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11 Tech Gifts For Kids

The Gadget Gifts Sure To Keep Your Kids Occupied
Jennifer Barton
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When it comes to buying gifts for the kids, tech toys are always a good bet.

The right gadget gift can provide hours of entertainment for your little ones, and can often be fun for adults as well (and more inspiring than those ice skating Elsa and Anna figures).

What's more, the latest crop of toys is designed to get kids thinking outside of the box, combining tangible play with tablets or nurturing analytical and programming skills with coding kits.

"We've seen technology used in toys for a while now, but what we're witnessing is a new generation of toys that teach about technology," says Filippo Yacob, managing director at Primo, which makes the interactive Cubetto Play Set, a tangible programming interface for children aged 3-7.

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"Toys have traditionally been closed boxes where the only way to play is the one imposed by the producer. This is changing with open-sourced toys that offer new play paradigms when the toys are opened.

"To understand and create with technology means having the ability to take part in creating our own future. With open toys that facilitate hacking and exploration, we can activate creativity and curiosity in children that normally don't have the urge to go beyond what they are told they can do with a given product," says Yacob.

From emotive dolls to the newest active video gaming systems, click through the slideshow below for 11 cool tech gifts for kids...

11 Tech Gifts For Kids
Kano(01 of11)
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First they build and code this Raspberry Pi model computer, then they play with it. Genius.Kano make your own computer, suitable from age 6, $149.99, Kano (credit:Kano)
Osmo(02 of11)
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Merging tangible and digital play, Osmo is a gaming accessory for the iPad that includes three games to start with: Tangram, a puzzle game where you arrange your pieces into complementary on-screen shapes, Newton, an inventive game where you guide falling on-screen objects into place and Words, which encourages spell-offs with friends and family to see who can spell the on-screen word first.Osmo, suitable from age 6, $79.99 (credit:Osmo)
LeapTV(03 of11)
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Looking for a tech toy that's educational and gets kids moving? Leap TV will have them dancing, jumping and karate-punching their hearts out. With over 100+ educator-approved games to choose from, rainy day boredom is a thing of the past...Leap TV, suitable for ages 3-8, £119.99, LeapFrog (credit:LeapFrog)
VTech Kiddizoom Smart Watch (04 of11)
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In addition to analogue/digital faces, an alarm and a stopwatch and timer, this chunky watch has a built-in camera for photos and videos, voice recording and editing and a selection of games to occupy your little one.Kiddizoom Smart Watch, suitable from age 5, £50, Hamleys (credit:Hamleys)
Little Learning Phone(05 of11)
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While all parents know that no play phone is as enticing as the real thing, this realistic-looking design may just do the trick. With a touch screen and games about animals, numbers and colours, it makes a handy on-the-go learning toy.Little Learning Phone, suitable from age 1, £10, Early Learning Centre (credit:ELC)
My Friend Cayla(06 of11)
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If your daughter loves to converse with her dolls, imagine her thrill at having a doll respond to her. Internet-connected Cayla uses speech recognition software and Google Translate technology to answer questions and reveal her own likes and dislikes.My Friend Cayla, suitable from age 4 (requires 3AA batteries, not included), £60, Hamleys (credit:Hamleys)
Cubetto (07 of11)
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Coding for toddlers? You betcha. The Cubetto play set includes a set of instruction blocks, a wooden robot called Cubetto and a tangible interface board. Children can insert blocks inside the tangible interface board in a specific order to create a program (a sequence of instructions) which the robot executes, teaching them simple algorithms and programming logic.Cubetto play set, suitable from ages 3-7, £170, Primo (credit:Primo )
Teksta T-Rex(08 of11)
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This interactive pet robot responds to voice commands and hand gestures, and will roar, cry and snap depending on his mood. He also loves to crunch and munch his toy bone.Teksta T-Rex, suitable from age 4, £60, Hamleys (credit:Hamleys)
Xeno (09 of11)
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With snot dripping from his nose and the ability to burp, Xeno wins points for grossness. This interactive doll can display over 10 real emotions, from hunger to happiness, and likes to dance, eat and have his toes tickled.Xeno the cheeky interactive monster, suitable from age 5, £80, Hamleys (credit:Hamleys)
Barbie Colour Change Bag(10 of11)
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Any parent with a young girl in the house knows that A) handbags are everything and B) one is never enough. Happily, Barbie's colour-change light-up bag magically turns pink, blue, yellow, red and green with the press of a button. Could this mean the end of daily outfit drama?Barbie Colour Change bag, suitable from age 3, £30, Hamleys (credit:Hamleys)
VTech Innotab Max(11 of11)
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If your tablet screen's been cracked one too many times by the kids, maybe it's time to get them a tablet of their own. The Innotab Max runs on an Android operating system and includes a 7" touchscreen, microphone, 2 megapixel camera for photos and videos, as well as 200 Android educational games to keep little fingers occupied (and give you the chance to have a morning lie-in).Innotab Max, suitable from age 3, £109.99, VTech (credit:VTech)
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