14 kid-friendly subscription boxes parents will love

This one's for all the future Nikola Teslas out there. Best for kids ages 9-16, Tinker Crate is a monthly science kit — or a hands-on STEM laboratory in a box, as they like to call it. Each month, Tinker Crate comes filled with a new, innovative physics project to do, a blueprint of how to do it, access to online video tutorials, plus a Tinker zine book with tons of extra experiments and activities. Build and fire a real, functioning trebuchet, a hydraulic claw like airplanes use, or cool fiber optic stars for illuminated bedroom decor. Who knows — maybe some of this knowledge will come in handy on a college exam. (They grow up so fast!)

The most popular subscription is the monthly one, with each box up to three months priced at $19.95. A 6-month subscription is $18.50, and the 12-month subscription rolls in at just $16.95 — the best value of the bunch. Learn more about your options and sign up here.

Attention, foodie families: Foodstirs is the DIY baking kit that teaches kids valuable baking skills by making desserts that are (almost) too cute to eat. Perfect for all future Chopped contestants out there, Foodstirs delivers the materials and recipes necessary to make organic desserts that look like they're straight off the Food Network. Many kits are even themed toward the season — April's was an edible potted plant for Earth Day, made with gummy worms, graham crackers, and snicker doodle cookie mix. Your kid's birthday party is about to be next level cool. 

Prices depend on the length of your subscription: Get one month for $24.99, three months for $24.34/month, six months for $22.34/month, and 12 months for $22.01/month. Check out your options and subscribe here.

Your kids may not get to experience the greatness that is Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego on a computer from 1996, but Finders Seekers Mysteries is basically the subscription box equivalent. Each month, you'll visit a new city, explore a new culture, decode cryptic messages, and solve challenging puzzles to find the mystery item. It's best for kids 10+, and is actually something cool that could make your stubborn middle schooler want to participate in family game night — and honestly, parents are gonna want to steal it for their next grown-ups wine night.

Learn more about your missions and subscribe for $27/month here.

Calling all future art majors: We Craft Box is the cutest arts and crafts subscription box ever and caters to kids from 3 to 8 years old. Each month, you and your mini Picasso will receive all materials and instructions needed to complete two to three art projects, with each box themed toward the current season or holiday (that's 12 new pieces of home decor a year). It's basically Pinterest for kids.

Get the creative juices flowing and subscribe for $25/month here. 

• Early Explorers (for ages 3-5): Kids will explore a new world theme each month, like music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

• World Edition (for ages 6-10): Kids will discover a new country each month, with hands-on activities, maps, and souvenirs. 

• USA Edition (for ages 7-12): Kids will learn about two new US states each month, with stickers, postcards, and a State Journal filled with 32 activities.

• Science Expeditions (for ages 9+): Kids will dig into the unknowns of the Earth by solving mysteries and conducting hands-on science and STEM experiments. 

Give your little one some culture (without paying for plane tickets) with Little Passports. With the help of characters Sam and Sofia, kids will go on global adventures in these world-traveling subscription boxes. There are four different subscriptions (ranging from $12.95/month-$18.95/month) and each comes with online access to even more educational games and resources: 

Learning about science and math is obviously awesome, but learning to be a kind person is the gift that keeps on giving. Wonder Crate wants to teach kids the importance of honesty, empathy, hard work, forgiveness, and more things that aren't exactly on a school syllabus. Each month, you'll receive a collection of inspirational books, fill-in-the-blank comics, positive dialogue cards, adorable accessories, and craft projects that aim to teach kids those virtues, all while encouraging them to challenge themselves and have the confidence to get back up when they fall. We're raising an army of emotionally intelligent kiddos, y'all.

Learn more and subscribe to the sidekick, hero, or superhero box here, with prices starting at $23.96.

Yes, this box is exactly what it sounds like. We know we're supposed to be adults here, but hands-on playing and creating with goopy slime is just plain fun. Get your monthly dose of up to four yummy scented, glittery slimes (an obvious household necessity), as well as adorable seasonal themed items, toys, and candy. Slime is like the subscription box version of those oddly satisfying videos of people playing with slime on Instagram, so parents are bound to love it just as much as the kids. I mean, just check out the nearly 100% 5-star reviews.

Subscribe to the Mini Monthly Slime for $12/month or the Mega Monthly Slime for $32.08/month here.

If you're a parent and your kid doesn't fight you on eating vegetables every single time, you're one of the lucky ones. Some parents who weren't blessed with non-picky eaters turn to the Veggie Buds Club — the subscription box that makes healthy snacking fun. Each month, you and your little sprout will receive items themed around one vegetable: craft projects, seeds to plant and track their growth, kid-friendly cooking recipes, plush toys, and activity pages, all aimed to help kids find veggies fun instead of, well, gross. And it seems to be working — just check out the reviews. 

Subscribe to the Veggie Buds Club for $19.95/month or the Veggie Buds Super Club for $29.95/month here.

Taking kids shopping for clothes can be a huge pain — mostly because they're over it in about four minutes. If your family doesn't have the time or the patience to drag the little ones to the mall, just have new threads show up at your door each month with FabKids. To sign up, you'll take a style quiz that will help the curators at FabKids find the best clothes for your child based on gender, age, size, and favorite color, while letting them pick out some stuff on their own. Shoes and accessories like hats are also thrown into the mix, and there are often BOGO deals.

And yes, the outfits are actually cute and in the styles that your kids are into — AKA they don't look like grandma would pick them out. Sign up for FabKids VIP here, with prices starting at $29.95/month.

Expecting mothers need all the help they can get, and 21 Bundles is a monthly pregnancy box aimed to help start motherhood the right way. New moms will receive four to six items catered toward whichever month of the pregnancy they're in (now that's personalization): Products include skincare items, makeup, bath and body products, wellness teas, and more, plus a few extra sample or travel sized gifts. The best part? All of the items are all natural and safe for the baby, so no, you don't have to give up drinking tea or painting your nails while pregnant.

Subscribe to 21 Bundles for $35/month here, and use code BABY20 to receive 20% off at checkout.

If you want to get your baby starting on the green initiative early, The Honest Company delivers the best eco-friendly products to your door each month. Choose from two different bundles: the Diapers and Wipes Bundle comes with six packs of mix and match diapers and four packs of wipes, while the Honest Box comes with mix and match cleaning products, baby food, wellness items like vitamins, feminine care products, and beauty products — perfect for new moms who deserve some pampering. You can update your item preferences any time, choose when you want your boxes to ship and how frequently they come.

The Diapers and Wipes Bundle is $79.95 each month, which is a pretty good deal for how many diapers and wipes you're getting. (They also offer $20 off your first diaper bundle.) The Honest Box is pretty much a "pay what you want" deal as it lets you add whichever items you want and however many you want — so you could technically get a shipment of one tube of sunscreen each month and only pay for that and shipping. However, they do offer discounts at certain prices: Save 10% when you spend $25, save 15% and get free shipping when you spend $50, and save $25 and get free shipping when you spend $100+.

Learn more about your options and subscribe to The Honest Company here.

Kids can get excited about literally anything, but just imagine the sheer joy they'll experience when they get a box of stickers in the mail each month. Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Club is the ultimate subscription for kids and adults alike who will decorate any and everything with stickers (*raises hand*). Each month, you'll get over 15 sheets of stickers decked out with glitter, foil, 3D effects, and all that other fancy stuff that usually makes them expensive AF at the store. Your monthly box also comes with a special mystery item and new discounts. The reviews are insanely positive, with one customer claiming that she doubled her subscription because the selection was so good. 

Subscribe for $10.95/month here.

If your kid's a book worm (or you're trying to get them to read more), GiftLit is an awesome subscription that includes books that have been hand-picked by literary experts like librarians, teachers, and authors (ooh, you fancy, huh?). Just choose the appropriate age range (from baby to adult), and then create your monthly lineup from a massive selection of books. There are tons of categories to hone in on a certain gender or genre, with everything from true stories, page turners, and classics, as well as themes like fantasy and magic and award winning picture books. 

Prices start at $35 for a 3-month subscription and can go as high as $400 for a 12-month subscription. Learn more about your options and sign up for GiftLit here.

For the extra little engineers out there, Amazon's STEM Club Toys is the *cutest* STEM subscription box, with age range options as low as three years old — so you can get them started on being a kid genius early. Handpicked by STEM experts, your kid will receive a toy each month that encourages learning about science, technology, engineering, and math through playing. They'll build mini cars, robotic pets, electronics kits, and more through counting, categorizing, and age-appropriate critical thinking. Rated 4.3 out of five stars with nearly 900 reviews on Amazon, this kit is ideal for parents who want to give their kid a head start on their future.

Choose from a subscription for 3-4 year olds, 5-7 year olds, or 8-13 year olds, and get your box for $19.99/month here.