The Saw That Could Replace Screen Time For Many Children

Parenting in the modern world can be exceedingly difficult. For as wonderful as the vast litany of technological tools at your and your child’s disposal can be, it can also be stressful and anxiety-inducing. While many child psychology professionals have spoken time and again about the dangers of excessive screen time during these formative years for the brain, mitigating this is often far easier said than done. Kids crave engagement of one kind or another, and during busy days, it can be particularly tough to provide meaningful outlets for them beyond traditional screen-based resources.

This has led to the increasing popularity in recent years of toys and STEM kits, which aim to offer alternatives, but frequently feel like just as much of a candy-coated sugar rush of dopamine for the child’s brain; full of blinking lights, loud noises, and batteries bound to die out faster than you keep track.

The ChompSaw: Making Waves With Creative Play

All of these factors are what have helped to make ChompSaw such a worthwhile new tool for child engagement. In a world full of distracting, often irritating kids’ toys, the ChompSaw is designed to be a kid-safe cardboard-cutting tool that replaces screen time with creative play. Unlike typical toys or STEM kits, it aims to help children build independently using everyday cardboard. Priced at $249, it's designed to be durable, blade-free, and helpful for fostering problem-solving and hands-on learning. Created by two grad students, it’s now a hit among families seeking meaningful, screen-free engagement. With the ChompSaw, children are encouraged to build, invent, and explore basic engineering concepts in engaging and educational ways.

The ChompSaw is designed to be a kid-safe power tool for cutting cardboard. There are no exposed blades or spinning teeth; just a chompy, up-and-down motion that can cut through cardboard quickly and efficiently.

Embracing Childhood Skills

Children aspire to adulthood in such visceral, palpable ways. As kids, everyone looks up to their parents or role models in one way or another and sees them doing things around the house that they want to do themselves. Whether that be pumping gas into the car or grabbing items at the grocery store, many children long to participate in the kinds of seemingly remedial tasks that their caregivers perform daily.

In this way, the ChompSaw can allow children the opportunity to engage in such activities in a highly beneficial way. Not only can the tool provide valuable learning experiences in the present tense, but it can also be a long-term investment in your child’s ingenuity and well-being, helping to foster the kinds of skills that can last a lifetime.

The Power Of Cardboard

Cardboard is the unsung hero of childhood. Give a kid a box and they can turn it into a fort, a rocket ship, and probably a sword collection. The problem has long been that cutting cardboard with scissors physically hurts when you’re an adult and can be incredibly dangerous for kids.

The ChompSaw worked to change that and is designed to enable children to engage in imaginative play with cardboard all on their own. Your child can actually use it by themselves to build anything they dream up. Thinner cardboard works best with the tool, empowering your child to get lost in hours of building.

Not a Toy. A Tool.

The great thing about ChompSaw is that it doesn’t treat kids like they need dumbed-down versions of everything. Most STEM toys on the market are kits. You follow the directions, you build the one project, and then it’s over. The ChompSaw isn’t a kit. It’s not even technically a toy. It’s a tool.

And tools say you don’t need step-by-step directions, you can figure it out, and you’re trusted to make something real. Kids can be eager to embrace that level of responsibility and the challenges that come with it.

From College Project To Successful Launch

And here’s the kicker: this wasn’t dreamed up by a giant toy company. It came from two grad students. Kausi Raman, the CEO of Chompshop, came up with the idea when getting her master’s, saying, “I was researching a growing trend in education of teaching young kids design thinking skills,” she says. “As I worked with kids through the design process, I realized: kids were great design thinkers and could dream up amazing things. But when it came to the prototyping stage, kids struggled to prototype independently, and a lot of that excitement and momentum was lost. I realized that cardboard, a great material that is so easily accessible to kids, is really hard for kids to cut. Most of the time, they need an adult’s help. There wasn’t a tool that allowed kids to create easily, safely, and independently.”

Back in 2022, the ChompSaw was still being held together with duct tape, so Kausi teamed up with engineer and fellow student Max Liechty, along with his toddler, Milo, for months of testing and design tweaks. Together, they improved the design, gained strong community support for the concept, and transitioned from prototype to full-scale production.

Their modest goal was $50,000, and they hit it in 23 minutes. When all was said and done, the final tally was actually $1.17 million. Thus, they quit their jobs and moved to China to oversee production. By late 2024, the ChompSaw had captured widespread attention, leading the team to expand manufacturing operations overseas and begin reaching families around the world.

Why Cardboard? Because It’s Everywhere.

You don’t have to buy it. You don’t have to store it. It shows up on your doorstep every week.

The challenge has always been: how do kids actually work with it without adult help? Scissors are useless. Box cutters are terrifying and obviously off-limits. That’s why the ChompSaw feels like such a revelation. It gives kids control of a material they already love.

• Price: $249 (yep, it’s an investment)
• Age Range: 3+
• Materials: Cardboard, paper, craft foam—even fabric
• Noise Level: About as loud as a vacuum
• Safety: No blades. No spinning parts.

The starter kit comes with a hole punch and scoring tool. Add-ons include a fence for straight cuts, a circle cutter, an angle guide, and even a design workbook.

Considering The Price

Yes, $249 is a lot for something that cuts cardboard. However, it is a long-term investment whose benefits manifest in both the short and long term. The ChompSaw is a real, heavy-duty power tool that’s built to last years. The company even offers replacement parts. No add-ons you have to buy. And it hasn’t been shoved in a closet after a week.

For Classrooms And Makerspaces

The ChompSaw can also be incorporated into classroom and makerspace settings, providing students with a safe, tactile way to explore building and problem-solving. The tool can inspire kids to collaborate more rather than fight over scissors, stay engaged longer, and develop problem-solving skills that spill over into other schoolwork and beyond.

What’s Next For Chompshop

The ChompSaw is just the beginning. The company has just expanded internationally (UK, EU, Australia), launched on Amazon, and is soon to roll out a subscription box of monthly projects to keep kids building. Their vision is to create a whole ecosystem of kid-safe tools that make creativity feel natural, empowering, and fun.

The ChompSaw aims to turn your garage recycling pile into a goldmine, your dining room into a mini makerspace, and your child into a proud little engineer. So if you’re tired of screen battles, noisy toys, and short-lived holiday thrills, maybe it’s time to give your kid this power tool.

Quick Specs: The ChompSaw

• Price: $249
• Ages: 3+
• Cuts: Cardboard, paper, foam, fabric
• Includes: Hole punch + scoring tool
• Optional Add-Ons: Fence, circle cutter, angle guide, workbook
• Where to Buy: Chompshop.com

Prices and availability are accurate as of the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. Please check the retailer’s website for the most up-to-date pricing information.

BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.