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Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

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Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#21

Post by stevenicr »

SCHOOL2 (~11-14) Found a used keyboard that had voice / sound recording option built in - can quickly record a sound and play it with all the keys. Battery powered. This got used, then paused, then picked up again, and combined youtube / similar with offline use (learning some songs on occasion).. has been used during discord chats.. quite surprised (and very glad) at the amount of use.

after age 9 or so (past 7 years or so).. every single toy I've seen in every catalogue of toys.. a waste of money. even if it's something they like, it will be opened then cast to the side while attention is focused on phone / computer (that's where to fun games are, and friends to talk with are)

yugioh cards have been a thing - but that is mainly because a group formed at the school.. this could be pokemon or similar... DnD gained some traction for a bit, but fades if group meetups are not consistent from my experience.

Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#22

Post by giantg2 »

raffraffraff wrote: post #14

My 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…

Generally agree, but friction cars do break.

Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#23

Post by giantg2 »

dr_kiszonka wrote: post #15
brudgers wrote: post #10

A 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.

Most schools consider unapproved screwdrivers or other tools to be weapons these days.

Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#24

Post by brudgers »

dr_kiszonka wrote: post #15
brudgers wrote: post #10

A 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.

No idea, it was years ago.

I parented my way through it, and it all worked out fine.

Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#26

Post by ElCapitanMarkla »

2 preschool kids here. The two things that get played with over and over again are the play kitchen and all the food items etc that go in it, and the dress ups. Number one toy over the lst few years has been a Melissa and Doug wooden ice cream set - https://melissaanddoug.co.nz/products/melissa-and-doug-ice-c...

It is a bit more expensive but they use that all the time. And every kid that comes here spends time playing with that thing.

Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#27

Post by moooo99 »

zsolt_terek wrote: post #17
KeithBrink wrote: post #6

My 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 ;-)

> I also got a little bit addicted to it recently ;-)

I can relate to this! For my 22nd birthday my parents to me one of these because I constantly tried to solve my cousins. Trying to solve the whole thing is easily one of the most addictive yet infuriating non-digital toys I have ever played with. Still who’s using it more than a year later!

Re: Ask HN: What gift worked for your child well?

#28

Post by thorin »

SCHOOL1 (boy now 7, girl now nearly 9 )

Lego, gets used all the time. Sets get built properly kept and played with for a while then go into the general lego pool for creative play

Physical books (Beastquest series for the boy, Roald Dahl, Harry Potter)

Android Tablets, they've had for a year and held up well, used regularly, too regularly. They don't have any other technology and use maybe 1hr a day. I was programming my vic 20 at 6/7 and taking apart electronics.

Craft stuff, paper glue, coloured pencils, paints etc gets used every day

Old skool board games: Monopoly, Draughts, Chess, Snakes and Ladders get used a lot.

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