Ask any 1o-year-old boys or girls what toys they want, and you’ll be met with a disgusted eye roll, a huff, and a demand for the latest iPhone. Choosing gifts for this age group is no easy feat. The best gifts for 10-year-olds treat them less like solitary children in need of entertainment and more like socially adept mini-adults, which is what they should be becoming as they enter what development experts call “middle childhood.”
Gifts to Say Thanks for Always Being There
Whether you can’t speak face to face with your mom on Mother’s Day or want to give the mother of your children something special this year, send her a gift to say thanks for always being there, even if you can’t be together. Pandora Jewelry is something she can wear to be reminded of exactly how much we appreciate her.
The notion is to empower 10-year-olds to create and share, ideally with their friends, while celebrating their newfound agency. Is that as tricky as it sounds? Not really. There are great gift options, even for 10-year-olds who seem to have everything.
The main caveat to be aware of with 10-year-olds is that these pre-pre-teens are often developing specific interests (or obsessions) and starting to focus on defined strengths. Given that, it’s critical to meet these kids where they live rather than just getting them a new and shiny toy, which may be of no particular interest despite the novelty factor. Given that, our list of best gifts for 10-year-olds should be filtered through an understanding of an individual child’s interests. Which means: You need to cater to your audience.
Just when you think your kid's outgrown Legos, he or she proves you wrong. This set, an homage to the goofy retro cartoon, lets builders recreate the Flintstones' home, with a removable roof, sofa, TV, coffee table, buildable palm tree and postbox. And of course there's the family car with an attachable dinosaur rib.
The graphic novels about the half-dog, half-man police officer are crazy-popular with kids this age. Make that any age. And in this board game, kids work together as the Supa Buddies to foil the fleas' plan to take over the world with their robo-brontosaurus.
No more crumpled sheets of paper stashed somewhere at the bottom of a backpack. Kids draw pictures or comics or graphic novels on regular paper, something that's just beautifully tactile. And when they're done, they press a button to transfer their creations to the app, using Bluetooth or a smartphone, so they're stored for perpetuity (or until deleted).
We'd never encourage kids to play with fire just for fun, but this chemistry set teaches them stuff like how to extinguish a flame with invisible gas. So yes, it's fun. Plus they make bubbling lava or have chemicals change colors. It comes with a beaker, test tubes, a graduated cylinder, lab glasses, dropper, funnel, and stirring rod.
The challenge: Beat your opponents at collecting cards while dodging burritos being hurled at you. Hours of fun. No seriously. This is a blast.
Let's ignore the fact that this is ostensibly a toy for girls. It's an awesome toy for anyone, period. Kids learn about key scientific concepts such as chemical reactions, molecular motion, and temperature through 19 very cool experiments. The kit comes with everything scientists need, including 3 beakers, goggles, and a thermometer.
You get a construction kit with 50 punch-out panels, 20 posts, 10 base boards, 10 light and sound modules, and 8 jumper and extender wires. And you wind up with a house that has working lights and a burglar alarm. Builders can mix and match features and even create a working trapdoor.
If you want a badass game that lets kids battle it out using remote-controlled robotic bugs, this is the game you're looking for. One has a hammer. The other, a spinning drum. Kids use I/R remotes to control the mayhem.
Why not get the 10-year-old in your life the thing they actually want? And will deeply appreciate? The Nintendo Switch Lite is a remarkable gaming product. It's easy to play, boasts remarkable graphics, and has a game catalog worthy of its excellent interface.
Elevate any campout or sleepover with this ultra-sleek headlamp. You don't need batteries, because it recharges using a micro USB. Plus it has 4 light modes: White and dim, red and dim, white strobe, and red strobe. To scare away any attacking zombies.
Aspiring engineers can build nine working bridge models such as a suspension bridge, a truss bridge, and even a standalone house. Detailed instructions make this set easy to follow, and because there are so many build options, it doesn't get old.
Quite possibly one of the best and most innovative rainy-day crafting kits we've ever seen. If your kids prefers another critter, there's plenty to choose from. He or she pushes pins right into the pre-patterned foam bases and creates their own string masterpiece, either based on the pattern one pictured or something else entirely.
As with Legos, kids can create endless robotic objects with this one single kit. They build robots with 10 challenge cards, wood, electric motors, and hardware.
Defining friendships is a favorite pastime for 10 year olds, and this toy lets them make bracelets to their own exacting specifications. Kids simply loop different threads on the nubs of this machine and crank the handle. It will spit out a perfect bracelet every time. It comes with some suggested designs, but adventurous kids can get really personal and make custom designs to share with their friends.
Marvel diehards will love this intricately detailed of the articulated power gauntlet is inspired by the Avengers movie.When it's turned on, the power gauntlet’s six Infinity stones pulsate with glowing light.
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