Top Brands: Sphero - Wonder Workshop - Makeblock - Amazon Kids
BLACK FRIDAY: Amazon Fire Kids Pro 10"
BLACK FRIDAY: Amazon Fire Kids Pro 10"

NEWS$show=/search/label/news
Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.
REVIEWS$show=/search/label/review
Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family.
There's lots of cool stuff available, but is it the right choice for the child or teenager that you are buying for?
We'll help you make the right choices and get the best value for money.
GIFT GUIDES$show=/search/label/gift%20guide
Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.
PROJECTS$show=/search/label/project
Get crafty with technology. Here we'll post all our ideas and projects using technology to get creative and making with kids. You'll find anything from making a lemon battery to a glow-in-the-dark Minecraft sword. Our projects are tried and tested on our own kids or at events we run, so we are sure you can have a go at home with your kids. Some of our projects use specific tech gadgets which we provide links for you to purchase.
STEM$show=/search/label/stem
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.
CODING$show=/search/label/coding
Coding is increasingly being recognised as an important skill for children to learn. Some will learn to code at school or at a coding club, but it's brilliant if they get support at home too.
ELECTRONICS$show=/search/label/electronics
We think it's really important for kids to get hands-on with electronics and learn how to make circuits and write code to control hardware.
Younger kids can start with conductive playdough. For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions.
Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.
ROBOTICS$show=/search/label/robotics
We love robots at Tech Age Kids, especially programmable ones. We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them.
Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available.
Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. Our Ozobot LEGO trailer is fab for kids who love LEGO and robots.
MAKING AND CRAFT$show=/search/label/making
We're advocates of the creative use of technology, but this needs to be balanced with developing physical skills such as papercraft, woodwork, clay modelling, technical drawing and soldering. If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun.
The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something.
We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.
In this article we'll look at various aspects of the safety of 3D printing for kids including the safety of the materials used, objects produced and the 3D printing process itself.
Kids are naturally drawn to 3D printing. Brightly colored fairly inexpensive objects that can be made to their specification are fascinating to kids. Yesterday we looked at some fun 3D printed object for kids. It's natural for parents to consider the safety of such objects.
The short answer is 3D printed objects and using a 3D printer can be safe for kids but there are lots of issues to consider. Parents and educators will need to consider the factors in their use of 3D printing to make a decision for the children in their care.
This article is for information and to help you work out what you need to be concerned about. Please make sure you consider the issues for your particular situation.
These materials have their own age recommendations - the PlayDoh brand that we have at the moment says from 2 years.
And people are also printing with edible materials such as chocolate, fondant and cookie dough (we plan on trying this once we have a second 3D printer up and running.) These materials themselves are obviously safe but introduce new food hygiene requirements.
But more typically home 3D printing will be done with plastic - either ABS or PLA. ABS is the plastic that LEGO bricks are made from. PLA is a bioplastic, it's non-toxic. Both are considered safe for children when printed.
But, you also need to consider the printed objects themselves which could be dangerous. It's possible to print very dangerous objects using a 3D printer if that is the intention. Objects than are not intended to be dangerous can still pose a risk such as choking, pinching or cutting so the design of objects needs to be carefully considered.
Objects printed using common 3D printing techniques are definitely not suitable for a child who may put objects in their mouth. Cubify clearly targets children with its 3D print-on-demand services and includes a warning for children under 3.
Commercial 3D printed toys can be certified as safe for children. The Makie doll is a custom 3D printed doll that is made to order and has been taken through the certification process.
"Makies™ make history as the world’s first CE-certified EN71-compliant 3D printed toy
MakieLab’s one-of-a-kind action dolls are EU approved for kids aged 3 and up" Source
To achieve this certification the Makie doll has been through extensive testing.
"The only 3D printer certified for safe at-home use by adults and children." Cube
3D Systems specifically targets children with its Cube 3D printer. The Cube meets the IEC 60950 printer safety requirements. 3D systems refers to its Cube printer as suitable for ages 8 to 80.
3D Printing with materials such as modeling clay, play dough and Plasticine does not require high temperatures - the material is extruded through a syringe type device. ThinkGeek came up with a PlayDoh 3D printer controled from an iPad as an April fool this year but it's not really that far fetched. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see such a device that is targeted at young children in future. My kids would love it, that's for sure.
3D printers also have moving parts which may be exposed. We can't make general assumptions about children operating such 3D printers.
Another consideration is fumes created during the process of 3D printing. For materials such as ABS and Nylon there is a potential issue. This study (from a filament vendor) concludes that the materials are safe during 3D printing. But many consider it a sensible precaution to only 3D print with such materials in a well-ventilated space.
In future it's certainly possible that we'll see 3D printers for younger kids that use materials that can be extruded without the need for high temperatures.
Kids are naturally drawn to 3D printing. Brightly colored fairly inexpensive objects that can be made to their specification are fascinating to kids. Yesterday we looked at some fun 3D printed object for kids. It's natural for parents to consider the safety of such objects.
The short answer is 3D printed objects and using a 3D printer can be safe for kids but there are lots of issues to consider. Parents and educators will need to consider the factors in their use of 3D printing to make a decision for the children in their care.
This article is for information and to help you work out what you need to be concerned about. Please make sure you consider the issues for your particular situation.
Materials and Objects
There are lots of different materials that can be used in 3D printers. There are even 3D printer extruders that can print with play dough, Plasticine and modeling clay.These materials have their own age recommendations - the PlayDoh brand that we have at the moment says from 2 years.
And people are also printing with edible materials such as chocolate, fondant and cookie dough (we plan on trying this once we have a second 3D printer up and running.) These materials themselves are obviously safe but introduce new food hygiene requirements.
But more typically home 3D printing will be done with plastic - either ABS or PLA. ABS is the plastic that LEGO bricks are made from. PLA is a bioplastic, it's non-toxic. Both are considered safe for children when printed.
But, you also need to consider the printed objects themselves which could be dangerous. It's possible to print very dangerous objects using a 3D printer if that is the intention. Objects than are not intended to be dangerous can still pose a risk such as choking, pinching or cutting so the design of objects needs to be carefully considered.
"WARNING: Some printed parts may present a CHOKING HAZARD or may be SHARP; not for children under 3 years old." Cubify Warning
Objects printed using common 3D printing techniques are definitely not suitable for a child who may put objects in their mouth. Cubify clearly targets children with its 3D print-on-demand services and includes a warning for children under 3.
"THE MODELS ARE NOT SUITED TO BE USED AS TOYS" ShapewaysOn the other hand, the online 3D print-on-demand store Shapeways states that 3D printed objects are not toys in its terms and conditions. They also provide material safety data sheets for each of their materials. They are clearly not targeting children at this point.
Commercial 3D printed toys can be certified as safe for children. The Makie doll is a custom 3D printed doll that is made to order and has been taken through the certification process.
"Makies™ make history as the world’s first CE-certified EN71-compliant 3D printed toy
MakieLab’s one-of-a-kind action dolls are EU approved for kids aged 3 and up" Source
To achieve this certification the Makie doll has been through extensive testing.
3D Printers and the Printing Process
At this point in time a lot of 3D printers are homemade, often from kits of parts. The 3D printing process typically involves high temperatures as common materials such as plastic need to be melted in order to extrude them. Our home assembled 3D printer is definitely not safe for kids to use and they only get to watch it in action under close supervision."The only 3D printer certified for safe at-home use by adults and children." Cube
3D Systems specifically targets children with its Cube 3D printer. The Cube meets the IEC 60950 printer safety requirements. 3D systems refers to its Cube printer as suitable for ages 8 to 80.
3D Printing with materials such as modeling clay, play dough and Plasticine does not require high temperatures - the material is extruded through a syringe type device. ThinkGeek came up with a PlayDoh 3D printer controled from an iPad as an April fool this year but it's not really that far fetched. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see such a device that is targeted at young children in future. My kids would love it, that's for sure.
3D printers also have moving parts which may be exposed. We can't make general assumptions about children operating such 3D printers.
Another consideration is fumes created during the process of 3D printing. For materials such as ABS and Nylon there is a potential issue. This study (from a filament vendor) concludes that the materials are safe during 3D printing. But many consider it a sensible precaution to only 3D print with such materials in a well-ventilated space.
Summary
Basically, 3D printed objects can be safe for children over 3, depending on the materials used and the construction of the object. The process of 3D printing has lots of potential risks, but one product in particular, the Cube from 3DSystems, is suitable for children over the age of 8 and has obtained safety certification.In future it's certainly possible that we'll see 3D printers for younger kids that use materials that can be extruded without the need for high temperatures.

/fa-fire/ MONTH TRENDING$type=list
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I asked my kids what they wanted to do, other than playing Minecraft, over a long weekend. Not that I didn't want them playing Minecraf...
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/fa-dice/ RANDOM$type=blogging$m=0$cate=0$sn=0$rm=0$c=3$va=0$src=random-posts
- 2013
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- 3d printing
- 3DTin
- accessories
- activities
- adafruit
- advent calendar
- adventure games
- amazon
- amazon fire
- amazon prime
- android
- angry birds
- animation
- anki
- app
- app toy
- app toys
- appcessories
- apple
- apps
- arcbotics
- architecture
- arckit
- arduino
- art
- artificial intelligence
- astronauts
- astronomy
- augmented reality
- automaton
- awards
- battle bots
- battling robots
- bedtime
- big kids
- big tablets
- bigtrak
- bike
- binary
- birthday
- bitsbox
- black friday
- blockly
- blogging
- bloxels
- bluetooth
- board games
- book
- books
- boolean box
- breadboard
- bricks
- brixo
- buying guide
- camera
- cameras
- card game
- careers
- catroid
- celebration
- cellphone
- ces
- chemistry
- chess
- christmas
- circuit cubes
- circuit playground
- circuit scribe
- cleaning
- climbing
- code clubs
- code-a-pillar
- codebug
- coder
- coding
- cognitive learning
- communication
- comparison
- competition/challenges
- computational thinking
- computer
- computer games
- computer science
- computer vision
- computers
- computing
- conductive playdough
- connected toys
- construction
- conversational ai
- cozmo
- craft
- craft cutter
- creative thinking
- creativity
- crochet
- crowdfunding
- css
- cubs
- curiosity
- curious chip
- cyber monday
- dads
- data
- deals
- dens
- design
- design process
- design thinking
- digital parenting
- digital skills
- disability
- disney infinity
- dog tech
- dolls
- drawing
- drones
- duinokit
- earth day
- Easter
- ebooks
- eco
- edblocks
- edison
- edtech
- education
- egypt
- electricity
- electronic pets
- electronic toys
- electronics
- electronics kit
- electronics kits
- electtronics
- elementary
- elenco
- energy
- engineering
- entertainment
- ereader
- ereaders
- esafety
- escape the room
- event
- ewriter
- exercise
- family
- family tech
- fathers day
- Festival of Code
- fiction
- fire
- fitbit
- fitness
- fitness tracker
- flotilla
- flow charts
- flutterbye fairy
- flying
- force awakens
- force friday
- future
- gadgets
- games
- games console
- games consoles
- gaming
- gift guide
- gifts
- girls
- giveaway
- glow in the dark
- grace hopper
- grove
- hackaball
- hacksoton
- halloween
- halloween costumes
- hardware
- headphones
- health
- hexbug
- hexbug aquabots
- hexbug project
- high school
- history
- home
- home education
- homeschool
- hot toys
- hour of code
- html
- humanoid
- ICT
- in app purchasing
- indiegogo
- industry event
- innotab
- innotab 3
- innotab 3s
- internet access
- interviews
- invention
- ios
- IoT
- ipad
- ipad mini
- iphone
- jacquard
- japan
- java
- javascript
- k'nex
- k'nex robotics
- kano
- keyboard
- kickstarter
- kids
- kindle
- kindle fire
- kit
- kits
- kodu
- kubo
- label printer
- languages
- laptop
- laptops
- last minute
- leap motion
- leapfrog
- leappad
- leappad 2
- leappad ultra
- leappad2
- leapreader
- learning
- learning resources
- learning tablet
- learning tablets
- leds
- lego
- lego boost
- lego chain reactions
- lego mindstorms ev3
- lego power functions
- lego technic
- lego wedo
- let's start coding
- lights
- lightseekers
- little kids
- littlebits
- logiblocs
- logic
- logical thinking
- loom
- machines
- magnetic
- make it
- makeblock
- makedo
- maker
- makey makey
- making
- mardles
- mars
- mars rover
- marty
- math
- maths
- mbot
- mbot ranger
- me arm
- meccano
- meccanoid
- meccanoid 2.0
- merge vr
- mews
- michael faraday
- micro:bit
- microbit
- microcontroller
- microscope
- microsoft
- middle school
- miles kelly
- mindstorms
- minecraft
- minecraft mods
- mixed reality
- mobile
- modular electronics
- monsters university
- morse code
- mothers day
- motion capture
- motors
- mover kit
- movie
- movies
- mu
- mu toys
- munzee
- music
- my first robot
- national dog day
- nature
- new
- new year
- news
- news coding
- nikola tesla
- nintendo
- nintendo switch
- ohbot
- ollie
- on the web
- opinion
- origami
- osmo
- outdoors
- ouya
- ozobot
- papercraft
- paperwhite
- parental controls
- parenting
- parrot
- pc
- people
- pet tech
- pets
- phone
- photography
- photon
- physics
- pi day
- picks
- pimoroni
- pinoccio
- pixel kit
- pixelart
- play
- playstation 4
- plezmo
- pocket code
- pocket money
- pokemon
- pokemon go
- poll
- pre order
- pre-teens
- prehistory
- preschoolers
- primary
- printable
- products
- professor einstein
- programming
- project
- projects
- puzzles
- python
- racing
- raspberry pi
- reading
- reivew
- remote control
- research
- resource
- resources
- retro
- review
- rights
- robot
- robot dog
- robot fish
- robot wars
- ROBOTERRA
- roboticals
- robotics
- robots
- role models
- role play
- romo
- romotive
- root
- rover
- safety
- sam labs
- samuel morse
- sandbox
- schools
- science
- scratch
- scratchjr
- screen time
- screenless
- screens
- sensors
- servos
- simbrix
- skills
- skylanders
- skylanders superchargers
- skylanders swap force
- smart pens
- smartphone
- smartwatch
- snap circuits
- social media
- solar power
- soldering
- sonic pi
- sony koov
- sound
- space
- sparki
- speaker
- speech sythesis
- sphero
- sphero mini
- spider
- star wars
- stars
- STEAM
- stem
- stikbot
- stop motion
- stop motion studio
- storage
- story
- strawbees
- students
- subscription
- subscriptions
- sugru
- summer
- swift
- tablet
- tablets
- tangible coding
- tech
- tech age
- tech craft
- tech is bad
- tech is good
- tech toys
- tech will save us
- technology
- technology will save us
- teens
- teknikio
- tekno
- teksta
- tenka labs
- tesla
- textiles
- thames & kosmos
- the extraordinaires
- tim berners lee
- tinkercad
- tinybop
- toddlers
- toot-toot
- top pick
- touch
- toy
- toys
- travelling
- TTS
- TV
- tween
- tweens
- tynker
- typing
- ux
- vehicles
- videos
- view-master
- views
- virtual reality
- voice assistants
- voice recognition
- vr
- vtech
- web
- websites
- wifi
- wii
- wii u
- windows 8
- wonder workshop
- wowwee
- writing
- writing. education
- xbox one
- xyzprinting