Others you toss down onto the floor in hopes that it’ll keep their pie holes sealed long enough to get dinner on the table.

Then there are those magical toys with near-hypnotic powers. They keep the kids engaged — appropriately engaged, not assaulting each other — for an hour or more. The next day, they’re still playing with it. And the next day. It’s a miracle, and in that moment you don’t care how much the damn thing cost.

This magnetic tile building set is one of those toys.

We “borrowed” this set from my wife’s classroom one weekend and the kids loved it. Convinced that it was the novelty that had them enthralled, we kept it around for a week. Their interest never waned.

My son, 5, builds all kinds of interesting and creative structures: Towers, castles, cubes, pyramids, houses for this action figures. My daughter, 6, builds by color and shape. They play cooperatively with them and extend the fun beyond simple construction. They hid things inside, knock them down and set up whole “towns” of brightly colored, plastic homes.

This thing meets all of my criteria: 1.) There’s no definite end, so play can go on and on; 2.) It can grow with the child, staying appropriate as their interests and skills change; 3.) it’s damn hard to break.

Yeah, a set is fifty bucks. But the kids will play with it for a long, long time, you can work lessons into it and finally, isn’t it worth it to go 60 minutes without playing referee?

Previous entries

Related posts:

1. Toy of the week – Vtech Kidizoom Plus Digital Camera
2. Toy of the week: Pickin’ Time

The Vtech Kidizoom Plus Digital Camera is sturdy, ergonomically-designed and simple enough for most older toddlers to master within a few minutes. Out of the box, the Kidizoom can store up to 200 pictures via internal memory, but external cards are so inexpensive that there’s almost no reason to avoid one. The cable to connect it to your TV (RCA cables) and computer (mini-USB to 6-pin) are included. The memory card mounts as a volume so the Kidizoom doesn’t care if you’ve got a Mac or a PC.

It also shoots (grainy) video which is delightful for the toddlers if not a bit annoying for the adults (prepare for footage of your bum). My only compliant about the Kidizoom is that it’s also got several built-in video games, playable via the LCD display. A camera should be engaging enough on it’s own, and it could morph into a portable game console if you’re not too careful.

However, it’s so well-built and simple, that we recommend it. In the Daddy Daze labs, it worked as promised out of the box, survived many drops and continues to entertain the kids more than a year after the initial purchase.

Street price: $59

Previous toys of the week …

Related posts:

1. Toy of the Week: Magnetic tile building set
2. Toy of the week: Pickin’ Time
3. Like a hat

You spent a couple hundred dollars on an iPhone or an iPod touch. Then you find yourself in the mall with Jr., pushing the obnoxious rental stroller. He’s got the look on his face that says he’s about to go Chernobyl. Do you hand over the iPhone? Well, what’s worse — a scratch on your precious or a red-faced meltdown in the middle of Baby Gap? Exactly.

Of course, you don’t want Jr. checking out the SI Swimsuit App [App Store link], so launch something appropriate. One of the best is The Iconfactory’s Pickin’ Time.

Forget that Pickin’ Time’s graphics are gorgeous. Forget that it takes seconds to learn or that the down-home music stays with you all day. None of that matters if the kids dislike it. Fortunately, kids love Pickin’ Time.

At launch, a friendly rabbit family waves hello and prompts your kid to choose between single player or multiplayer mode. In single player mode, he’s shown a piece of fruit or vegetable. Once play begins, the rabbit tosses a bunch of produce into the air. Jr.’s job is touch his target item. As he moves along, the number of items increases and the background color changes (tricky when it’s the same color as the target). The clock ticks away and at the end he’ll see how many he’s gathered (hint: flip the iPhone/iPod around at the end).

In multi-player mode, each player (up to 4) selects a piece of fruit or a veggie. The rabbit tosses them up in random order, and the object is to be quick enough to tap your item. Or, if Jr.’s well-off friends are around, they can each play with their own iPhones or touches.

It’s a bit memory, a bit beat-the-clock and a whole lot of reaction time. The best part is Pickin’ Time isn’t a game with a definite end. Sure, a session ends, but you can always restart with another target item and try to beat your best score.

In Daddy Daze’s Official Toddler Testing, Pickin’ Time is a winner. The kids get excited, laugh and have fun, which gives me a few minutes of peace in the grocery store. Spend $1.99 [App Store link] for a toy that does all that? You better believe it.

[View with PicLens]

Related posts:

1. Toy of the Week: Magnetic tile building set
2. Toy of the week – Vtech Kidizoom Plus Digital Camera