Young inventors create solutions for their own parenting
What if... children helped us parent them? Students from classrooms across Ghent came up with clever, hands-on solutions to help grown-ups better understand their world. In the Makerspace of De Krook, they brought their wild ideas to life using 3D printers, laser cutters, foam cutters… With their open and unbiased minds, kids make the best inventors. Discover their inventions and browse through the photos.
Imagination of children
With their unbiased minds, children are the best inventors. That’s why Comon launched a school initiative around the challenge: How can we raise children with confidence? Their open view of the world sparks boundless creativity — and remarkably, the children turned that creativity toward their own parenting. They were given the task of making something together to help grown-ups better understand their world.
Bringing a wildly fun idea to life
“We let the kids quickly turn their idea on paper into something they can make with their hands. That really boosts their creativity,” says Lennard. “We guide them as little as possible — no step-by-step plans or anything like that. Everything starts from the children’s own ideas. Design thinking is at the heart of it all.”
“You can do more than you think — that’s our motto,” says Lennard. “You have to dare to try, to jump into the unknown. We give children the space to be creative. A child comes up with an idea, and we provide the craft materials and maker tools, and teach them how to use them properly — even machines often seen as too dangerous for kids, like a glue gun, saw, drill, or utility knife. The children decide for themselves which technique they want to apply. For most of them, a whole world of possibilities opens up.”
Feeling radio or transformer shoe?
Children came up with a series of fantastic inventions to make life more fun, easier, and fairer. Each invention reveals a deep desire for a world where children feel more understood by adults. Here’s a glimpse of their ideas:
- The Feeling radio helps stop bullying with a helmet that detects lies, a VR headset that reveals your imagination, and a radio that lets you talk about your emotions.
- The Transformer shoe changes shape and grows with your feet, so parents don’t have to keep buying new shoes.
- For anyone who gets tired of boring journeys, there’s the Super jet machine, which makes any mode of transport faster and more fun.
- With the little Dream band, you can choose your own dream — or avoid nightmares altogether.
- Children also invented clever robots like the Everything robot, which does it all — even makes your food — and the Scanner robot, which scans people for good or bad intentions.
- Other inventions, like Tutti frutti, a healthy candy, and the SSA ultra-earbud that helps parents understand youth slang, show how kids use technology to create connection and understanding.
- Their imagination knows no limits, with devices like the Pandora watch to persuade people, the Clock maker that makes dreams come true, or the Flompidix — a motorized shopping cart that does the groceries for you while you relax.
Browse through the photo album
