For centuries, children managed to entertain themselves with simple toys like wooden blocks—but times have changed. “Kids now spend between four and six hours per day in front of screens, which has only been exacerbated during COVID,” says Nick Porfilio, CEO of Kiri Toys, which manufactures a new kind of toy block aimed at screen-exhausted families. Designed to teach a range of skills to kids ages 1 and up, each kit contains a set of tiles printed with images that interact with the Kiri block through a RFID chip. Place the block atop a tile’s colorful, kid-friendly illustration, and it will pronounce the associated word, while giving off a pleasant glow. Kits are available for preorder starting at $99. —Matthew Gault
Buy now: Kiri Toys
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
