HN Explorer

Ask HN: Best gift for (HN-type) 10 year old

11 points by songeater ↗ HN
Obviously there are no right or wrong answers.

And 10 could mean 7 or 13 and girl could mean boy.

But let’s get off FTX and Twitter for a bit and answer questions that really matter.

(Old threads welcome)

(Ps do they know it’s X-MOS)

17 comments

[ 2.2 ms ] story [ 51.8 ms ] thread
drallison
It is unlikely that there is a way to avoid obsession and addiction Supply an ipad with a reliable high bandwidth "works anywhere" network connection, lots of memory, lots of processor performance, and Minecraft. Sign her/him up for home schooling. Stockpile food and drink that can be consumed while working on Minecraft. Setup sleeping bag and mattress near the Minecraft site. Cut a deal with the child that they will check-in once a week and set them free.
nextos
A RPi to code and learn a bit of Mathematica later on, in junior high school. Or a PineBook Pro.

An Arduino to tinker and make some funny and simple automated bots.

Some rubber bands or tiny weights to exercise a bit. Or perhaps a ball or some neat sneakers like Vibram FF.

A dental irrigator to keep fresh gums.

morjom
First time hearing of dental irrigators. Do you use them?
nextos
Yes, they are pretty popular in the US but somehow less popular overseas.

I think they are great to prevent bacterial growth below the gumline.

IMHO very underrated.

giantg2
I've never heard of that either. Is that the same as a water pick?
nextos
Yes, Waterpik is the most famous brand of dental/oral irrigators.
Raed667
Some ideas depending on interests:

- Robot kits (lego Mindstorms and lego Education come to mind)

- A microscope kit

- A telescope

greenie_beans
circuit kit. like really basic circuit projects attached to a cardboard box, not like a rpi (though rpi would be cool too)
grigri907
For Christmas I'm getting my nephews around the same age a lock-picking training kit and their father is never going to forgive me...
giantg2
I actually got some lock picks around that age. I was also very mature about it. Just wanted to bring that up, because it's non-trivial to become a felon by using (or even possessing during a different crime) those. The recipients should definitely understand the possible risks and be responsible enough to handle that.
morjom
A small 3d printer could be nice?
rasz
>Best gift for (HN-type)

money

_448
The book "Hackers and Painters"
rapjr9
Buy them an expensive professional adult tool of some sort. Like a $1000 microscope, a Moog synthesizer, a FLIR camera, a Stratocaster guitar and Fender amp, a high power computer, an automated milling machine, a good 3D printer, a Black Magic Design Pocket video camera and Macbook, a pottery wheel and kiln, a bulldozer, etc. Something they can grow into and which will be rewarding and improve their life for a very long time. Safety is a concern (especially with bulldozers and kilns!) however providing oversight will make it a shared activity.
giantg2
I second funtional adult tools. I would say maybe don't get them $1k top of the line stuff. Decent mid-level stuff is great.

Power tools are an excellent idea. They can build things and learn safety (ashame shop class doesn't really exist in many places). I had a "business" selling bird houses that I built using power tools around that age.

olvy0
Spend time with them doing things you like, which don't bore them too much :)

I wish I would follow my own advice more often.

Ok, this is very geeky, but 2 weeks ago I sat with my oldest and did the first couple of problems from Advent of Code in Python, which he's learning in school. We both really enjoyed it, or at least he said he did.

juliusgeo
If your 10 year old likes music and sequencing, the Teenage Engineering set of Pocket Operators are very cool. A set of unique samples combined with a surprisingly powerful sequencer. One of them even has the ability to sample from aux in and then use that sample with the built in sequencer.