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Finding the right present for a highly intelligent child, especially a birthday or a Christmas gift, can be difficult! They seem to plow through toys at an alarming rate, since gifted boys and girls tend to master things so quickly.
One of the best strategies I have seen, is to stick with the basics which can be re-created or re-built a million times. Things like Legos, Erector sets, or a set of pastels go a long way with gifted kids!
Also, with this group of kids, feel free to disregard the ‘manufacturers recommended age’ on the side of the box. If you’re looking for challenging toys, one of the easiest ways to do this is to forget about the age group, and just find a toy that fits the kid’s interest, and is slightly beyond the ability.
The 7-year-old to 9-year-old range can be particularly tricky. Kids are growing-up, and they want to be treated more and more like adults. And with gifted kids, it can be hard to forget that they aren’t older than they are because of their verbal and logical skills. But they’re still kids! And they still certainly hope to receive toys for their birthdays and holidays!
Here are some of the best toys for gifted kids for 2019:
Best Puzzles for Gifted Kids
These puzzles all have a great price point- right around $10. Which makes them an awesome choice for birthday parties or even stocking stuffers!
PUZZLE BARON’S LOGIC PUZZLES
It will keep your kiddo busy for hours. There are over 200 of these brain teasers! And they can even play competitively (if they want) by keeping track of their completion time and challenging a friend! There’s also a 2nd volume of logic puzzles, if you need.
RIDDLECUBE THE GAME
Riddlecube the Game combines brain-teasers, fast-paced fun, and spatial reasoning. There are challenge cards and 4 “riddlecube shape shifters” that you use to solve the challenges in 60 seconds or less. If you have a highly intelligent child in your life that loves spatial reasoning challenges, they will have a blast with this game!
RUBIK’S CUBE
You can’t go wrong with the Rubik’s Cube. The original is a great place to start- but if they master it, there are pyramids, and many other shapes they can mess around with, too!
Best Games for Gifted Kids
Board games are a great choice to give as a present for a gifted child. They’re fun, make a kid develop strategy and foresight, and foster relational skills (since they have to at least play against someone else!) Here are some of the standouts:
SPYALLEY
Reviewers love SpyAlley, and it’s not hard to see why it’s won a bunch of awards, including Mensa Select. You’ll need your powers of observation and deduction- and it’s marketed as a family game (which is nice, especially if the kid you’re shopping for has siblings). It’s a mystery-solving game, so if they like Clue, chances are they’ll love SpyAlley.
PLANET
Another Mensa Select winner, Planet is a great family board game. There’s a 3D puzzle of a globe, and players get to enjoy the challenge of creating the perfect world and ecosystem for their wildlife. It’s ideal for the animal and nature loving kids in your life!
LABYRINTH
There are varying levels of difficulty, which makes it versatile enough for the whole family to enjoy- which is great, because playing board games by yourself is no fun! The goal of Labyrinth is to collect objects while going through a hidden maze. It’ll test their memory, logic and planning skills!
Best Activities for Gifted Kids
Building activities that allow for creativity and/or lots of creative thinking make excellent gifts for gifted kids. Especially if the building can be taken apart and put together again!
SNAP CIRCUITS
A great STEM toy- this is a awesome choice for any kid who likes building. Snap Circuits teaches the basic “complete the loop” concept with electricity, and includes rewarding components like fans, buzzers and switches that let you know right away if you’ve put the circuit together completely. Once your kid has mastered that, they’re free to create the most complicated electrical path they can- no permit required! (There’s also a Junior Snap Circuit version with a few less pieces and a slightly lower price point.)
DALTON LABS MOLECULAR MODEL KIT
If you did o-chem in college, you’ll recognize this set! It’s a molecular model kit that’s marketed for grades 7-university. But I have it here, because gifted kids are often ready to be introduced to complicated concepts much earlier than ‘recommended grade level.’ If you have a budding scientist, introducing the elements this way could be truly fascinating, and a concrete way to see some of the world’s smallest components.
K’NEX
I’m super partial to K’Nex. They’re one of those ‘next-step-up-from-Lego’s’ toys (yes, I just created that category) that really stand the test of time. You can build as standard or complicated structures as you want, but these also give you the opportunity for more moving parts. So if your gifted kid is becoming bored with Lego’s because they just sit there, this would be a great gift option.
MY FIRST CODING AND COMPUTER KIT
No gift guide for gifted kids would be complete without recommending a coding option. My First Coding And Computer Kit is a great starter since it allows kids to learn about computer science while creating binary necklaces, ancient encryption devices, sorting races, mystery mazes, and even pixelated pictures.
Gifts for Gifted Kids
If you’re getting stumped about what to get for a gifted kid, remember, there’s often something that they’re currently taking a ‘deep dive’ into. Use this specialized interest to your advantage!
Take whatever they’re interested in, and add a little twist. For example, maybe they’re very artistic. What mediums haven’t they experimented with yet? Could you get a canvas, or pastels, or even some fabric for them?
Art supplies, and notebooks are almost always a safe bet for this group. They’re such open ended options, they’ll be able to find something to do with it!
Books are another awesome option, although gifted kids can tend to be pretty voracious readers so it might be tricky to find something age and level appropriate they haven’t read yet. I’ve found that a good librarian or teacher are worth their weight in gold for book recommendations!
And lastly, a magazine subscription that incorporates their specialized interest is the gift that keeps on giving!
