Why they don’t make a modern version of the Casio SK1/SK5 is beyond me, kids love samplers, it starts off as burp and fart tunes but once they get that out of their system it can be a great outlet for creativity.
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Well said. The SK1 needs a reboot.
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Another year and a different grandkid. This time I went for the Blipbox. I will report back on how it turns out!
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Will also help in 10/20 years when these kids grow up, find their old toy and acid will be back once again 
It’s an investment for future generations!
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I guess something cheap, doesn’t matter when they trash it… doesn’t have to sound great…
Behringer ?
My kids never picked up on making music, 18 now and still have no interest. When they were young we got them pianos, ukuleles, and so on but never forced them. Saw it way to much coaching little league.
If I were to get them a synth though I’d say a PO with a case. Cheap and small with pretty fast results. Maybe the speak so you can have fun and be productive. Good luck!
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I just want simple and small keyboard but with sampling option, for my 3 1/2 year kid. You know, like Casio SK series had in 80ies. But, I was disappointed when realised that there is no such today - I though that sampling option is common feature in modern keyboards for kids.
I had one as a kid, and sampling my voice (or any sounds around me) and transposing throught keyboard was such a fun. Casio and Yamaha are producing nice small keyboards for children today, but no sampling 
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Last year I bought a Yamaha DJX for my son he was 7. It has sampling ability, but it is not user friendly. Sold. Interested in SK too.
Any gear with simple mute buttons? Elektrons are so bad at it!
Just received the Blipblox. About five minutes into trying it out I realized that I will be getting one for myself.
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I backed the Artiphon Orba on Kickstarter.
Build quality is reasonable - but it is shaped like a ball so my 2 year old has launched it a couple of times!
Internal battery - presumably not user-replaceable, which I tend not to like but that does mean nothing can snap off/become a choking hazard.
She likes to press the buttons and shake it about.
As a standalone device with app, it seems pretty clunky wrt the onboard sounds but that doesn’t bother the little one in the slightest. There is basic looper, which is cool.
It can send midi over bluetooth. I’ve not tried that yet (maybe I will over the Christmas break) but I understand that’s where it’s really rather powerful as a product-not-aimed-at-kids.
Sure I showed him the basics, but then he szarted exploring and asking for tips on how to achieve particular things.
I find that kids are cool with anything knob-per-function. Less menu diving is better.
My kids love my Prophet for example.
My 10 year old:
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I was in the habit of giving my nephew a Volca a year until my brother begged me to stop, because as he put it, “The noises from his room are just horrendous now.”
Achievement unlocked. 
But seriously, if they’re not out of your price point, I found they were a great intro for him into electronic music starting at about twelve. Seemed to get more out of that than a Pocket Operator.
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I’m thinking about a volca sample for my son…
Any thoughts?
I think Pocket Operators don’t have enough visual feedback. My son is apparently not interested by my POs. He likes my RC505 to play loops of songs I installed.
I punted on the Volca Sample, because I’d gotten him the Pocket Operator with the sampler, and he did OK with that once he got started.
I agree — there’s definitely more to see on the Volcas, which make them more approachable, I think, to a young person. They’re less fiddly, too as far as the sequencer goes. (I love POs, don’t get me wrong — I am just not convinced that they’re a gateway for young folks.)
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Mr Mitch jamming with his kids at home during lockdown. Featuring Digitakt, plus kids on Maschine Jam & mic/vocoder.
Love how he sets up some gear and sounds and just lets them have fun and express themselves. Then goes back and finds some good bits to use. Making the best of tough times 
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My two year old daughter loves Td3 as mentioned above but at the moment she is playing Monologue.
The only faults are that it is preferable to have infinite buttons because it loses a lot of time to find the exact value or a button modifies the value again and that many times when it wants to start the sequence, it is found in the backup submenus because it has the wrong group of buttons.
The small screen helps it well.
You should see her when she waits for the end of the tuning procedure and exclaims “it’s over” before rushing on the patch change and keys.
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For what it’s worth, the Dato Duo rules. Got it for a birthday present. My son really likes the Volcas, but the Duo is designed to be a little more inviting, is more clearly presented for readers and non-readers, and the rough spots of a synth (e.g. intense filter resonance) have all been smoothed out so parents can stay hands-off. It’s a lot of fun, and a good excuse to hook up some nice pedals and play along!
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