What gift worked for your child well?

My nephew (PRESCHOOL1) loves: rubber boots, small friction-powered cars (unbreakable, no batteries, still uses them a year later), lego, giant jenga, colouring books. The more expensive toys are quickly ignored. He could get addicted to the games he plays (supervised) on Granny's tablet, so his time with those is limited.

General advice, but particularly for HN ;-): Everyone likes to exaggerate how smart their kid is. Please don't get them something beyond their grasp just to boost your own ego. Everyone ends up disappointed and the kid might think that $thing is boring, forever. If you're willing to sit with them and really help them with it that's different but even if you are, don't make it so hard that it's a chore.

My three year old loves playing with a marble race puzzle inside a plastic ball, called a Perplexus. He can play with it for hours on end.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (SCHOOL1+). Bought it for my then 8 year old and he still reads it regularly. Great for developing a sense of humor and learning to not take this world so seriously.

I'd love responses to this! I've got a 4, 2, and another on the way myself.

I've been noodling on a toy idea as well since I haven't seen it in the market yet (there are close toys though) - would love to see an actual building set where there are big holes in standard distances in blocks and other shapes that can be "screwed" together with an electric driver (toy). Starting with basic blocks that represent a 2x4, literally anything can be built from there.

SCHOOL2 (~11-14) Found a used keyboard that had voice / sound recording option built in - can quickly record a sound and play it with all the keys. Battery powered. This got used, then paused, then picked up again, and combined youtube / similar with offline use (learning some songs on occasion).. has been used during discord chats.. quite surprised (and very glad) at the amount of use.

after age 9 or so (past 7 years or so).. every single toy I've seen in every catalogue of toys.. a waste of money. even if it's something they like, it will be opened then cast to the side while attention is focused on phone / computer (that's where to fun games are, and friends to talk with are)

yugioh cards have been a thing - but that is mainly because a group formed at the school.. this could be pokemon or similar... DnD gained some traction for a bit, but fades if group meetups are not consistent from my experience.

2 preschool kids here. The two things that get played with over and over again are the play kitchen and all the food items etc that go in it, and the dress ups. Number one toy over the lst few years has been a Melissa and Doug wooden ice cream set - https://melissaanddoug.co.nz/products/melissa-and-doug-ice-c...

It is a bit more expensive but they use that all the time. And every kid that comes here spends time playing with that thing.

SCHOOL1 (boy now 7, girl now nearly 9 )

Lego, gets used all the time. Sets get built properly kept and played with for a while then go into the general lego pool for creative play

Physical books (Beastquest series for the boy, Roald Dahl, Harry Potter)

Android Tablets, they've had for a year and held up well, used regularly, too regularly. They don't have any other technology and use maybe 1hr a day. I was programming my vic 20 at 6/7 and taking apart electronics.

Craft stuff, paper glue, coloured pencils, paints etc gets used every day

Old skool board games: Monopoly, Draughts, Chess, Snakes and Ladders get used a lot.

Earlier this year I got a chess board for my 6-year-old. He took to chess with enthusiasm and plays many games a week with me and any other adult whom he can convince to play. Definitely one of the best things I’ve bought for him.

Lego continues to be a favorite in our house. Duplo for 2-4, and Lego for 3+.

Magna-tiles are a big hit in our house. My kids and every kid we have over likes them. Better than legoes because they're more fragile, so they don't get locked up into projects for months.

Some favorites from my two over the past couple years:

- Magna Tiles (TODDLER, PRESCHOOL1)

- Marble Maze (PRESCHOOL1)

- Lego Duplo (everyone loves these!)

- Stomp rocket (TODDLER, PRESCHOOL1)

- Books (PRESCHOOL2): Ivy & Bean, Zoey and Sassafras, but anything really depending on the kid

A leatherman multi-tool at age five.

But it's the perfect gift for anyone at any age.

PRESCHOOL2 (~5-6): Hubelino set SCHOOL1 (~7-10): Nintendo switch or Masters of Universe action figures (not from recent Netflix but original one)

If your child is (~7-10) years old, laptop is the best gift for him/her. + programming course for children.

Road trips. Just me and the kids, no mom.