{"id":6404,"date":"2011-12-06T14:52:24","date_gmt":"2011-12-06T20:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=6404"},"modified":"2011-12-09T15:14:43","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T21:14:43","slug":"techcitement-holiday-gift-guide-tech-for-the-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/hardware\/techcitement-holiday-gift-guide-tech-for-the-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Techcitement Holiday Gift Guide: Tech For The Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

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My kids, ages 1, 3, and 5, are all tech-obsessed. Whether it’s using our cell phones, computers, or the TiVo, it’s hard to keep their hands off of tech geared for adults. We make a point of finding tech for the kids at their level, and there’s plenty to choose from. There’s also a lot of beeping, flashing, and mind-numbing stuff on the market. I sorted through it so you won’t have to and found three pages of the best of the best, covering educational gifts, computers and software, music, robotics, and apps:<\/p>\n

Educational
\n<\/strong>\"\"<\/a>Younger kids want to get in on computer time too. Teacher’s Pet Pre Kindergarten<\/a>\u00a0bundles five games for young kids that cover reading, time and geography, science, and critical-thinking skills. From $13 for PC only.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>In this puzzle game from Nintendo, Professor Layton<\/a> and his apprentice have to solve a murder. I’ve played a few of the puzzles and found them interesting and challenging. Rated E for everyone, but younger kids may need adult help to solve some puzzles. Costs $31.50, Nintendo DS only.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Kids of all ages enjoy taking pictures. Older kids will enjoy editing their photos with Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 10<\/a>. Pick up a manual<\/a>\u00a0and read through it to help your child learn the software, and suddenly tech-time equals quality-time. Costs $55 for Mac or PC and $30 for the manual. Also, will someone please explain to me how Amazon sells Adobe’s software for less than it’s listed at in Adobe’s own store?<\/p>\n

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Computers and software<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>Today’s kids use all the technology that we do. So, why not keep your hardware safe? The Kids Rugged Notebook<\/a>\u00a0is reinforced and water-resistant to allow it to handle whatever your kids throw at it. Or throw it in. The Notebook comes with a 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, 8X DVDRW, 10.1\u201d color touchscreen LCD (1024×600), WiFi, 1.MP camera, and Windows 7 for $638. Upgrades and other options available.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Lego Harry Potter: Years 5 — 7 is a great choice for kids who enjoy Harry Potter and want in on the action. The game features puzzles, magic, and the chance to explore favorite areas from the books in the battle against Voldemort. Available on Wii<\/a>, PlayStation 3, Xbox360, Nintendo DS, Windows, and Nintendo 3DS\u00a0from $30-$50.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Our kids love to dance, and with Just Dance Kids 2, I know that they’re getting exercise even on the rainiest days. Songs are age-appropriate, the dances are geared towards a wide range of skill levels, and your kids will learn to follow choreography. But most importantly, they’ll have fun doing it. Costs $29.99 on the Wii<\/a>, $26 on Xbox360<\/a>, $29 on Playstation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Music
\n<\/strong>\"\"<\/a>My kids have no idea why I want this, but I’ve wanted one ever since I first saw Big<\/em> at the drive-in as a kid. This 100\u201d floor keyboard<\/a> starts at $80 on Amazon. Appropriate for kids of all ages.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>This guitar\/piano\/drum<\/a>\u00a0has the all-important power switch. Recommended for young kids, it plays prerecorded songs and allows your child to record and playback original compositions. Starting at $20 on Amazon.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>The Memorex MKS-SS1 Karaoke System<\/a>\u00a0has a line-in that allows you to sing along with your own music through the built-in speakers in the base. Or plug in an instrument. One microphone is provided, but there’s an input for a second microphone as well. If your child likes to perform, this is a great system to start on. Costs $60 on Amazon.<\/p>\n

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Robotics<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>For kids interested in robotics, the\u00a0OWI Robotic Arm Edge<\/a> allows you to build your own robot arm and then have it perform various functions at your command. Starts at $38 on Amazon. Pick up the OWI USB Interface<\/a>\u00a0to program the arm from a PC, starting at $27.<\/p>\n

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Your budding engineer will love\u00a0Eleno’s Snap Circuits Extreme<\/a>. With a solar cell, variable capacitor, and instructions to build an AM radio and lie detector, some adults may enjoy this as well. From $78 at Amazon.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>It’s like Transformers and Al Gore got together to make this solar-powered transforming robot<\/a>. Recommended for ages 10 and up, this is the kind of toy parents may buy for the kids, then play with themselves. $20 at Edmund Scientific.
\n[yframe url=’http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gE6cmkCYiYM&feature=player_embedded’]<\/p>\n

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Apps<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>Cut The Rope<\/a>\u00a0is a puzzle game that requires kids to use physics know-how to get the candy to Om Nom, the amphibian. Costs $0.99 in iTunes and Android market, appropriate for any kid who has fine motor control .i.e. can play Angry Birds.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>My Playhome<\/a>\u00a0lets kids explore a house and lay at their leisure. The developer — admittedly, an old friend of mine — worked with Douglas Adams on h2g2.com. The app has also proven helpful as an education tool for special needs kids. Costs $2.99 in iTunes, ages 3 – 10.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Older kids will enjoy Dropwords<\/a>, reminiscent of Boggle and Bejeweled. As your kids creates words, the letters disappear and new ones drop in. Build your kids’ vocabulary and spelling skills. Free in the Android market; Dropwords Pro $0.99.<\/p>\n

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With only gift over $100, this gift guide lets you buy something for every gadget-loving kid on your list without going over budget. Happy holidays to you and yours, and remember — if you buy tech for your kids, you can totally play with it when they’re sleeping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My kids, ages 1, 3, and 5, are all tech-obsessed. Whether it’s using our cell phones, computers, or the TiVo, it’s hard to keep their hands off of tech geared for adults. We make a point of finding tech for the kids at their level, and there’s plenty to choose from. There’s also a lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":6423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[905,45,31,46,908,38,47,40],"tags":[1787,1789,1790,594,1705,1783,1784,1788,5228,1782,1781,1780,1785,1786,1779,816,1330,5226],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6404"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6568,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6404\/revisions\/6568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}