• Health

14 Toys That Will Make Your Kids Smarter

1 minute read
By TIME Staff

littleBits

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 8+) assemble a group of magnetic modules to create circuits that light up, vibrate, and spin.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> The free-form nature of the littleBits—suggested projects range from bubble blowers to “drawer alarms” that catch snooping siblings—is “likely to encourage creativity,” says developmental psychologist Abigail Baird. It’s also a great way to hone engineering skills.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> Kits start at $99; available <a href="http://littlebits.cc/kits" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Goldie Blox and the Spinning Machine

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<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 6+) build “spinning machines”—a.k.a. wheels on pegs, bound with ribbon—to accomplish different missions, dictated in an accompanying storybook about a young builder named Goldie Blox. (Creator Debbie Sterling holds a degree in engineering.)<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> The narrative aspect is especially appealing to girls, who prefer character-driven play. And once they’ve completed a few missions, it’s easier for them to get interested in and excited about mechanical engineering—a field that’s currently dominated by men.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $29.99; available <a href="http://www.goldieblox.com/products/goldieblox-and-the-spinning-machine" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Roominate

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 6+) build their own personal dollhouses—including modular furniture pieces, motors, connectors and switches, which can be reconfigured to create everything from elevator boxes to merry-go-rounds. (Co-creators Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen are both Stanford engineers.)<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> The creativity required to build the houses—and the dramatic play that’s possible once construction is complete—can kickstart girls’ interest in engineering, and learning spatial skills at an early age will make it easier to hone them later in life.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> Starting at $29.99; available <a href="http://www.roominatetoy.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Tetris Link

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> An analogue version of the digital favorite: players (age 6+) drop pieces into a physical grid to match colors, while their competitors try to block them.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> Like regular Tetris, Link helps kids hone learn spatial logic by making them look for patterns and think strategically, all at a fast pace. This version involves in-person competitors, too, which helps them hone social skills.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $31.50; available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Techno-Source-01600-Tetris-Link/dp/B005RBVE8E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1384384145&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=tetris+link" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Tiggly Shapes

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 18 months – 4 years) match physical shapes to virtual ones on an iPad screen, which gives them positive feedback when they choose correctly. (Co-designed by Azadeh Jamalian, a PhD candidate in education at Columbia University's Teachers College.)<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> Understanding the connection between the toy in their hand and the shape on their screen is a huge and important cognitive leap. And although social toys and games are crucial to development, psychologists say it’s also important to learn how to entertain yourself, as Tiggly enables.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price: </strong>$29.99; available <a href="http://tiggly.com/#products" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Creator

<br><p><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 6+) snap globes and pegs together to form models molecules, mansions and more.</p><p><strong>Payoff:</strong> Toys that make kids invent your own creations, rather than ape instructions, are enormously valuable in developing ingenuity, says Allison Gaines Pell, head of New York City’s Blue School, which experiments with new educational technology. The teachers there love toys like Creator, she adds, because they “do not have specific end points but rather are invitations for thought.”</p><p><strong>Price:</strong> $59.00 for a 246-part set; available <a href="http://zometool.com/products/detail/creator-1" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>scbegley

Suspend

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 8+) hang a variety of wires and weights on a central structure, in an attempt to keep it balanced. Think Jenga, but wackier.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff: </strong>Toying with the structure helps kids understand the laws of physics—and how to use them in imaginative ways, says Pell. It’s also a social game, encouraging kids to engage with playmates and parents.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $16.99; available <a href="http://www.melissaanddoug.com/suspend-family-game" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Rainbow Loom

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Users (age 8+) weave colorful bracelets from mini rubber bands on a pegboard, then wear them or gift them to others.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> The intricate weaving improves fine motor skills and encourages creativity in inventing new patterns. Some kids have even started selling their bracelets, which could kickstart an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/business/rainbow-looms-success-from-2000-pounds-of-rubber-bands.html" target="_blank">interest in entrepreneurship</a>.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $19.98; available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Loom-loom100-Twistz-Bandz/dp/B00DMC6KAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1384384110&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=rainbow+loom" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Rody

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Users (age 2-4) mock-ride this rocking horse meets bouncy ball, which comes in 15 colors.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff: </strong>“There’s tons of evidence that physical activity increases blood flow to all areas of the body, including the brain,” says Baird, the developmental psychologist. In other words: bouncing on Rody for half an hour won’t just tire your kid out before naptime—it could also help him retain his ABCs.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $49.95; available <a href="http://www.rodytoy.com/Rody.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

BopIt

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (8+) bop, pull, or twist various moving parts of this gizmo, in response to a series quickening commands and sound effects.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff: </strong>The frenetic nature of the game helps kids learn to think and act quickly—and the fact that "it gets silly really fast" helps keep them engaged and interested, says Baird.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $22.99; available <a href="http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=5FCBD623-19B9-F369-D9D7-E9C7F1F33570:en_US" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

MagnaTiles

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 3+) snap together magnetic shapes to build pyramids, rocket ships and more.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> They’re essentially a sleeker version of basic building blocks, which the American Academy of Pediatrics calls a “true toy, with which children use their imagination fully, [unlike] passive toys that require limited imagination.” Translation: sometimes the simplest toys inspire the most creative thinking.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $49.50 for a 32-piece set; available <a href="http://www.magnatiles.com/products/Magnatiles_Solid_Colors_32_Piece_Set/" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Fisher Price Smart Cycle Racer

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Users (age 3-6) ride a physical stationary bike through virtual arenas (on display via your TV), paddling down rivers or navigating mazes to complete number and letter games.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> It’s a rare toy that encourages physical and educational activity at the same time, and it looks—and feels—like a fun video game.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $79.99; available <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4010479" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Lego Mindstorm EV3

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 10+) assemble and customize a robot, which they can manipulate with remote controls or smartphones.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> The hands-on approach to robots helps kids understand—and appreciate—the technology they play with, and can spur an interest in engineering. The robot-customization also encourages creativity.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> $349.99; available <a href="http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-MINDSTORMS-EV3-31313" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

Imagination Playground

<br><strong>Pitch:</strong> Players (age 2-9) build their own playgrounds using massive blue blocks and tubes that can be mashed up into jungle gyms, obstacle courses and more.<br><br><br><br><strong>Payoff:</strong> The full set of 105 pieces allows up to 20 children to play together at a time, which helps them learn how to concentrate, collaborate and problem-solve. Although it’s not meant for a personal backyard, it can be a huge asset for a school or local children’s museum.<br><br><br><br><strong>Price:</strong> By request; information <a href="http://www.imaginationplayground.com/product.html" target="_blank">here</a>.scbegley

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