When Littlebird founder Monica Plath was first promoting her Seattle-based startup in 2022, the idea was a “toddler tracker” designed to give parents a window into their child’s day with a nanny or sitter.
But as smartphone bans sweep through U.S. schools, Littlebird’s promise has evolved into something more ambitious: a physical alternative for parents who want to stay connected without surrendering their kids to the digital world.
“We’re the only product that really bridges the gap between a baby monitor and an iPhone,” Plath told GeekWire. “Parents don’t have an option besides AirTagging their kids, and AirTags were meant to find luggage, not for on-demand, real-time alerts.”
Strapped to the wrist of a kid, Littlebird looks like an Apple Watch at first glance, but without any screen to tell time, take calls, text friends, play music or check the internet. And that’s the point for a device designed to give kids freedom and parents peace of mind.
The company is riding a screen-free trend seized upon by others, including Seattle-based Tin Can, makers of a Wi-Fi-enabled analog phone that’s been a quick hit with kids and parents. Plath said on LinkedIn this week that Littlebird shipped nearly 1,000 units in the first few days, and had $200,000 in sales on the first product release day last week.
A University of Washington alum and single mom to two kids, Plath has spent the last two years overhauling Littlebird’s technical DNA. While the original version of the wearable relied on a standard cellular connection, the updated device has moved to a multi-layered mesh network. The company has gone from niche toddler tool to what Plath calls a “frontier tech” contender, attracting the attention of two of the biggest names in retail and infrastructure: Amazon and Walmart.
Plath said Littlebird is the first third-party company to integrate Amazon Sidewalk, a private, long-range network that piggybacks off the millions of Echo and Ring devices already sitting in American homes. By layering Sidewalk’s long-range capacity with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS, Plath has built a device that can track a child across a two-mile range without a traditional data plan.
And while Littlebird attracted 2,000 direct-to-consumer pre-orders over the last couple years, the startup is poised for a major retail leap. On Monday, the product went live on Walmart.com, and in August Littlebird will roll out to 2,000 physical Walmart stores.
Unlike the Apple Watch or similar devices that can be viewed as classroom distractions, Littlebird does not chirp at the kids who are wearing it. There’s no interactivity, just a light to signal that it’s working. Sensors in the device determine when it’s being worn.
“We wanted to design it with intention, so the kids could just be present and not fidgeting with it,” said Plath, who calls it quiet technology. “That was a big priority for [schools], to not have something that’s two-way. Letting kids be kids was a big part of our category building.”
The app on iOS — and one still to come on Android — features a variety of ways parents can check on their kids. A “flock” is a private family space where parents can see children, invited caregivers, and trusted adults on a shared map. A “nest” is an important place such as home, school, or camp. Alerts can be set to signal when a child is coming and going.
An early version of Littlebird was originally intended to monitor health metrics such as activity level, sleep, heart rate and temperature. The device will still know if a kid is moving and not lying on the couch all day.
“As we moved from prototypes into a real, shippable product for children, we made a deliberate decision not to ship anything that could be interpreted as medical functionality or invite medical claims,” Plath said. “Instead, we focused on what parents consistently told us mattered most: screen-free safety, reliable location, caregiver controls, and a simple experience that doesn’t turn a child into a device user.”
Littlebird has adopted a membership-based pricing model similar to high-end fitness wearables like Whoop and Oura. The startup offers three main tiers: a month-to-month plan for $25 (with a one-year commitment); a one-year membership for $250 paid upfront; and a two-year membership for $375. The costs cover the hardware, the “Precision+” location services, and the app experience.
Littlebird employs six people and is looking to double headcount over the next couple months. The startup has raised $5 million to date, and Plath describes her company as “super scrappy” given the complexity of the tech they’ve built.
“Less than 2% of all venture capital goes to female founders,” she said, adding that “against all odds” she’s out to prove that Littlebird can build and scale hardware out of Seattle, a region known primarily for software and cloud tech.
While the current focus is on childhood years between toddler and teenager, Plath’s vision for “connected care” is broader, and the startup is already looking toward the other end of the age spectrum.
“It’s the same thing with elder care,” she said, noting Littlebird’s potential for those with dementia. “We’re building a product for people we love.”
