Childsplay

Imagine if you could accompany all those cool new moves you've just learned from Mortal Combat or reruns of Bruce Lee's finest celluloid moments with some genuine sound effects ... it would be like actually being in the game or movie. With a Dragon Grip in your Fist of Fury, that's precisely what's on offer. The joystick-like device is pre-loaded with fighting sounds inspired by the cheesy-but-classic kung fu movies of the 1970s like Enter the Dragon, that had all the kids in our neighborhood running around barefoot and shirtless with red lipstick wounds painted across their chests. Read More

Remember paper? It's that thin thing you used to scribble your shopping list on before everything was stored in zeros and ones. Well, it looks like paper is making a comeback … and thanks to the rise of the Internet of Things, it's now Wi-Fi enabled. ReaDIYmate is a recent Kickstarter-funded project, which enables users to create paper-based internet companions that respond to things happening in their digital life. Read More

As any parent knows, there are only so many times you can listen to your child's favorite song on repeat before you want to pull your hair out and stuff it in your ears ... and listening to The Wheels on the Bus on your highly specced hi-fi can feel like overkill, can't it? Well the hörbert – a wooden MP3 player aimed at kids – promises to give you your stereo back. Read More

Kids love creating art almost as much as they love getting out on their bikes, but with this approach choosing what to do doesn't have to be an either/or decision. The Chalktrail is an add-on which turns any bike or scooter into an artistic tool by holding a stick of chalk which is pressed to the ground behind you as you ride, leaving a colorful trail showing where you've been. Read More

We bet you can remember your first bike. We also bet it looked nothing like the Spherovelo - a sphere-based ride-on for children as young as one year old. Makers Early Rider, from Henley-on-Thames, UK, say the Spherovelo has been designed to improve your little one's balance and motor skills, making it the perfect pre-cursor to a "normal" balance bike. Read More

... or more accurately, the company will allow you to put a 3D-printed model of your head on one. All you have to do is send in some snapshots. Read More

At one time or another, probably just about every little boy has dreamed of having his own version of C-3PO or Robby the Robot. Well, while affordable close-to-human-sized toy robots are still not a reality, TJ* at least offers up the most expressive part of one – the head. About three-fifths the size of an actual adult human head, TJ* incorporates three user-controlled micro servos, that move its eyeballs up and down, left and right, and that open and close its mouth. Some interesting extra features are also in the works. Read More

If you ever had more than one type of toy for building things as a child (LEGO, Tinkertoys, Duplo, etc.), odds are you tried to mix the sets together at some point with creative, though disastrous, results. Apparently the folks at F.A.T. Lab and Sy-Lab had the same experience and have created the Free Universal Construction Kit to solve this childhood dilemma. By downloading free designs and using a 3D printer, you could have your very own pieces to connect ten different brands of building toys to each other and construct even more elaborate contraptions and structures. Read More

Although it was released in the UK last year, American consumers can now also get their mitts on the Smart Baby Monitor. Made by French company Withings, the monitor allows parents to check on their little ‘uns via their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The word “smart” in its name refers to the fact that it contains not only a camera, but also sensors that detect sound, movement, temperature and humidity levels. So in other words, it’s a smart baby monitor, and not a monitor that’s designed specifically for use with smart babies – as far as we know, it’s compatible with babies of any level of intelligence. Read More