4 activity box to enhance your kids development

Challenges of parents start at a very early age when they have a toddler at home. Every child is special, and it’s important to understand the needs of your child. It is not about how much money you put in this process but how much value you bring to the plate for your little prince or princess.

This is an era where most of the parents are busy and mostly living a nuclear life. About 172 million Indian population is living in a nuclear family. In a busy life, you almost negate the importance of inculcating right kind of activities for the development of your child.

Also, many times, kids aged between 2 to 4 may not even speak properly, and it’s quite difficult to gauge their interests. But does it mean that your responsibility stops just by leaving your kids with fancy toys and even by putting your children in a pre-school? I would say there are plenty of activities which could be brought in for the right development of your kids.

Someone has rightly said that “Parenting is an art”CLICK TO TWEET

But is there any hard and fast rule that you should follow to learn this art? Probably No. I will give you one example. How many of you have experienced that even after providing your kids with world’s best toys, you kid still plays with kitchen utensils or even with your wife’s vanity box? Have you ever reasoned why?

Kids are blessed with abundant energy and creativity. They do not love to get bonded by one concept such as with any attractive toy. However, any attractive toy could only engage your kids for a few days but not forever. Whereas, kids see a lot of potential in the things lying at your home which otherwise may look boring to you. If this is the case, why not have some activity box regularly for kids through which they could learn things in an organised manner?

But wait, what about electronic gadgets like iPad, smartphone or even some visual devices specially made for kids? I say it is a big NO-NO for kids. These days, most of the kids are wearing glasses. There could be various reasons, but one of the major factors is watching smartphone, television and tablet regularly.

Some people understood all these issues and created a subscription activity box model. These activity boxes make the children playful, creative and provide an alternative to annoying toys, smartphones, tablets and television.

Educational subscription activity boxes are targeted for kids of age group 2 to 12 years. In this model, a box is delivered to your doorstep every month. The box may contain story books, games and activities through which your kid will learn with fun.

These boxes are created after a lot of research about the early childhood development and provide a mix of activities which in turn help children learn, grow and enhance skills.

Here are the 4 subscription activity boxes you can order for your kids:

1. Flintobox

Flintobox believes in the idea of creating activities which could make a kid explore, create, play and read. Flintobox was the first company to start the operation of a subscription box model in India in 2013.

They have activity boxes various age groups such as toddlers (age 2–3), preschoolers (3–4), kids of age 4 to 8 and 8 to 12.

Each activity box focuses on themes such as nature, plants, animals, transport, science, etc. Here’s a video on Creative Mathematician — Activity Boxes for 4–8 Yr olds — Flintobox themed:

“My daughter cherishes every Flintobox and eagerly waits for each one of them! Thank you so much Flintobox team, you are helping me to inculcate a lot more good things in my daughter!” says a parent in her testimonial.

You can avail their subscription (one activity box per month) on quarterly, half yearly and yearly basis. The cost of a 3-month subscription is Rs. 2385/-, a 6-month subscription is Rs. 4170/- and a 12-month subscription is Rs. 7140/-.

2. Magic Crate

Magic Crate engrosses a child into engaging activities which help in skill and cognitive development. It aims to get the child off TV and ensures that learning happens through practical and fun projects.

Magic Crate activity boxes are available for kids of age group 3 to 12 years. The concept is the same as of a typical activity box subscription model. You get it delivered at your door-step.

Every month, a child learns about a different concept. For example, for a 6–8-year-old category, the child gets the box of ‘Little Sailor’ in one month, ‘Little Newton’ in another, ‘Little Doctor, Engineer, Architect’ and so on.

They also have a blog section on their website which serves as a parenting guide. You can learn tips about tackling specific parenting issues such as ‘Fun ways to break a child’s TV habit’.

They have three types of subscription plans: 3-month, 6-month and 12 months and the cost are Rs. 1899/-, Rs. 3599/-, and Rs. 6699/- respectively.

3. Xplorabox

XploraBox is yet another subscription box for an age group of 2 to 8+ years which provides a choice of taking a box for a month.

Created by the experts in child development, it aims to hone the motor and cognitive skills of a child by providing DIY (do-it-yourself) activities.

Each box has five theme-based activities. One theme may cover concepts such as Shapes and Colours, Farms, Numbers, model-based learning in science, etc.

Here is a video about XploraBox:

One-month boxes are priced at Rs. 799/- whereas 3-month and 6-month subscriptions cost are Rs. 2097/- and Rs. 4194/- respectively.

4. Einstein Box

As the name suggests, this subscription box is to bring out the Einstein in your child by providing books, toys, activities that would incite curiosity, imagination and learning in a child.

It covers concepts such as planting a tree where a child has to put the potting soil and seeds in the small pot and water daily. After sometime seedlings will grow and the child will be able to understand the concept of plants in a practical way.

Here’s a video of Einstein Box:

This activity subscription box is for the age group of 1 to 6 years and is available in 3-month and 6-month subscription at a price point of Rs. 2097/- and Rs. 3594/- respectively.

But why spend extra?

Activity subscription box may sound extra spending on your child, but actually, it is not. Let’s see how?

Nowadays, a typical Indian parent ends up investing lakhs per annum in raising a child. We don’t mind spending; we just want the children to have fun, play, and learn.

An Indian parent of a toddler spends a lot on essential things such as:

• Education — Rs. 20,000–50,000/- per annum and minimum Rs. 1,000/- per month on art, craft, activities, etc.
• Health — Minimum Rs. 20,000/- per annum.
• Recreation — Rs. 15,000/- per annum.

You cannot avoid above expenditure since these are essentials. However, there are a lot of non-essential things parents invest on such as:

• Toys — investment of Rs. 1,000/- per month.
• Games — board & video games which may go up to Rs. 3,000/-.
• Mobile phones, TV, other gadgets — Huge expenditure.

I am sure you would agree that above non-essential things could be replaced by activity subscription boxes and hence will fit in your budget.

Conclusion

Parents in India continue to invest their time, effort and money on their kids but there is a need for awareness of putting their efforts and money in the right direction. Time has changed, and you may not consider raising your child the way you were raised.

Activity subscription box is a great way to bring in the change in your kid’s day to day routine of learning new things.