5 Best Screen Free Toys for Tweens (that they’ll actually play with!)
This post shares 5 favorite screen free toys for kids that even our tweens still play with regularly. We’ll talk about how we use them, what ages they’re best for, which sets are best, and how we store them. We’re also sharing 2 important tips to help you if your kids DON’T want to play!
We are big fans of play over here. In fact, one of the major perks to homeschooling is that it’s a more efficient use of our children’s time, which in turn means that they have lots of time left in their day for play. For children, play is not optional!
Now, if you happen to be searching for “toys for kids,” Google will show you thousands of them. If you narrow down your search to “screen free toys for kids,” Google will still show you thousands of them. What Google doesn’t know, however, is which ones last and which ones your kids will truly love for years and years to come.
To be fair, I don’t know this either – but I do know which ones my kids have loved, and which ones have stood the test of time in our own real-life family.
Please be aware that we have four boys and only one girl – if those stats were flipped, it’s very likely that our list of “most used toys” might be different. However, I can say with all honesty that these five toys have been worth every penny that we have spent on them (and yes, we have spent many pennies over the past 13 years of parenting).
All Children Need Time to Play
We often think of play as something just for little kids – you know, it’s acceptable for anyone under age six, but once you start first grade… does it really matter that much? The truth is that children of all ages need time to play! You could even make a convincing argument that adults need to play.
As our kids grow older and their schoolwork, responsibilities, and schedules become more demanding, unstructured play still remains an essential part of healthy childhood development.
Play gives kids opportunities to be creative, solve problems, develop new skills, and explore their own interests – all without the pressure of grades, assignments, or expectations from adults. And while play might look different for a twelve-year-old than it does for a four-year-old, the need for it doesn’t disappear as our children grow up.
That’s why I love finding screen-free toys and activities that encourage my older kids to keep playing, creating, and imagining! This is important to us, and we’ve worked hard to keep the spirit of play alive in our tweens and young teens.
5 Amazing Screen Free Toys for Tween Boys
These are toys that have stood the test of time in our house. I’m love good screen free toys for tween boys, not because we hate screens or never use them (we do!), but because we want our kids to have many more interests besides just screens.
All of these toys have done just that. Our four year old plays with them, our thirteen year old plays with them, and so does everyone in between! This means that if you invest in one of these sets, you are likely to get a whole lot of (play) bang for your buck.
#1: Legos.
Okay, this is nothing too earth-shattering, but it is true that Legos can be used in endless ways and are fantastic for absolutely anyone from about 4-5 years old and up.
There was a time when my oldest was about seven or eight and he told me, “Mom, I think I’m done playing with Legos. We can get rid of them now.” I replied with a non-committal “Hmmm,” and did what any wise mom would do in this situation: nothing.
Sure enough, within two or three months he was back at the Lego pile, fully immersed in some complex build, and never again has anyone suggested we get rid of them.
In case you are curious, we do keep most instruction booklets in a bin, but 99% of our sets get built once and then all the pieces are added to our giant Lego bag. However, when one of the older boys has saved up their own money to buy a larger, special set, then they usually keep those sets in their room.
Our Lego storage (like most things we do) is simple and unfancy: all the Legos are in a Swoop bag and we can pick it up and move it from room to room as needed.
Which sets are best?
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of them. And there are SO many options, that you can find a set that will appeal to practically any child! Once your kids get to the 9-10 year old range, they might enjoy the challenge of the Technic sets – they are definitely a bit more difficult than the normal ones. If you’re looking for a good starter set, you might like one of the Classic sets of assorted bricks.
Do the off-brands work?
NO. Do not, I repeat, do NOT waste your money on an off-brand! They simply do NOT stick together perfectly the way that real Legos do, and will only result in frustration for you and your child.
What ages can use these?
If you start with the Duplos, even two year olds can join in the building fun – but in our experience, our kids are able to start putting the regular-size Legos together around age four. And after that – the sky’s the limit!
#2: Gravitrax marble run.
This is not your grandma’s (nor your toddler’s) marble run! I am legitimately awed by the creations my boys have built with these versatile pieces. Rather than just spiraling down a basic marble run, these marbles jump, fly, loop, drop, and do SO much more.
It’s taken quite a bit of experimentation for our boys to figure out how to build a run that will actually work – where the marble makes it to the end without getting stuck somewhere (too slow) or flying off the track (too fast).
They have to adjust the height of the track, the angles of the slopes, and so many other factors in order to create a successful run.
And in the process of experimenting, our children are learning.
Which sets are best?
We have two: the PRO Starter Set and the Starter Set. Additionally, you can get “Elements” to go with your sets, which are extra pieces which make it even more fun – such as this Loop accessory or this Magnetic cannon! We have four different elements to go with our sets, and all of the pieces are SO well built and work perfectly.
Do the off-brands work?
I honestly have not seen any attempts at off-brands for this type of set. At this point, I think Gravitrax is the only one creating marble runs quite like this! Obviously there are MANY marble run sets out there, most of which are much simpler and less complex. If you want something that will keep your older boys’ attention, THIS is the one to go with.
What ages can use these?
These marble runs are really geared towards ages 9 and up. Our six year old will sometimes use them to set up a simple marble run, but she really can’t take full advantage of the pieces yet.
#3: Keva planks.
These wooden planks are deceptively simple, but because they are so carefully and precisely engineered, the building possibilities are endless! Our boys have made towers literally up to the ceiling, marble runs, and all sorts of incredibly intricate buildings. They are easy to clean up, easy to store (ours are currently inside a storage bench), and an all-around favorite for open-ended, creative play.
Which sets are best?
We have this Structures set, this Brain Builders Deluxe set, and this Contraptions set. All are fabulous!
Do the off-brands work?
We have not tried, so I am not sure. My guess would be that some might work – but you might also get some poorly-made imitations that don’t stack and balance as precisely as the real Keva planks do.
What ages can use these?
Slightly older kids (7 and up) will be able to really use these to their full building potential, but even our toddlers have played with them as they would any other blocks. I probably wouldn’t spend the money on them until I had at least a kid or two older than six years old.
#4: Magnatiles.
We started out our magnet journey collecting MagFormers, but the kids never really played with them much and they didn’t seem to be able to stick together strongly enough for large creations. After a year or two of this I sold them on Facebook marketplace, bought a couple sets of Magnatiles, and we never looked back.
I am not sure why it is, but they are just MUCH easier to build with and now they are played with every single day. We keep ours in a large woven basket in the living room where they’re easily dumped out and easily cleaned up.
Which sets are best?
At this point we have many sets, including this Classic Set, this cute Castle Set, and this Dinosaur Set. Any set will be great, but the kids really love the magnetic people and animals that come with some of them – so you may want to grab one that includes those!
Do the off-brands work?
YES! I was so excited when I bought a magnet block set from Aldi, gave them to my toddler for his birthday, and realized that they worked perfectly with the rest of the magnatiles! Since then I have bought several sets from Aldi and we cannot tell the difference between them and the originals.
Please note that I haven’t tried every off-brand, and I can’t guarantee they will all work well. However, as long as they are a similar size (and are still magnetic), I think there’s a high chance they would work just fine.
What ages can use these?
Because these do not contain any choking hazards, and they are so easy to stick together, your 2 or 3 year old can easily start building with them. However, once your child gets to about 5 years old is when the creativity really starts to explode and they are able to use them to their full potential! And, as I have said before, even our tweens will sit down and build something with these magnets.
#5: Our Yoto player & cards
Okay, so technically the Yoto player does have a screen on it, but I don’t believe this counts as screen time in any sense of the word because the main function of the Yoto is to play stories or music for your child to listen to.
We bought our first one about four years ago, and it has been used EVERY SINGLE DAY since then. Our children have listened to their favorite stories on repeat (literally hundreds of times over), they have used the music cards at night to help them fall asleep, they have listened to the daily podcast for kids, and I’ve even brought it to our homeschool co-op and played music for the kids there when we were studying classical music.
We now have our first original Yoto, a mini which we gave to our second son last year, and I just bought a new third generation Yoto to give to another child this Christmas (shhhh! Don’t tell!).
You can also use them with headphones, which is fantastic when you have multiple children and some may want to listen to something else or work on school work while one child listens.
Which sets are best?
We have both the regular Yoto (second generation, which still works great) and our 12 year old also has his own Mini Yoto. Both work perfectly, though the regular size does have a bigger volume range and is better for several kids to listen to together.
Do the off-brands work?
Honestly, the only other similar toy I have seen is the Tonie box – and in my opinion the Yoto is FAR superior. Not only are the cards infinitely easier to store than the little Tonie figurines, but the selection of classic literature and music is soooo much better than what the Tonies offer.
What ages can use these?
I would say that any child from about four years old and up could easily use a Yoto on their own! Our five year old loves sticking in the cards and listening to his own favorite stories.
Final Tip: If Your Kids Won’t Play
What if you’ve tried these toys, and your kids won’t play with them? Then what??
Here are two things I would suggest:
- What are these toys competing with? If the TV is always on, if a phone or tablet is an available option, guess what your child will pick? It’s going to be the screen, nearly every time. Take away the screens, and suddenly these other toys become much more interesting. TRY IT: put away all screens for a week. Stick the TV in a closet, put the tablet on top of the fridge, keep your phone in your bedroom… and see what happens.
- Take half an hour and play with the toys yourself (while your children are around). Children CANNOT resist joining in when an adult starts playing with something!! I’ve seen it again and again. Sometimes they want to show me how it works or correct me (because I’m doing it “wrong”); other times they want me to see how well they can do it themselves; other times it’s genuinely confusing to them and they need an adult to sort of “get them going”… and then their imagination kicks in and they’re off to the races!
Conclusion
Friends, don’t believe the lie that says tweens are too cool for play – that they can’t and won’t have any interests beyond a screen. This is simply not true!
It’s also insulting to our children, who, as Charlotte Mason reminds us, are “born persons” – full of just as many interests, abilities, and creative possibilities as the rest of us!
Our children need to play, and they will play, if we simply give them the space and the tools to do so.
Let me know in the comments – which screen-free toys have stood the test of time in YOUR house?
