Kids

Japanese musician and designer Yuri Suzuki has partnered with Sweden's Teenage Engineering for an update to a dinky little lo-fi vinyl record cutter and playback machine originally launched in 2020 in collaboration with Gakken.

Scientists have criticized new research linking excessive smartphone to early puberty onset. The research is unpublished and was promoted through a press release packed with wild speculation, offering a perfect case study in bad science communication.

Back in 2018 we brought news of a feature-rich synthesizer for kids of all ages called the Blipblox. With the NAMM 2022 expo just around the corner, Playtime Engineering has now added two new fun-packed music makers to its easy play product lineup.

Sweden's Cake has added three new models to its two-wheeler mobility lineup, all of which are aimed at younger riders. The Kids Evolution program features the Ready balance bike, the Steady mountain bike and the Go off-road electric motorcycle.

Robots are invading our homes more and more, but (so far at least) their intentions seem nice. Enabot’s latest home robot Ebo looks to give video calls a bit more mobility, letting remote users drop in, roam around and chat.

Indian is taking on Harley in a new market segment: mini electric motorcycles for kids. The new eFTR Jr looks a fair bit like Indian's famous flat trackers, and packs dual suspension, 15-mph (24-km/h) top speeds and over an hour's riding time.

A couple of years ago, Playtime Engineering launched a colorful portable synthesizer on Indiegogo, and now the startup has reworked the hardware and software, and toned down the cuteness, for the Blipblox After Dark.

Ah, balance bikes. An early introduction to cycling that can give a kid a bit of confidence on two wheels before introducing the complication of pedals. Mondraker has stuck a 250-W motor on one, accidentally inventing the motorcycle.

3Doodler has launched a 3D printing pen specifically designed for pre-schoolers and above. The 3D Build & Play package comes with a low-heat drawing device, character and accessory molds and colorful backdrops to encourage learning through play.

New research suggests smartphones, screen-time, and social media have not negatively affected kids’ social skills, and modern concerns over the impact of screen-time recalls past “moral panics” over the effect of new technology on children.

Building a Scalextric track, slotting in competing cars and testing your racing skills against friends or family is enormous fun. Among the new cars due for release in 2020 are movie and TV favorites such as the DeLorean from Back to the Future.

Loog Guitars has kicked off a crowdfunding campaign to fund three learning guitars for kids with a built-in amp and speaker.