5 Sweet Teched-Out Toys for Kids
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Plunk a smartphone into the goggles of Hasbro’s new helmet and your tyke assumes the identity of Iron Man. The accompanying plastic hand strap transforms into Tony Stark’s gauntlet in the game, firing bursts of energy, parrying attacks, and blasting Thanos’ drones as they fly around the room (or yard) in augmented reality. Take out the phone and it doubles as a Halloween costume.
These palm-sized light-up pods connect wirelessly to an app that transforms them into interactive outdoor game pieces. Kids can race to see who can tap all of them first, or compete to see who can finish an obstacle course without dropping one. Whatever they play, they’ll be exhausted when it’s time to go back inside.
There are plenty of toys to help preschool-age kids learn their ABCs, but few do it without a screen or a book. The Playbits’ wand lights up and instructs children to tap the right chips to answer questions and complete exercises. When it’s time for recess, the chips function as musical instruments. (Earplugs not included.)
This compact drone is controlled not just by an app but also by gestures. A wave of your young pilot’s hand can make the Mavic Air hover, follow them around, or even snap an epic video selfie. An onboard collision-avoidance system makes the quadcopter difficult to crash, but your kid will figure out how to do it anyway.
Turn cleaning teeth into an AR game with this smart toothbrush. Prop your phone against the bathroom mirror, fire up the selfie camera, and your child’s vigorous scrubbing becomes the sole weapon able to defeat a tooth-decay-happy goblin. Silly? Yes. But if it gets them to brush more, perhaps it is magic. Price TBD
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