Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries.[1] Symptoms may include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking.[1] Symptoms typically do not begin until years after the injuries.[2] CTE often gets worse over time and can result in dementia.[2] It is unclear if the risk of suicide is altered.[1]

Most documented cases have occurred in athletes involved in contact sports such as boxing, American football, professional wrestling, ice hockey, rugby, and soccer.[1][4] Other risk factors include being in the military, prior domestic violence, and repeated banging of the head.[1] The exact amount of trauma required for the condition to occur is unknown.[1] Definitive diagnosis can only occur at autopsy.[1] Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a form of tauopathy.[1]

There is no specific treatment.[3] Rates of disease have been found to be about 30% among those with a history of multiple head injuries.[1] Population rates, however, are unclear.[2] Research in brain damage as a result of repeated head injuries began in the 1920s, at which time the condition was known as dementia pugilistica or "punch drunk syndrome".[1][3] Changing the rules in some sports has been discussed as a means of prevention.[1]

Just a word of caution on buying Magnatiles - there are lots of knockoff brands out there, not just for these but almost all kids toys these days (duplos and trains included), and some can be dangerous:

> Last December, Jennifer White of Appleton, Wis., received Imden Magnetic Blocks for her 4-year-old son as a gift. Her son was rushed to the hospital after the toy broke and he ingested some magnets, Ms. White said.

> The worst part? The Imden-branded product was listed right next to industry-leading brands like Magformers and Magnatiles, which meet U.S. safety standards.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-shoppers-this-is-how-to-...

I'm 40 this year, I still remember this vividly. I guess marbles would be too edible (ha), we always did this outside (fresh air), we were building things, and I just remember it being magical watching the ball _finally_ go down. And then two balls, and then three...

I'll second Duplo - that was my precursor to Lego, which was my entertainment for YEARS (before I found computers, anyway).

Seconded. My kids are extremely hard on toys (and everything else... house, clothes. Ugh) and Magna-Tiles brand magnatiles have been heavily played with by all three over ~4-5 years so far (since we bought the first set), with only a couple tiles broken. We've bought a total of three fairly big sets at probably $200-250ish total spent so far (I think we're finally done buying them, they can build some huge shit with how many they have now) but it's some of the best money we've spent on toys. I don't know how the cheaper knockoffs are but the name brand ones are good value, even at the price.

[0]: https://www.amazon.com/Battat-Take-Apart-functional-battery-...