Buying a new electronic device for my kids is usually about as fun as going to the dentist. It often means dedicating an hour of frustration to reading complicated directions, plugging in wires, and then googling on the Internet for help when it still doesn’t work.

I’m happy to report none of this applies when opening the Kidz Gear Wireless Car Headphones for Kids. It is a wireless headset that works with any car DVD system. We tried it out on a Cadillac Escalade that we had rented from Hertz.  It took about five minutes from opening the package in the house to having quiet kids in the backseat watching a movie on the road.  All we had to do was insert 2-AAA batteries. The headset immediately picked up the car DVD signal when we turned them on. So easy…. A parent’s, or perhaps a grandparent’s, dream.

The headsets are smaller than adult earphones so they stayed in place and perfectly fit the smaller ears. That’s a big bonus for little heads that can’t hold up adult headsets and then yell for mom to fix every 5 minutes when they slide off.

Another big plus was that the a few minutes after the movie stopped, the headphones turned off automatically. So mom and dad didn’t have to pester the kids to remember to turn off the headphones to save the batteries power.

You can also purchase an IR transmitter to work with the Kidz Gear Wireless Car Headphones  for use at home. So if the kids want to watch a movie, play games on the TV, Wii or Playstation while you are talking to others or reading, you can pop these on for instant adult sanity.

Of course, no product is perfect, and the one thing this product has in common with all other electronic products or toys is the plastic packaging. You know, that hard plastic that is impossible to cut through with a normal pair of scissors, and almost guarantees you will cut yourself before you get it open. The packaging here was no different. Remember the four minutes I said it took to set it up? Well, four of them were dedicated to cutting through the wrapping.

Plastic packaging aside, if you want peace and quiet in the home or on a road trip, you can’t go wrong with these wireless kids headsets. They retail for $19.99.

Available for less at Surplus Computers.