kids' toys

Of all the STEM toys out there for kids these days, LEGOs are my hands-down favorite. Except when I step on them, that is. Over the years, we've seen so many companies incorporate them in their learning toys and no surprise, considering …

Just when you were about to clothe you Pokémon Go lover in padded suits and a helmet, Nintendo launches Pokémon Go Plus , a handy wearable that lets PG lovers play without their phone. The small Bluetooth-enabled device can be worn on a …

When it's time to unplug the devices and hit the pool, lake, or ocean to cool off, I know my kids love stretching out and relaxing on a comfy pool float or raft while they talk to their friends. And, whoa, they would go nuts for any of t…

The folks at Mattel have been pretty busy this year, with a new girl power rebranding campaign, a line of curvy Barbies launched with much fanfare, and even a Misty Copeland Barbie that flew off the shelves. Well now, a mere 24 years aft…

With three kids ranging from preschooler to tween, time management is always an issue for us. Especially when it comes to trying to cajole my youngest to adhere to the demands of the older siblings' hectic schedules. (Sadly, trying to te…

I'm convinced the reason my kids keep going back to play Osmo , one of our favorite educational tools for kids, is its brilliant mashup of digital elements and tangible controls they can actually touch and move around on the table. If yo…

Leave it to Firefly to come up with a new, high-tech toothbrush that may get even your most reluctant dental hygiene practitioners begging to brush "just one more time." The new Firefly Darth Vader Lightsaber Light-Up Toothbrush is just …

Coding is certainly one of the new buzzwords in education, along with STEM, STEAM, and now, believe it or not, STREAM. And while a lot of learn-to-code apps toys, and games, like Robot School, Dash Robot, and Code Master , are targeted p…

If your kids have a need for speed, and you have a need for keeping them safe, you have check out Actev Motors' new Arrow Smart-Kart , one of the coolest ride-on toys I had the joy of seeing at NYC's Toy Fair earlier this year. This high…

Even though my kids don't have cell phones yet, they love texting their grandparents and especially love sending them audio messages (which iOS 8 made very easy to do). Sure, grabbing my phone and sending a sweet I scored a goal at my so…

We went crazy for the incredibly cool 3Doodler 3D-printing pen when we first saw it back in 2013, but it wasn't really a toy that our younger kids could safely use on their own. Until now. With the upcoming launch of 3Doodler Start , our…

Roses are red, violets are blue, but neither will put a smile on your Star Wars-loving valentine's face like one of these quirky Star Wars Valentines bouquets from our favorite geeky shop, Think Geek. Just imagine handing your beloved a …

When I heard that View-Master had updated and gone full Virtual Reality, I was intrigued. Had the toy I'd grown up peering through to see tiny photos of animals in the wild really gone high-tech? All for under $30 -- or even under $25 on…

As we approach the final week of Christmas shopping, I plan spend a few minutes to make sure that I'm buying toys and games that will feed my kids' brains as much as their need for play. And while "math toys" has never appeared on any of…

We love toys for kids that are educational too, which is why we're so happy to share of these some favorite cool STEM toys and gifts for kids as the next installment in our 2015 Holiday Tech Gift Guide series. And we’re extra happy to sh…

We're seeing drones at the top of a lot of tween and teen holiday wish lists this year. And really, we're not surprised. It's pretty amazing what you can do with these super cool gadgets. Let's just say these are not the remote control p…

Since we first featured the wooden iPhone baby teethers at 3Princesses Store on Etsy a few years ago (has it really been that long?), they've added a whole slew of cool geeky baby gifts that just so happen to be super affordable too. As …

One thing we've always loved about littleBits' magnetic electronic building blocks is that kids can snap them together in any way they want, while learning about circuitry and electronics in an open-ended and fun way. More ambitious kids…

While things we find on Kickstarter aren't usually available in the immediate future, if you've already got holiday shopping on the brain (eek!) it's worth taking a look at Cannybots , a Kickstarter campaign for a very cool new tech toy …

With four kids in the house ranging in age from five up to 11, it's no small feat to find a tech toy that they can all play with, especially when it's something educational. Darn those age limits. But as I recently learned, that's not th…

It's hard to believe this was my first ever year attending the Maker Faire in NYC, but yep. It's true. And now consider me an annual attendee. Thanks to our sponsor Sprout by HP who hooked me up with tickets (thank you thank you thank yo…

Last year we fell in love with the Anki Drive app-controlled racers, calling it one of our top tech toys of 2014 . Earlier this year at Toy Fair, we got a look (and a very fun if brief test drive) of the brand new Anki OVERDRIVE and as o…

Here I was, thinking I was so excited to have my kids back in school, but I totally forgot one thing: homework. Drilling your kids on their math facts is the most fun ever, right? Ugh. Well, if you have the amazingly inventive Osmo for i…

We're as geeked out about Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens as anyone else, but let's all step back for a minute and take a moment of reflection for today's #ForceFriday national day that's really a giant unboxing and marketing event desi…