Gear

Star Wars Lightsabers Might Be the Best Social Distancing Toys For Kids

An elegant toy for a totally uncivilized time

Flickr/Big Ben in Japan (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Keeping six feet part and wearing masks? Check. Star Wars has been doing this for 40 years. They’re not as clumsy or random as bouncy balls, and the weapons of the revered Jedi Knights might be the best toys available to parents who want to help their kids practice social distancing with friends and family who aren’t living in the same household.

As things around the country change, it’s a fact for some families that their children might be playing with children in limited daycare interactions, or, perhaps with extended family. Still, for now, you probably want your kids to not get too close to other kids. Which is, apparently, why the lightsaber toy was invented?

Most Star Wars lightsaber toys are about 3 feet long. So, if toy kids are dueling with those, and just the ends of the lightsabers are colliding, you’ve got your six feet of social distance right there. If your kids are wearing masks, on some level, that makes the Star Wars roleplaying even better. We used to think Kylo Ren and Darth Vader were being weirdos with those masks, but maybe they were onto something.

Here are some great lightsabers to let your kids balance through social distancing.

(Note: we can’t recommend as experts that lightsaber battles with kids will always keep kids six feet apart. That said, it’s better than having kids wrestling around.)

If you’re watching Rebels right now on Disney+, your kid might be into this Ezra Bridger lightsaber. Which also, conveniently has some foam darts, also good for social distancing.

For the discerning young Jedi who doesn’t want their saber to look like everyone else’s.