The Verge’s favorite tech for babies and kids

We’ve got several parents on our staff, and as members of The Verge, they are also into gadgets. Put the two together, and you’ve got some really interesting stuff that can be used to keep your infant, toddler, or child safe, happy, educated, and / or out of trouble.

Here are some of the devices that the folks here use to help be better — and happier — parents.

The Yogasleep Hushh is a small, portable white noise machine. That’s it, and that’s why it’s great.

It’s not a smart device and doesn’t require any sort of subscription. It has physical buttons. It has three different white noise options. It can run on battery for up to 24 hours, and you can charge it with a USB-C cable. It even comes with a ring to attach it to things.

My wife and I turn on the Hushh every time we put our baby down to sleep. If you’re looking for a simple white noise machine that just works, this is the one to buy. – Jay Peters, news editor

I think Vava has one of the only no-gimmicks baby monitors right now that has the few things I wanted: a big screen, good battery life, zero internet features, and USB-C charging. When my wife and I had our first child just over a year ago, it felt like our short wishlist was impossible to find in the market, regardless of price. It has never failed to connect even at the furthest point of our home and has taken many tumbles without breaking. We tried the Panasonic KX-HN4101W that had a built-in sound machine and charged with Micro USB, but it would not turn on after a few months of use. It did have a very sensitive motion detection feature that was only useful enough to feed into my anxieties as a new parent. – Umar Shakir, news writer

Much like Umar’s pick above, the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro my wife and I opted for is a no-fuss 720p video monitor requiring no internet connection. One of its advantages is you can buy a cheap wide-angle lens for it that easily gives you a full view of a crib or bassinet. That lens was clutch at family get-togethers, where we had to set up the little one to nap in a spare bedroom with cramped spacing. My only gripes are the use of barrel plugs instead of USB-C and that you can only crop into the center of the frame when you have those moments of illogical worry and want to make sure the baby is breathing.

I think the separation these non-connected monitors offer, compared to cloud-connected ones, can be a healthy one. It may not be for everyone, but if one parent is home with the baby while the other is out grocery shopping or actually socializing, it not only prevents judgy snooping but also helps them be present where they are outside the house. – Antonio G. Di Benedetto, reviewer

CRKD’s Atom is not a baby toy at all, but this wireless mini controller is certainly baby-sized. I don’t want to force my interests onto my kid, but even before her first birthday, the little one has already taken to picking up some of our various game controllers around the house and fidgeting with the buttons and sticks. We’ve since designated a couple of older gamepads for baby plaything duty, prompting me to try putting the tiny Atom in her hands. Along with some Xbox and PlayStation controllers, the Atom is now in rotation for her to carry around and press its satisfyingly clicky D-pad and buttons.

I imagine this little gamepad could be an accessible on-ramp to baby’s first video games, and I even put it to the test one day. I fired up Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved on the TV (via a docked Steam Deck), customized the controls to just use the D-pad, and watched her gently move around and shoot onscreen. She didn’t have much of an idea of what was going on, but she enjoyed the bright colors and identified that she was controlling it before enemies blew her up in seconds. (I need an invincibility mode for her.) Then my self-awareness and “Oh shit, is this bad parenting?” senses kicked in, and I turned off the game. Maybe I’ll just stick to her mimicking dad and mom playing on her unpaired controller for now. – Antonio G. Di Benedetto, reviewer

When you have a kid, you’re not just gaining another human. You’re also gaining all of the hardware needed to care, feed, and even transport them. The GB Pockit Air won’t fit all of your stroller needs since it’s only designed for kids ages six months and up, but for those times when you’re trying to travel light, you’ll appreciate its clever engineering. It weighs just 10.1 pounds and folds down small enough to fit in a backpack or shoulder bag, and it’s airplane hand luggage-compliant. Despite its lightweight design, the Pockit Air still features eight wheels for stability, padded shoulder straps, and a mesh pocket on the bottom for carrying other kid necessities. – Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter, news

The Snoo is a smart bassinet that plays white noise and rocks your baby, ramping up the intensity if your baby keeps crying. I have heard from friends that it does not work for every baby, but when it works, it really works — and you have truly magical moments when it successfully puts your baby to sleep. You can control the intensity manually and get nice sleep logs in their proprietary app — though Snoo’s parent company, Happiest Baby, has come under fire for introducing a new subscription fee of $19.99 / month for the main app functionality after nine months. While infuriating, I was so desperate for sleep, I would still have bought a Snoo. Also look out for return policies; some parents prefer to buy their Snoos from Amazon to avoid Happiest Baby’s steep $199 restocking fee. – Helen Havlak, publisher

These have been my son’s favorites — music, in particular, is a big hit with him. Any musical toy may eventually drive you insane, but these cycle through enough tunes that I am still dancing along to them with my son. The Fisher-Price Flap & Wobble Penguin is a musical penguin toy that cycles through surprisingly boppy remixes. It flaps its wings with high-contrast black-and-white spots that will mesmerize your baby. Meanwhile, the Take Along Tunes Musical Toy is a great cheap little teether and music-maker that has amused my baby for hours. And at less than $10, it is a good deal. – Helen Havlak, publisher

If you plan to pump or to formula feed, it’s nice to have an easy way to warm bottles. Our baby will drink room-temperature bottles, but he definitely prefers nicely warmed milk (who wouldn’t?). This warmer sits on our counter, looks reasonably nice, and works well. – Helen Havlak, publisher

Before my kid’s hands were large enough to hold a Nintendo Switch controller, this kid-sized handheld satisfied their gaming curiosity. What’s unique about the LeapFrog RockIt Twist is that it can be held four different ways, with each side of the handheld featuring unique control mechanisms like dials, a slider, spinners, various buttons, and a more traditional D-pad. It comes with 12 preloaded games that utilize the unique controls while also covertly teaching skills like math, problem-solving, and literacy so you’ll feel slightly less guilty about all the screen time. – Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter, news

When screen time is over, there’s no building toy, not even Lego, that holds my kid’s attention better than GraviTrax. It lets you build complicated marble runs using myriad components including ramps, risers, bridges, switches, and launchers — and that’s just the starter set. There are several expansions that add motorized components that can keep marbles rolling indefinitely if assembled correctly, and it’s one of those toys that adults will enjoy just as much as kids do. For younger kids, there’s also now a GraviTrax Junior line with simpler components and larger marbles. – Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter, news

Over the holidays, we gave several tech-y gifts to our four-year-old daughter, including walkie-talkies, a camera, and a piano (really for me). But the gift she loves the most is the MUID Benson Lying Flat Duck Night Light, which is exactly as it’s titled: a lamp in the shape of a duck lying flat. But this lamp is squishy, entertaining to look at, and has an option to stay on for only 30 minutes. This is perfect for us, and for her, because it gives her some autonomy at bedtime when we turn off the other lights, letting her have 30 minutes to draw or play in her bed before going to sleep. – William Joel, senior creative director

My toddler is obsessed with music and is always bopping along to whatever is playing. My husband bought her a Yoto Player, which is like a speaker cube with dials that kids can adjust on their own to change volume and scroll through songs, and it’s become our most-used kid gadget. There’s a low-fi screen on the front that depicts simple images to coincide with the song (or story) that’s playing. You can control it through an app, which, honestly, I never downloaded, or through analog cards that kids can pop into the Yoto slot themselves. Cards come in several different languages for a range of ages and applications, like bedtime songs or classic folktales, and it chills her out on car rides and when she’s getting ready for bed. – Kristen Radtke, creative director