Here at GeekDad, our daughters typically play with the same toys and gadgets that our sons play with – and there is nothing wrong with that. Most of the time we promote constructive play such as that. However, I have been reminded that my daughter also likes things that are cute and pink.
In the spirit of that, I wanted to review some of the hottest toys that are targeted toward younger girls this year – in case there are any others out there who may be looking for similar ideas.
Just like Angry Birds, this is a toy that has been derived from a very hot mobile app game. My five year-old daughter has been playing with the app for about six months now and loves it. When she first saw the toys in stores, she went nuts! I had never heard of them, so she gave me the run down. Each Disney Princess has a pet – seems reasonable, right? Just as pets mirror their owners, so do the Disney Princess Palace Pets. There are ponies, puppies, bunnies, a tiger and of course kittens, (each of which belongs to a Disney princess) all with brushable hair and tons of accessories. If your child is into Disney princesses or even My Little Pony, then I don’t think you could go wrong with any one of these.
 Doc McStuffins Get Better Check-Up Center
Who would have guessed that Doc McStuffins would become such a huge hit? Launched on Disney Jr. nearly two years ago, the Doc has really come into her own. Last year my daughter wanted a Doc costume, so my wife had to make one for her. This year, every other trick-or-treater was wearing the Doc’s signature lab coat and carried a stuffed animal. This year the toys have also become plentiful for the holiday season too. For the ultimate stuffed animal veterinarian in your home, I highly recommend the Doc McStuffins Get Better Check-up Center. This thing is just like the work center that little Doc uses in her own medical office.
The check-up center also includes all the equipment needed for taking care of your little one’s patients. It includes an otoscope, reflex hammer, syringe, roll of bandage stickers, two x-rays, a scale and a cell phone. It also includes a toy Lambie to act as a first patient! It has many interactive play elements also. The x-ray lights up, the Book of Boo-Boos talks and Lambie interacts with the different stations of the work center when placed there. Some assembly is required, but not much and it is recommended for children three years of age and older.
This kids’ tablet appeared earlier in the season in our Toy Gift Guide, but I did want to elaborate on it a bit more. While not targeted at just girls, it does have many apps and game cartridges that are. The InnoTab 3S is the brand new version of Vtech’s popular Wi-Fi learning tablet and it offers a wealth of fun, age-appropriate learning games for kids, plus new ways to play and learn. We have had ours since my daughter’s birthday a few months ago and love it – in fact we got my 9-year-old son one also.
Using VTech Kid Connect, my kids can exchange text messages and photos over Wi-Fi connection to each other and to our Android and iOS smartphones. My kids use this thing just as much as I use my iPad, so now I can use it again. They had claimed it as their own up until now. Kids are also not limited to the InnoTab apps for fun, they can even browse parent approved websites. The only thing I wish it had available was a Netflix app, but that is just me…
New InnoTab 3S’s also bundled with 20 pre-installed apps, a built-in camera, extra stylus and one cartridge game (others sold separately).
Okay, why exactly are girls allowed to play “with the same toys and gadgets that our sons play with” but boys* are seemingly not allowed to play with this stuff??
Do you think it is ‘unmanly’ to like the “Check-up Centre” or the pink Tablet?
Should we raise our sons only with “manly” toys so not to let them become sissies or even gay??
I know you didn’t mean it but you are implying all of that in just your first short paragraph!
Come on, this really is crap!
Rewrite it, take out all this gender-bullshit and just tell us how nice this toys are for all the kids, no matter if they are boys*, girls*, inter* or what ever!!
Seriously people?! There is not a thing wrong with his post. Whether or not you think toys should be designed and targeted for a certain gender, they are! He’s not saying a boy can’t play with girl toys at all! Everyone always wants to twist words and take them out of context. You’re looking to deep into his words. Take his opinion about the toys and be on your way. If you don’t like or agree with this site, then stay off of it! Good day now 🙂
Oh and thank you geek dad! I found this info very helpful! 🙂
^ Ditto.
Boys and girls shouldn’t have toys designated to their sex!
If something is fun to play with it’s fun to play with. Just because some marketing department decided that if you plaster something with hearts and flowers and paint it pink and purple to get parents of little girls to immediately recognize ‘oh this is meant for girls’ doesn’t mean that it has any inherent interest for one sex over the other!
This site is called Geek Dad. I thought that meant the writers knew that boys grow up and become dads just as often as girls grow up and become moms. So pretend play where you take care of baby or puppy or play house or whatever isn’t a girly activity! Show me a little boy who doesn’t like puppies or the idea of taking care of puppies! Again just because they’re being marketed as girls toys with color choices doesn’t mean there is such a thing as a girls toy.
The title of the article paired with the idea that little girls who are being encouraged to play constructively might tire of that and ‘just want to have fun’ and ‘play with something cute and pink’ is just …ugh. I expect more from Geek Dad! Girls and boys enjoy pretend play and constructive play!
I saw a good rule of thumb recently.
How to know if a toy is for a Boy or a Girl:
1) Do you operate it with your genitalia?
If yes, then it’s not a child’s toy.
If no, then it’s for either boys or girls.
The END.
Seriously. I am very disappointed.
Thank you for the comments. If you will note in the actual post, I never say that these are toys just for girls. I mention that these are toys that my daughter plays with and enjoys.
I also mention that these products are suitable for children of certain ages – never once do I say “girls” of certain ages.
These are toys that my daughter and family enjoy. Your mileage may vary.
Okay that may be true but you have to admit that the title of the article sets the tone for the whole thing and you only reference your daughter. I’m sorry but all it would take would be to redo with the toys described as good pretend play toys + kid tablet that comes in a variety of colors.
The choice of title and the first paragraph don’t do your intentions justice if you meant the toys as recommendations for any child.
Quit crying! If you don’t like it find a different site!
Hey Tony,
sorry for my last comment sounding that harsh, the article got me on a bad day, somehow…
I must admit that I’m certainly a bit (over-)sensitized on that issue, so I might have read the article a different way than it was intended.
I really don’t want to impute any sexism to you.
Still I want you to be aware, that your first two paragraphs can be read like: “Ok, normally we play with the same toys with our girls as with our boys. And thats okay, but as this toys are not pink and fluffy, here is something that girls really enjoy.”
You could have said: “I wan’t my kids to choose what toys to play with. So I’m often animating my kids to play puzzles and math games and even bow and arrow and … But sometimes some of the kids like things that are cute and pink. In the spirit of that, I wanted to review some of the hottest toys that arein stores this year. I know that this toys are targeted towards younger girls, but this toys as well as any other are cool for all genders. Try it out.”
Thanks for your consideration… 🙂
I’m sorry for the strong reaction. It’s just that every day I have to see other sites and articles separating out by gender.
It’s the fact that these toys needed a separate feminine list at all that is bothersome. The geekdad list of 2013 best toys should have been able to contain these recommendations without a ‘Sometimes little girls just want to have fun’ separate pink aisle article.
Again I’m sorry if your intent was to just add on some other good gift ideas but the fact is that this is a separate list that is clearly gendered by the title and not presented in that way.