Drones for kids? YES! A few months ago, my 10-year-old announced that he wanted a drone. “MOM, do you know how cool drones are?” Yes, kid, I do. I also know your uncle just paid big bucks for one and crashed it on its first flight. I love my child, but buying him an adult toy that’s nearly a thousand bucks was not in my plan. He has persisted – “MOM, I WANT A DRONE!” and even got my husband on the bandwagon.
All my “no’s” to buying my kid a drone were taken away when introduced to the line of Parrot® MiniDrones. The cost for the mini-drones are under $200 (ours was only $129) and these drones were made with kids in mind. The line features everything from racing drones to jumping drones to flying drones. We settled on the Parrot Airborne Night Drone, it flies – has a camera and my kid and husband couldn’t be happier. Drones for kids, check. Drones for adults, check. MOM WIN!
Parrot Airborne Night Drone Review
The Parrot Airborne Night Drone fits in the palm of my hand. Don’t be fooled by its size, this thing absolutely amazes me. Not only is is extremely easy to fly (our 10 and 12-year-olds had it mastered in minutes) – it’s entertaining for the whole family – especially the dogs.
Here is our 12-year-old flying the drone in our backyard for the first time:
Out of the box to flying the drone took us only 10 minutes. We had a system update, which took the bulk of the time. The battery was partially charged, and good news – the battery fully charges in just 25 minutes! The battery charges with a micro USB and with a full battery, we get around 10 minutes of flight time.
Flying the Drone
We have tried flying toys in the past and have been underwhelmed. The most important thing I can tell you if you are looking for a drone for your kid, make sure it is easy to fly. The Airborne has been a breeze to master. I was anticipating many crash landings (which have inevitably broken flying toys in the past) – but with a week of drone flying under our belts – we have only crashed its three times with 4 different flyers.
It’s amazing watching how this thing hovers. It can climb to 10 meters which are perfect, not too high where it’s unsafe.
The drone is well built. Our’s came with protectant shields which are well designed to protect the device when flying into objects and crashing.
Parrot MiniDrones are controlled by a smartphone or tablet (Android™ or iOS). We used our Nexus 7 tablet to controllers. We downloaded the required free app, FreeFlight 3 and were up and flying the drone in no time. Let’s get a look at the app, as this is your drone’s remote.
FreeFlight 3 App
As mentioned, the FreeFlight 3 app is free to download. This app is your control panel for your drone. You will do everything from flying your drone, taking photos to updating via the app. Here are a few things to know about FreeFlight 3.
- Your drone and tablet/smart phone are connected via Bluetooth® – the app will confirm your drone connection.
- Software updates to your drone are made via the app.
- The app will give you an update as to where your drone’s battery life is.
- You can access your photo gallery via My Gallery to view the aerial photos you have taken with your drone.
Drones for Kids
If your kid is asking for a drone, definitely check out the Parrot Airborne Drone. Parrot offers a wide selection with a kid focus with their mini drone collection
