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WWith the long school summer vacation just around the corner, you might need a little help keeping the kids entertained. From walkie-talkies and cameras to tablets, robotic toys and fitness trackers, here are some kid-focused tech to keep the little ones (and not-so-little ones) occupied.
Robot toys
Sphero Mini – About 50 pounds
Many tech toys are fads, but a long-time favorite of mine has stood the test of time as modern remote control entertainment. Sphero is a ball that you control using a smartphone or tablet, and it also has games and educational elements with hidden depths.
The Mini Sphero Ball is fun to drive and small enough that excessive indoor excursions won’t result in broken furniture and chipped paintwork. The Sphero Play app has games, while the Sphero Edu app is great at promoting creative learning.
Kids or older kids can learn to program, follow examples, make the robot do all kinds of things, or go deeper and write some code in JavaScript. Higher-end versions such as the £190 BOLT also take education classes to a higher level.
Tablets
7 children of Amazon fire – About 110 pounds
If you’ve never loaned your precious cell phone or iPad to your little ones, Amazon’s practically indestructible kids’ edition tablet might be just the ticket.
The cheapest and smallest Fire 7 has just been updated and comes in a brightly colored case with a pop-up wardrobe. If your kids manage to break it, Amazon will replace it for free under a two-year “worry-free” warranty.
It does all the standard tablet stuff like movies, apps, games, a web browser if you want, and parental controls to lock it down, time limits and age filters. There’s even an option to restrict access to child-safe websites and videos, but it doesn’t have access to the Google Play Store, only the Amazon App Store.
The children’s edition comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ (£3 to £7). A month later), which is a collection of kid-friendly text and audio books, movies, TV shows, and educational apps.
The larger £140 Fire HD 8 and £200 Fire HD 10 are also available in children’s versions, as well, if you want something bigger, or Amazon’s new Kids Pro tablets from £100 with extra features aimed at school-aged children.
Alternatives include Leapfrog’s range of educational tablets, great for younger children, or the Hand Me in or Refurbished iPads (from £150) in hard cases, which can be locked down with some parental controls.
Cameras
VTech Kidizoom Duo 5.0 – About 39 pounds
Before the advent of smartphones, standalone cameras were a way to visually document our lives, and they can still be a bit of creative fun and inspiration for kids.
VTech Kidizoom Duo 5.0 “My first digital camera” is made of clear plastic and has a simple design, which VTech is suitable for children from three to nine years old. It takes reasonably-quality 5MP photos and can shoot from behind for selfies, all displayed on the 2.4in screen.
The optical viewfinder helps you line up shots, which can be changed with fun filters and effects. It also takes video. Its kid-oriented nature may turn off older kids, but every award-winning photographer has to start somewhere before picking up a smartphone.
It requires an SD card for storage and takes four AA batteries at a time and chews them up quickly, so buy some rechargeables to help save money and the planet.
For older kids, rugged and waterproof action cameras can be the way to go, taking video and photos. Budget no-name cameras cost from around £80, but second-hand or refurbished models from the big boys like GoPro and DJI go for around £100 and up on eBay and elsewhere.
Fitness trackers
Garmin Vivofit Junior 3 – from £55
Your child may not need any encouragement to tear up about the place, but if you’ve got a gadget to reward them for their tasks—even a smartwatch-esque gadget—it could be the Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 for winners four and up.
The watch-like form comes in a variety of themes and designs, including one with various Star Wars, Marvel and Disney characters, custom watches to choose from. The user-replaceable coin-cell battery lasts a year, so you don’t have to worry about recharging. Water resistance up to 50 meters means swimming is no problem.
Tracks steps, activity and sleep with push notifications. Your child has mini games to play as they hit their goals, and they can all be managed from a parent’s phone or tablet, so you can keep track of their data. Parents can set goals, contests, reminders, and even activities that can earn virtual coins to trade in with you for rewards.
It’s button-operated instead of a touchscreen, and the backlight doesn’t last long enough to save battery.
If you’re a user of Google’s Fitbit tracker yourself, the company’s Ace 3 (£50) means you can compete on activity, but it needs charging every seven or so days. Other cheaper adult-focused fitness trackers like the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 (around £29) may be better for older kids.
Walkie-talkies
Motorola T42 Talkabout – About 35 pounds for three
Walkie-talkies are a great replacement for phones, allowing kids and older kids to communicate without the fear of a charge or a broken screen.
There are many kid-oriented options with different character themes, but the basics usually work best. Motorola’s T42 Talkabout comes in different colors and multipacks.
They are easy to set up with a combination button and multiple channel selection to get clear. Once you’re gone, push to talk, even over long distances. Their stated distance of 4 km may be a little ambitious, but in urban areas it should be good for at least 500 meters, or much more in the air.
Each takes three AAA batteries, which can provide up to 18 hours of talk time or three to four days of active use, so you may need smaller rechargeable batteries.
They have a belt clip and loop to attach to a carabiner (metal loop) or similar, and are very sturdy and should survive a launch in a class or two.
Nestling’s camouflage walkie-talkies (around £26) are also a popular choice but there are plenty of choices on the high street for under £30.
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