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9 hi-tech toys and gadgets for kids

There are many parents who worry that their children spend a lot of time online, or on smartphones and tablets. However, learning programming can become one of the many essential skills your child will need in his future life. Instead of taking technology out of their lives, there are smart gadgets that can help children develop programming skills by providing them with a safe environment to explore, play and grow.

In this article, we will show you nine handsets that provide a new form of interaction for the younger generation. Some of them are designed to help your child learn a new programming language, others provide essential problem solving skills, for example. These smart toys are very different from today's adult toys, but if the user is a parent who wants to give their child a breakthrough in technology, these may be the gadgets that can help.

1- Ubooly

Children can learn a lot about responsibility and developing their self-esteem when taking care of pets. However, some children (and adults) may be allergic to dog or cat hair or hair. An alternative is a robotic pet.

Ubooly is a great example. He can tell jokes and stories before bed, even play games and make conversations with his child. Ubooly can also be customized through the app. With Ubooly, the user will have many games, stories, adventures and exercises. It supports iOS and Android platforms. Prices range from $ 29.95 to $ 59.95.

Click here to purchase Ubooly

2- Sphero 2.0

Sphero 2.0 is a ball created by Orbotix that can be controlled by your mobile phone. Nothing special and new so far, except that when it is combined with augmented reality, you can practically replace the ball with any other character, say an imaginary animal genre cartoon, then you can command it. Essentially, this is an attempt to control a sophisticated robotic toy with just your mobile device.

Sphero 2.0 can be used to teach kids math and programming in a way that is much, much more fun than what you might find in the classroom. The ball can move up to 7 feet per second and can be controlled by touching or tilting the mobile device. Price is $ 129.99.

Click here to buy Sphero 2.0

3- MiP

MiP is more about the purpose of fun rather than being a learning toy, but I assure you that it is a Mr. Toy. It is a balancing robot that you can control from your mobile phone. You can control it manually and in real time from your iOS or Android device, and even draw paths for them to move on, dance and run.

Every child would like to have their own robot and MiP is a great start. It is available in black and white. The price is $ 119.00.

4- Cousin

Cousin is a toy that helps your child learn programming even before he learns to read. It consists of three main elements: a robot called Cubetto, an instruction input interface, and instruction blocks that provide instructions on how the robot should move.

The child then places the blocks in the right order to deliver the movement commands for Cubetto to cross the obstacles ahead of him. Even without understanding algorithms, a child between 4 and 7 years old will be able to get a head start on programming logic with this simple setup. The price is from $ 281.83.

5- Nabi 2

Nabi 2 is a tablet made especially for children. It comes protected with food-grade silicone (meaning it's safe to be noisy) the rear window helps protect against accidental drops and collisions, something that happens a lot when kids grab their devices. It has a quick interface, larger than usual icons, parental control mode is even built for learning.

It comes with an integrated learning system known as Fooz Kids University, designed to assist in learning academic background. On top of that, it is ready for reading, art, games and photo editing and you can even take photos and run video calls on the tablet as well. The price is from $ 179.99.

Click here to buy Nabi

6- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids 7.0

While it may not be a good idea to give your child free rein to play with their tablets and other mobile devices, it is hard to expect parents to spend their time taking care of everything their children touch. With the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids 7.0 however, you will be giving your child a safe and conducive learning device in the environment he needs to grow.

It is full of restrictions and parental controls that will define the amount of time the device can be played with, the type of apps they have access to, mode restrictions and more secure passwords when needed. The tablet even comes with front and rear cameras and expandable memory. No more fighting over who gets the next tablet. The price is $ 199.99.

7- Kano

Want your child to learn programming in every way? Kano is a coding kit for kids and adults and is powered by Raspberry Pi, a computer the size of a regular credit card. Out of the box, Kano can be mounted on a work computer minus a monitor (you need to bring your own). Don't worry, it comes with a how-to guide.

Before your child enters the world of programming, it helps him or her understand the key components that make a computer work. This stripped down, lightweight representation of what makes a computer a computer is an excellent starting point. From there, users using Kano can create games and learn code from their open source software. Price is $ 129.00.

8- Bo & Yana

Bo & Yana are a duo - Bo is the explorer while Yana is the storyteller. Together, these clever robots help your child from a young age to learn visual programming and develop basic problem solving skills. Younger users can teach the robot how to play xylophone, deliver packages, play hide and seek and go on treasure hunting adventures.

The visual programming language used by the system was developed by MIT and Google. Older students (12+) are encouraged to use their API to build Android and iOS apps, and share their innovations with others online. So far, more than 10, 000 robots have been pre-ordered and the first batch has been sold. The next batch is available for Christmas 2014. Prices start at $ 59 and $ 228.

9- Amplify

Amplify is a comprehensive learning system that helps lighten the administrative burden on teachers by giving teachers a complete picture of how students are doing in the classroom. Educators can prepare personalized lessons, see what their students are doing on their Amplify tablets, and provide complementary exercises for the weaker students.

Students can receive test and homework reminders and deliver assignments in multimedia form. With online resources in their hands, students can quickly assign assignments, focusing on outsourcing data skills, rather than memorizing facts for exams. Starting at $ 199.