas for kids and teenagers

Determining when to buy your child their first device can be a hard decision. To help you decide if you and your child are ready for mobile life, take our PhoneReady Quiz. The 10-question quiz helps parents assess their child's behaviors, developmental maturity, and their family's values to calculate one of three scores (Ready Zone; Almost Ready Zone; and Not Yet Ready Zone). Learn more about how to choose a phone, smartwatch, or tablet for kids

Here are some guidelines to help you buy the best device for your child’s age:

Tablets and kids are a great match across several age groups—starting with toddlers, tweens, and more responsible teenagers. Tablets could be an excellent fit for younger kids in particular. Why? Because they are durable, lightweight, portable, and the touchscreen interfaces are easy to learn and interact with. They're also versatile and can be used both for entertainment, school homework, and even more creative tasks.

Most tablets are also cheaper than laptop computers and much more durable. The main factors to consider when looking for a kid's tablet are age and maturity level. When you're looking for the best tablet for your kid, prioritize durability and price—particularly when they're younger and tend to be less careful with their devices. You can always install educational and other apps on your child's tablet to enhance their experience—while maintaining supervision through parental control settings to have visibility into what type of content they access. Check out this article on how to pick a tablet for kids.

Whether you're buying your child a tablet so they can be preoccupied, or you've noticed that your kid is showing interest in new hobbies like drawing, you can add accessories like a stylus to help exercise their creativity. And if you want some of the capability of a laptop without having to upgrade your child's tablet, consider adding a keyboard folio for when your kid wants to do homework or to stand the tablet up instead of holding it in their hands. As a bonus, the folio will also act as a lightweight cover to protect your device.

Once your child shows they're responsible or have outgrown their "kid-friendly" tablet, it's time to consider upgrading their device to a higher-end tablet, like the iPad 10th Generation. These will be more expensive, but there're still many great deals you can take advantage of.

if you’re looking for a small gift for your teenager, AT&T has lots of options at every price point. One of the best gifts for teens is a smartwatch, especially if they’re into the latest tech gadgets. Depending on which one you get them, it can seamlessly sync with their phone and do everything from monitoring their heart rate to letting them send and receive text messages. 

Less expensive gift ideas for teenagers include headphones or earbuds. There are options at various price points, from the AT&T Lightning Corded Earbuds to AirPods Pro. Other great, affordable, small gift ideas for teens include Apple AirTags to help them keep track of their stuff, PopSockets and phone grips, and fun phone cases. 

Some popular gifts for kids who enjoy technology include cell phones, wireless earbuds, gaming headsets, and smart accessories like tracker tags. 

If you are planning to buy your kid’s first cell phone as a gift, one option is to add a new line to your existing plan and finance the device through an installment program. Of course, you always have the option to pay for a new cell phone outright, but oftentimes, there are deals and discounts when you purchase a new phone on an installment plan. Learn more about finding the best cellphone deals at AT&T 

AT&T offers a variety of wireless earbuds, with several earbud options under $100. If you want to splurge, you might consider the popular AirPods Pro. 

If you’re shopping for a kid or teen who enjoys gaming and smart accessories like Apple AirTags, you might find the perfect gift while browsing gadgets and gaming accessories.