"Hacking My Ceiling Fan's Wireless Remote with a USB TV Tuner", https://www.riveducha.com/decode-wireless-signal-with-usb-tv...
"Abusing RPi GPIO pins as a radio controller", https://www.riveducha.com/raspberry-pi-gpio-send-radio-signa...
Have fun and if dad modding their toys gets your kids interested in hacking/tinkering then all the better.