My son wanted to learn how to tell time on a real watch when he was about 5 1/2 years old.  I had given him a couple of my old nearly broken work watches that were really no help in teaching time.  He is pretty responsible for his age so we purchased one of these at a local retailer for about $20.  Jake is 7 now and the watch was working well when he made the mistake of not leaving on his wrist but putting in his pants pocket which promptly went into the wash.  Well the watch did not make it, it is not washer/dryer proof.  So now after learning a valuable life lesson about detail and responsibility we are looking to replace the watch.  I gave this watch four stars b/c it did stand up to all a little guy could throw at it.  He proudly wore it to school every day in kindergarten, in fact he was the only one at kindergarten "graduation" who wore a watch.  I just wish Timex had a mature looking kids watch that was more waterproof. Jake thinks all the cartoonish watches on the market look "baby-ish".  amazon has outstanding deals on watches and whatever we choose it will be purchased here!