OUT OF THE BOX

Until two years ago, Prabha Natesan’s five-year-old daughter Srishti would spend most of her time watching TV or with other gadgets. “This was also when I had my second child and I didn’t have enough time to take Srishti out to play. So, she was hooked to screens. Her learning activities, creativity, etc., were getting affected,” recalls Bengaluru-based Natesan. A friend suggested Magic Crate, a subscription-based ‘activity box’. “My daughter enjoyed them. The activities not only kept her engaged but also sharpened her skill sets,” says Natesan, echoing what many parents say about such activity boxes, which are usually theme-based and contain projects, games and DIY activities that help children develop motor, cognitive and social skills.

The strong demand from new-age parents is reason enough for makers of such boxes as well as their investors to place big bets in the segment. India’s ‘children and parenting’ sector, and its educational-based entertainment segment in particular, has grown manifold in the past five years. Several start-ups have entered the space and caught the eye of the investor community. The reason is