Tech for Kids 2014 - CES Overview

This week we've been keeping an eye on what tech industry conference CES 2014 has to offer for kids and families. Each day we've highlighted a product that is particularly interesting for families.

There is the Fuhu DreamTab 12" tablet for kids which will offer families a larger tablet form factor which I think will be used as a laptop and for online viewing instead of a personal TV.

Then there's the Mother Life Tracker which uses sensors to monitor family life scenarios like toothbrushing and kids returning home from school. It's quirky and probably not for everyone at the moment, but I think tech like this is going to play an important role in helping families to juggle increasingly complex lives.


The Cube 3 is a new entry-level 3D printer which offers value for money and ease of use with family-friendly features like suitability for kids aged 8+. At under $1000 I think a lot more families will make the jump to owning a 3D printer this year.

And then there's MiP from WowWee. He's a new robot that can balance on two wheels and do lots of neat tricks and is controlled via hand gestures or an app. 

Another hightlight is the Kurio Kids Phone from children's Android tablet maker Kurio. It's an Android-based phone with extensive parental controls built in. With the success of kid-specific tablets, kid-specific phones make a lot of sense.

Parrot were at CES with two new tech toys. There's the Parrot Mini Drone which is a smaller version of the controllable flying toys that have proved very popular, it looks pretty neat and can be driven along the floor and up walls when it's big wheels are attached as well as taking to the air.

And there's there's the new Jumping SUMO which is a remote control vehicle which can jump into the air and well, knock things over ...

Technology for children and families will be big business in 2014 and that includes lots of practical tech to help parents as well as tablets and tech toys for the kids themselves.