Habro has introduced a fun new toy for young Mandalorian fans: the snack-eating Galactic Snackin' Grogu. This 'baby Yoda' toy is as adorable as it is hungry, and it'll be available to purchase starting in October. Among other things, kids can 'feed' Grogu using a little plastic spoon.
Being a 'harsh' parent may have a long-term impact on a child's brain development, according to a new study from the University of Montreal. The researchers describe harsh parenting as things like yelling and hitting kids, getting angry at them, or shaking them. Kids repeatedly subjected to these experiences were found to have the same brain changes found in kids subjected to more extreme abuse.
In many parts of the world, the ongoing pandemic has forced people indoors or, at the very least, reduced the amount of face-to-face social interactions. While teens and adults have flocked to social networks for their fix, younger kids are, at least legally, banned from such online forums. This age group, however, is also seen by many social networks and online platforms as a big and potentially profitable market and it's not surprising to hear that Facebook's Instagram is eying a version of its network made especially for very young users.
Technology is all around us and so are the devices that bring them to our fingertips, from smartphones to computers to the Internet. Many parents treat these as the modern world's evils but, being a tech company, Google believes these are tools that can also be used for good with the proper guidance. Some parents do think that kids might as well get trained on how to use technology and devices and they can now look to Google's new Families microsite for advice and tools on how to make tech safe and enjoyable for the whole family.
Fitbit today announced the Ace 3, the next wearable in its line targeted primarily at kids. As you'd imagine, the Fitbit Ace 3 doesn't quite come with the feature set that a fitness tracker or smartwatch meant for adults does, but it can still helps kids and parents track activity throughout the day and sleep habits at night. Fitbit argues that's more important than ever right now, when many kids aren't attending school in-person and are spending their days looking at screens.
Apple has teamed up with Common Sense Media to launch new podcast collections for kids, making it easier for parents to find age-appropriate audio programs for children of various ages to enjoy. The collections are live now with podcast groups targeting kids ages 2 to 5, 6 to 9, and 10 or older; the shows are also sorted by interests and themes.
Google has added new features to its Play Books platform, ones aimed at young kids who may not yet know how to read or who may have limited reading skills. In addition to a new read-and-listen feature, the app also now offers a kid-friendly dictionary to help young readers learn new vocabulary while reading stories.
This afternoon NERF revealed NERF HYPER, a new set of blasters that reload easier and blast more intensely than ever before. The NERF HYPER line works with three blasters right out the gate. With these blasters, you'll find reload canisters that allow the user to keep the blasting action going with immense simplicity.
Omate is back with another Nanoblocks smartwatch for kids, this one featuring 4G LTE connectivity and a software SIM. The new O6L Pro model is visually similar to the 3G version of the Omate x Nanoblocks smartwatch the company introduced back in 2018, but with updated tech that powers a number of features, including video calls, messaging, and more.
This week the folks at YouTube revealed a new way to work with videos for kids and young adults. YouTube's latest feature was made as "a new choice for parents who have decided their tweens and teens are ready to explore YouTube with a supervised account." This feature will be launched first with a BETA mode, with a larger launch later this year.
The folks at Ashtel Studios made a design mistake. They saw an opportunity to make hand sanitizer fun for kids, but they took an unfortunate approach. It became clear some time after packaging and distribution began, this year, that Ashtel Studios hand sanitizer looked a little too much like "a food and drink pouch" for kids.
Researchers in Norway are calling for schools to emphasize handwriting activities during the childhood years in order to help kids learn and improve their memory. It's no secret that the brain activity differs when one writes by hand instead of typing -- this goes for both adults and kids. Researchers with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology built upon this body of research by strapping 250 EEG electrodes to children and tasking them with handwriting.