When it comes to playtime, my two kids both love to build things (which I highly approve of), and they’re also into rough play (which I’m not really a big fan of). These are just two different ways of how kids naturally play, and there’s nothing I could do other than just let them enjoy. And their dad fully supports them too. He’s a great builder and repairer of just about anything in the house, and he’s the go-to adult in the family whenever my kids need more company for rough play. So yeah, obviously my kids look up to him a lot. They’re his biggest fans!
So if building and rough play with dad is what my kids want all the time, why not make it extra special for Father’s Day? Make dad the star player in the kids’ playtime and bonding time with a challenging robotic toy to build, and with a battle of two robotic toys! And we got that just before Father’s Day.
First off, we have a Robotic Arm by VEX Robotics. It’s a construction kit with over 350 snap pieces that need to be precisely put together to correctly build the robotic arm and get it working. Sounds scary, right? But I think it’s just me. Because my husband and my daughter found it too cool and exciting to not work on continuously without taking a break. And construct nonstop they did. The instruction manual was very detailed and easy to follow, so the complicated process was actually fun for my EIGHT year-old! And the kit is recommended for kids 8 and up. Perfect!
I and my 3-year old son watched on, and I must say I was impressed by the way my daughter and husband worked together to finish it. After it was finally completed, it’s now time to operate the Robotic Arm! Its base can spin 360 degrees, the arm can move up, down, inward and outward, and the claws can grab anything and release. I must note that this Robotic Arm works manually, and it’s not battery-operated. It’s like a mechanical school project. It’s amazing to know that my daughter is learning practical STEM concepts through this “brain toy”. And another cool thing about it is that you can build the pieces into other things! It can be a chopper or a scorpion. I want to work on that next, so that my kids would praise me too. I’ll do my best not to ask help from hubby.
And finally, we have the HEXBUG Battle Spider! Our package includes a blue robotic spider which is with impressively detailed design and a radio control. My kids wish they could have had a dual pack so two spiders can shoot each other with their infrared beams that also make a firing sound. I checked the YouTube video. When a spider gets shot, it would be unable to move for one second. Whoever gets shot ten times would lose and be completely paralyzed, and the surviving spider wins! I love it because it’s not physical rough play, but robotic rough play! And again, even with one battle spider, my kids and the dad love to play it nonstop. I think that’s enough to proof to show how much they enjoyed it.
If you think these awesome robotic toys would give your kids and the dad a blast, then conspire with your kids secretly to surprise him with these toys too! Check out VEX Robotics and HEXBUG for more great stuff to build and battle with.