Is Your Child Ready for These Top Tech Gifts?

When spending time with family and friends around the holidays, you'll likely hear: Let’s all put our phones down! So as festivities roll around this time of year, it seems counterintuitive to see tech gifts at the top of nearly every child’s (and parent’s) wishlist.

That’s why we’ve decided to delve into many of the top tech choices for holiday presents this year. We make a few recommendations and assess the age-appropriateness of some of the most popular ones.

For The Tiniest Tots

Let’s start with the gifts designed with the smallest (about 10 years of age and under) kids in mind. For younger kids, we were excited to see the prevalence of toys with an educational bent; specifically towards mechanical engineering and coding. There are many robotic toys on the market that have a DIY building and coding dimension to them, such as this intro to engineering kit and this coding robot.

Be sure to always check the age recommendations for these types of toys. Although, if any turn out to be too challenging for your little ones, it can be a great collaborative opportunity for parents to lend a helping hand. Toys that promote critical thinking always get a stamp of approval in our book!

Another popular toy for smaller tots is the Toniebox, a clever story-telling padded speaker for kids. They come with figurines that, when plugged into the top of the box, begin to play a story. Each figure has a unique audio experience, and you can buy them separately to amass a library for your kids. There’s a wide selection to choose from, with figurines ranging from Disney princesses to Paddington Bear.

Yoto Player offers a similar product that features cards instead of figurines and an old-school pixel display. These have often been described as podcasts for kids—and seeing how popular podcasts are with adults these days, it’s no surprise to find a child’s spin on it. These by no means should replace a bedtime story read by a parent, but they’re a great entertainment alternative to plopping a little one in front of the TV screen!

Speaking of storytelling, there is a kindle device called Kindle Kids, designed specifically for little ones in mind and with parental controls in place. If your child is still too young for tablets, this may be a great stepping-stone to introducing them to tech, as it’s easier on the eyes and promotes reading. With the parental dashboard, parents can adjust the age filter, add books to the library, set daily reading goals, and view their kids’ reading progress.

For Preteens and Teens

If your child is approaching or has reached adolescence, they may have begun asking for a cell phone. Wondering if they’re ready for it? Most experts point to the ages between 12 and 14 as the time to start thinking about a phone. We make this decision easier for you with our "Is Your Child Ready?" Checklist.