7 ms·
Gift for a 10 year old
I'm after ideas for a birthday gift for my 10 year old son. He has an interest in technology, I've tried to teach him a little programing of late, and he is kind of interested. Anyway open to any ideas, not just tech ones.
- Mustafabei 13y agoHow about that: http://www.amazon.com/SmartLab-Toys-ReCon-Programmable-Rover/dp/1603800859 http://www.amazon.com/SmartLab-Toys-ReCon-Programmable-Rover... Seemed interesting to me.
- duiker101 13y agoA microscope. God I loved my first microscope.
- vincie 13y agoThis is what I am going to buy my 4-yr old son when he turns 5. The look of wonder in his eyes, the thoughts that must be buzzing in his head when I explain things he cannot see. Buy him a microscope. But also get him something he can socialize with - like a rugby ball or cricket bat, whatever for whatever sport you play in your area.
- duiker101 13y agoI totally agree with the addition of a social element!
- tzs 13y agoA microscope AND a telescope.
- meerita 13y agoI think this is a good one. I think also a spyglass could be totally awesome and portable.
- chrsstrm 13y agoGet him an awesome mountain bike or a BB gun to terrorize the neighborhood cats. He's got about 4 years left before life starts to get real serious, so let him be a kid. No one wants to spend all day sitting in front of a monitor, especially a 10 year old. EDIT: Apparently it needs to be stated clearly that despite my tongue in cheek comment, I don't actually condone the firing of projectiles at small feline animals, be they feral or domestic. It should also be noted that I do not condone the "arming" of minors with the intent of allowing them to commit acts of violence on animals, other persons, or even plants for that matter. From here on out, if asked for gift ideas for a child, I'll simply ask a child what they prefer and relay their answer, unless of course they suggest an item not on an "approved" list.
- danielrmay 13y agoWhy can't you be a kid whilst still enjoying technology? You make out as if the gifts outlined here (e.g. Arduino, Lego Technic, etc) are going to strip him of his childhood. I'd argue they'd improve creativity and give a sense of accomplishment ("hey, I made that!!").
- calibraxis 13y agoNo need to buy children toys which represent killing devices, and definitely no teaching children to get off on "terrorist" sadism on weaker people/animals. In a more civilized society, that would be more commonly considered child abuse, not to mention the costs others will be more likely to bear from the grown child's actions. As they say, this is why we can't have nice things...
- unimpressive 13y agoOkay you got me. Besides the use of the word terrorism, I really can't tell if this is satire or serious. EDIT: And yes, encouraging kids to shoot at peoples cats is a terrible idea. In all likelihood those cats are a part of some other kids life.
- Casseres 13y agoI wonder what happened to the tens of millions of kids that used to play Cowboys and Indians or Cops and Robbers... Today, instead of running around outside getting exercise and learning social interaction, they're all in their rooms on the Internet or game console. I think an awesome mountain bike or a BB gun is exactly what kids need nowadays.
- abhishekdesai 13y agoWell you can give him collection of memories beautifully stored and organized on http://www.joognu.com http://www.joognu.com It's one of the best gifts you can ever give it to your child. Disclaimer: I am the product manager and part owner.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- abhishekdesai 13y agoDear HN Community: I really could not understand what is bad in this suggestion of mine. Just because I put my startup as a suggestion does not make it bad. Who would not love to cherish old memories with parents? And the author is also open to all ideas not just the tech ones.
- unimpressive 13y agoIt's a shameless plug, for one thing.
- abhishekdesai 13y agoWhat if I would not have put a disclaimer? Will you still call it that?
- unimpressive 13y agoIt's a shameless plug, disclosure of the conflict of interest or not.
- abhishekdesai 13y agoWith all due respect I disagree. What if this link would have been shared by a parent who uses Joognu.com? Would you still call it a shameless plug? Just because I put up a disclaimer, you knew we are part of this else how would you have known? If I wouldn't have put the disclaimer then it would have been the shameless plug.
- abhishekdesai 13y agoOne more idea: May be it is little early but you can give this a thought. Gift him a Designer Signature from http://www.signinstyle.com http://www.signinstyle.com So that he can start doing it from now before the current signature (if he has any) becomes official at too many places. Disclaimer: I am the co-founder of Sign in Style.
- duiker101 13y agoMan, you should choose better your target audience...
- abhishekdesai 13y agoWell that's why I mentioned that it may be too early and also posted a disclaimer. But the idea isn't that bad, is it?
- duiker101 13y agoNo it is not, I have to admit it, because my signature is the worst that could ever be, but I think that is related to the fact that my calligraphy is horrible. So, wouldn't it be funny if someone has a crappy calligraphy and a great signature? are you even sure that it's possible? not saying that you didn't your research or anything, just throwing questions. Still, point being, when I was 10 having as a present a designer signature would have disappointed me greatly.
- abhishekdesai 13y agoI agree with your concerns about calligraphy and all. But with practice I am pretty sure you also can have a nice signature. "I was 10 having as a present a designer signature would have disappointed me greatly." - with all due respect, it is subjective. PS: Right now I am really disappointed that my comments are getting negative ratings. Sorry if I have offended the HN community but shameless marketing was never my intention.
- meerita 13y agoI would incentive the kids to make sport instead of coding.
- duiker101 13y agoWhy not both? It is true that maybe 10 years it's a bit early for serious coding, but I don't see anything wrong with it, when my time came, I was like 16 and I always practised sport(still do) had time to code and for friends.
- meerita 13y agoIt's true and but I think both things can have a negative side, one it can be, coding seen as a homework, something the kid do every day, exercises, plus, the school I think they will not be motivated at all. The second is the kid loves coding, being at home in the computer and avoid sports. I think you can try to incentive both, but one will eventually take out the other. Also, I think sports in general are more important in that age than anything else. A healthy body when is growing could be a life changing later, you can train yourself into coding at any age and eventually, master it, but a good body could give you access to other professions that require a fit body. I couldn't apply for air force because of my bad fit, as an example and I think the kid, at his age, still doesn't know what to do, better to teach him something cool as coding when he's about to exit is growing period and know more or less what he wants to do for a living (17-18).
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- hemmer 13y agoPossibly a raspberry pi (with camera)? A fun project might be to make a bird house webcam or similar.
- retrogradeorbit 13y agoTechnical Lego. Edit: Seems it's called 'Lego Technic'. I just remember calling it technical lego as a kid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Technic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Technic
- MerreM 13y agoMindstorms! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms
- timbofield 13y agoThanks, yep I ended up going with this. Got a pretty sweet set ( http://shop.lego.com/en-NZ/Excavator-42006 http://shop.lego.com/en-NZ/Excavator-42006 ) with the motor add on. Just trying to overcome ridiculous regional pricing now if you don't live in the states you pay though the nose ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6403660 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6403660 )
- josephpmay 13y agoIf you want to get him something technology related, think about a Mindstorm NXT kit. I know that's what I wanted at his age (And my parents never got it for me grrr). There are plenty of other ways to encourage your kid to "go outside" and "act a kid" so if he WANTS something tech relate for his birthday, get him what he wants. Now, if he's more interested in a mountain bike or a football, get him that. (If you haven't yet, you should ask him what he wants. At that age they're usually still honest about it.) I also think the suggestion another commenter gave about a rasberry pi is a good one. At his age, he'll probably really enjoy something that is hands on and he can build with.
- edtechdev 13y agoI have a 10 year old boy Maybe ask him what he wants A lot of boys that age like Minecraft and other videogames on xbox or pc. You might get him a small android tablet or else an old smart phone or laptop to play games. A bike or scooter.
- maxk42 13y agoPlus, Minecraft teaches basic circuit design and gate logic. http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Redstone_circuit http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Redstone_circuit
- timbofield 13y agoThanks, trust me he is very much into Minecraft already.
- dirktheman 13y agoA makey makey is awesome! I got one for my 6yo daughter, and we make crazy stuff together like this chair piano: http://www.dirktheman.com/tutorials/makey-makey-chair-piano.html http://www.dirktheman.com/tutorials/makey-makey-chair-piano.... When you've explored the 'standard' makey makey options you can convert it into an arduino board, opening up a whole new world of sensors, electronics and programming. In my opinion, the makey makey is a great way to get into electronics/programming because it's more accessible than just an arduino or a raspberry pi. You can do stuff with it out of the box and there are cool projects for children to do together.
- stedaniels 13y agohttp://www.dirktheman.com/ http://www.dirktheman.com/ Google translated the Dutch for me! "159.253.0.110 Note to the owner of the following domain : This domain is not linked to your web hosting package, reseller hosting package or virtual server. You have in your customer panel DNS management enabled for this domain name. Change the DNS records for the IP addresses of your DNS server or move management, and change the name servers to the name servers of your hosting package, reseller hosting package or virtual server."
- rjd 13y agoWhen I was about that age I got an intro to electronics kit, I absolutely loved it. Just making little LEDs light up, speakers buzz, nothing that complex just things I could understand, think through, and make work myself.
- omfgitsasalmon 13y agoRaspberry Pi with CODER pre-installed. http://googlecreativelab.github.io/coder/ http://googlecreativelab.github.io/coder/
- Toenex 13y agoGive him your time. Thats all he wants.
- koralatov 13y agoGet him something that just the two of you can do together, ideally outside or in the wild. It doesn't really matter what it is, just so long as it's something you do together. He's at an age now where he worships the ground you walk on, which won't last much longer. Make the most of it whilst it lasts, and give him some great memories at the same time. That's going to be worth way more to him than $TOY or $GADGET.
- rpjlinden 13y ago[brainstorm] The Dangerous Book for Boys Snip, Solder and Burn Basic robotics stuff, something related to Arduino? They're cheap enough. Introduce him to Scratch or some other development tutoring environment for kids. Subscription to Wizard 101 :) A trick bike? Nerf is a nice alternative to BB. You don't get to shoot cats with it though. Build a water rocket. Did that with my boy. He was suitably impressed. Look, you don't have to leave off with a gift. The stuff you do together leaves the best memories. Stuff passes away. Good memories, especially after 10 years of age, tend to stick.
- fgd 13y agoAt his age, I would love to have a proper RC plane/boat/car. You can get a starter kit for quite cheap from HobbyKing and can provide an introduction in a world of technology, electronics, physics, etc. Also, a lot of fun :)
- harrytuttle 13y agoI'd go for: http://www.korg.com/monotribe http://www.korg.com/monotribe Relatively cheap and can lead into an interesting hobby (plus you can take them to bits and modify them!)
- timbofield 13y agoOh sweet. Have bookmarked for his older brother. Could be a good Christmas present.
- Renaud 13y agoScott Hanselman just posted his experience with Snap Circuits. They look awesome and there are plenty of kits to keep curious kids busy exploring and building stuff. http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TeachingKidsElectronicsComputersAndProgrammingFundamentalsWithSnapCircuits.aspx http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TeachingKidsElectronicsCompute...
- planckscnst 13y agoPetzold's "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" aids in the understanding of how computers work at the lowest levels. http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319 http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Softwa...
- jyothi 13y agowww.play-i.com would have been perfect. They just don't have it yet. edit: From play-i => Using a tablet or other mobile device running compatible software, the child will be able to program his or her robot to perform certain actions. The bots are expected to cost under $100
- cju 13y agoA book idea : "A Little History of the World" by Ernst Gombrich, the author of "The Story of Art". The book is aimed at children ("für junge Leser" in original title) but not too much and may let him discover new topic of interest (History in general or a specific period/civilisation). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_History_of_the_World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_History_of_the_World