Magna-tiles are a big hit in our house. My kids and every kid we have over likes them. Better than legoes because they're more fragile, so they don't get locked up into projects for months.
Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
11–20 of 28 posts
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#12If your child is (~7-10) years old, laptop is the best gift for him/her. + programming course for children.
Only if you want a child tethered to a screen from that point forward. I was that child, I’m in tech, I’m not sure I’d want that for my kid. Shared computer and a course would be much better imho. A dedicated laptop signals “go do whatever you want with it anytime you want” also, where a shared one signals “we own this and we tell you when to use it”
Also, "mainline hard-core pornography whenever you're ready!"
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#13Some favorites from my two over the past couple years:
- Magna Tiles (TODDLER, PRESCHOOL1)
- Marble Maze (PRESCHOOL1)
- Lego Duplo (everyone loves these!)
- Stomp rocket (TODDLER, PRESCHOOL1)
- Books (PRESCHOOL2): Ivy & Bean, Zoey and Sassafras, but anything really depending on the kid
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#14My nephew (PRESCHOOL1) loves: rubber boots, small friction-powered cars (unbreakable, no batteries, still uses them a year later), lego, giant jenga, colouring books. The more expensive toys are quickly ignored. He could get addicted to the games he plays (supervised) on Granny's tablet, so his time with those is limited.
General advice, but particularly for HN ;-): Everyone likes to exaggerate how smart their kid is. Please don't get them something beyond their grasp just to boost your own ego. Everyone ends up disappointed and the kid might think that $thing is boring, forever. If you're willing to sit with them and really help them with it that's different but even if you are, don't make it so hard that it's a chore.
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#15A leatherman multi-tool at age five. But it's the perfect gift for anyone at any age.
Are there any affordable multi-tools without blades? My kid is not ready for a blade yet and, for good reasons, he wouldn't be allowed to bring a blade to school.
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#16A leatherman multi-tool at age five. But it's the perfect gift for anyone at any age.
Are there any affordable multi-tools without blades? My kid is not ready for a blade yet and, for good reasons, he wouldn't be allowed to bring a blade to school.
TSA-Compliant models like the Leatherman Style PS might be what you’re looking for.
My dad got me a nice leatherman when I went to college and it was incredibly useful for years, such a great gift idea.
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#17My three year old loves playing with a marble race puzzle inside a plastic ball, called a Perplexus. He can play with it for hours on end.
My son (4) loves that too, but his brothers didn't care at the same age. It depends so much on the personality. I also got a little bit addicted to it recently ;-)
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#18If your child is (~7-10) years old, laptop is the best gift for him/her. + programming course for children.
I was first given a laptop at 5. But I could not give that advice to anyone in 2022.
The world and the Internet is a different place now. Pedophiles and predators run rampant. It's just not possible to keep a child safe without being a total buzzkill.
And there are surely going to be people who believe being a buzzkill is necessary or even your responsibility as a parent to curb the content your child is allowed to see. I have no objections to that way of parenting. But my opinion does not change:
I can not recommend giving a child access to the internet from a young age. It worked back then. It does not work today. Especially since apps like TikTok completely ruin young minds, imho.
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#19If your child is (~7-10) years old, laptop is the best gift for him/her. + programming course for children.
I was first given a laptop at 5. But I could not give that advice to anyone in 2022. The world and the Internet is a different place now. Pedophiles and predators run rampant. It's just not possible to keep a child safe without being a total buzzkill. And there are surely going to be people who believe being a buzzkill is necessary or even your responsibility as a parent to curb the content your child is allowed to s…
That makes sense if you take a hand-off approach to parenting, but if you spend any time trying to raise your kids, it's the wrong choice. A computing device they can easily program (so not an iAppliance or game console) is a powerful tool for developing their minds. Many children that age, if taught like an adult how sugar can harm them, will limit their intake of sugar. Giving them an assortment of other foods that are healthy makes it even easier for them to make the right choice. It's the same for TikTok.
If they are unable to understand, you have identified a problem you need to work on. If they understand but do not have self control, block it at DNS and work on self-discipline. By the time they can circumvent your controls, they will likely be ready to make good decisions.
Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was first given a laptop at 5. But I could not give that advice to anyone in 2022. The world and the Internet is a different place now. Pedophiles and predators run rampant. It's just not possible to keep a child safe without being a total buzzkill. And there are surely going to be people who believe being a buzzkill is necessary or even your responsibility as a parent to curb the content your child is allowed to s…
That makes sense if you take a hand-off approach to parenting, but if you spend any time trying to raise your kids, it's the wrong choice. A computing device they can easily program (so not an iAppliance or game console) is a powerful tool for developing their minds. Many children that age, if taught like an adult how sugar can harm them, will limit their intake of sugar. Giving them an assortment of other foods that…
> A computing device they can easily program (so not an iAppliance or game console) is a powerful tool for developing their minds.
No argument here. I grew up programming from about the age of 8. I actually didn't program my computer directly -- I learned Roblox scripting first (Lua).
> Many children that age, if taught like an adult how sugar can harm them, will limit their intake of sugar. Giving them an assortment of other foods that are healthy makes it even easier for them to make the right choice. It's the same for TikTok.
TikTok was an example, for what it's worth. There are vast amounts of unhealthy time sinks that exist in the world, and they make money off of it. They have no reason to be respectful to children, and most of them aren't.
I don't know much about children, as I've never been a parent myself; all I know is that most of what exists today did not exist when I was a child, and most of what I used back when I was developing also does not exist anymore. That means I'm heavily biased, and I have no idea how you would keep a child in today's world off of those time sinks, because they were not a problem while I was growing up.
IOW the reason I can't recommend this is because I don't think it would have worked for me. It certainly doesn't work for everyone. And whether it's the "wrong choice" or not, it's a risk and one I would recommend against taking.
> By the time they can circumvent your controls, they will likely be ready to make good decisions.
I would say this is true in the majority of cases, yeah. Although, creating a game of bypass-the-security-stuffs would make a good incentive for a child to learn technology...