There is really no age too young when it comes to buying a telescope for kids.  Today, there are telescope models for kids of just about any age.  For some very young kids (under 5 years old), these are not much more than toys.  But even these will open them up to the world of the skies and astronomy, and like many adults begin to ponder what is beyond our planet.  Certainly the creators of the Hubble Space Telescope likely started as young telescope owners.

There are so many models that it can be confusing for parents to find the right telescope for a child.  Here we will try to give some guidance as to the right things when searchingfor a good telescope for your child.

Choosing a Telescope for Kids

Ages under 4. For children this young, you are looking for a very easy to use, easy to focus telescope that is not much more than a toy.  Kids generally are fascinated with any device they can get their hands on and control, so check out the ones from Discovery Kids.  You may want to consider simply getting them a single scope model with no tripod, like the one from Safari that is easy for them to carry around anywhere without fuss.

Ages 5 to 7. Once kids get a little older they'll be ready for you to buy a telescope with more capabilities, like more magnification (up to 70x), a tripod, and enough power to see objects more closely.  You'll want a telescope with a steady mount, something they can take outside at night and use to observe various objects with ease.  Check out brands from Celestron and Meade.

Ages 7 to 11. If you are shopping for a telescope for a child of this age, you'll want to get a beginner version of a quality telescope.  This means purchasing a real reflector telescope or refractor telescope, and there are many good ones on the market.  Orion, Meade, and Bushnell all make real telescope for beginners that are models designed for beginners or kids and are powerful enough to see many interesting objects in the sky, but are easy enough for children of this age to use.

Children's Telescope Store | Toy Telescopes

If you are buying a reflector telescope, you want to choose a minimum 4.5" size.  For a refractor telescope, a 3" minimum is recommended.  Magnification matters as you don't want too little (your child will be disappointed).

One other recommendation, get your child a star chart so they have a guide the skies.  These days, most sky charts are online, and you can find them on popular websites for free.  These allow you children to interactively figure out the best things to see in the heavens based on your location and time of year.  This make exploring space and learning astronomy all the more interesting.

Regardless, finding a good telescope for kids isn't difficult and buying the wrong one is hard to do.  The main thing is encouraging your youngster and feeding their imagination.