Smart gifts for kids: Unique items to consider

Kids these days, quickly grow bored of the conventional toys. When that happens, they turn to your expensive smartphones. Forget damaged mobiles, what’s more concerning is that multiple researchers have outlined negative impacts of handing over smartphones to your kids. For starters, staring at the screen at an early age can be harmful to eyes. Moreover, it is said to cause addiction and other behavioural problems. As a parent, you need to keep your kids engaged with interesting toys so that they don't join the smartphone "revolution" way before the time. To make your quest simple, we have handpicked a few toys that make for a perfect gift for kids:

Hexbug Aquabot (Rs 850)

Kids are fascinated by fish tanks. However, maintaining a fish tank is an expensive affair. Besides, many people prefer not to play with the lives of these tiny aquatic animals. Well, now there is an easy way out of this dilemma. Hexbug sells amazing robotic fishes in India and they are quite affordable too. Take for instance the AquaBot — it costs only Rs 850 and comes with its own plastic fishbowl. The standard model is Angelfish, with an inner pulsating LED glow. It is also equipped with a sensor that allows you to wake the sleeping fish by tapping on the tank.

Monopoly Electronic (Rs 1,700)

Schools provide your kid's knowledge and instil qualities such as discipline and responsibility. However, if you want them to handle all walks of life with ease, you need them to be a little cunning. Nothing trains your kids to take important decisions under pressure like the Monopoly game. In this board game, kids learn the importance of money. They get hold of concepts such as debts and smart investments. More importantly, they learn how to strike a good deal, which is going to be an essential skill for the rest of their lives. In the digital edition, Monopoly comes with electronic cards instead of the cash. As a bonus, kids also get introduced to the plastic currency.

Nerf Elite Rapidstrike (Rs 3,600)

The Nerf blasters is a perfect gift if you want your kids to have some activity. The projectiles are made of spongy material, so they don't hurt at all. Apart from some fun target practice, playing with Nerf blaster also helps kid perform better under stress situation. It drives your kids to compete and work towards outdoing each other with better focus and execution. The Elite Rapidstrike model has good accuracy and refined design. If you think that the price is on the higher side, there are plenty of more affordable options starting from Rs 700.

RC Flying Car (Rs 4,500)

RC (Radio Controlled) toys are amazing. But, what is your kid going to like more? An RC car or an RC helicopter?  The SY X25-1 solves that issue. It is a car that can get airborne too. You just can't go wrong with this gift. As a bonus, the car and quadcopter hybrid is also equipped with a 2MP camera. So, kids understand the rudimentary idea behind the reconnaissance. More importantly, it is a well-documented fact that playing with RC toys improves a kid's hand-eye coordination.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site. Ajinkya Bhoir is a tech aficionado. Though he mostly writes about gadgets, he prefers things that guzzle gasoline more than those running on lithium-ion batteries. He is a content guy at Compareraja.in