Developmentally Appropriate Gift Ideas

Welcome back to another episode of Voices of Your Village! Over on Instagram I asked you villagers what would be the most helpful thing for me to do to support you this holiday season, and we got a bunch of requests for a gift guide. So, we put together this gift guide for you. We wanted to be really intentional with this, so that these toys are things that would last for a long time and that would support your child’s sensory and emotional regulation.

The gift guide is broken up into categories so that you can find exactly what you are looking for. There are links to absolutely everything so that you don’t have to do any extra work and, as a bonus, inside the gift guide is our very own Emotion Coaching Toolkit with things for you and your tiny humans. This Toolkit is inside a very special curated box that we created for you. However, there is a limited number of these so head on over to Seedandsew.org/giftguide to snag your gift guide and get your gifts today!

“Is this toy worth it for my kid or will it last 15 minutes?”

In this episode, I am going to dive into why we chose what we chose and what is really important when we are choosing toys and gifts to kids. What leads to toys supporting your kids nervous system as opposed to dysregulating them? We are diving into all of that in this episode, because I wanted to give you the How and the Why of buying gifts so that when you stumble across things you can have these guidelines to work from. 

There are so many things out there to choose from and heading over to Amazon or doing a Google search for gifts for your kiddo can feel so overwhelming. That is how we end up with a pile of stuff. Either stuff that your kiddo loved for a day or a week, and now lives at the bottom of a bin somewhere or kicked under a car seat. So, to avoid this pile-of-stuff we put together a gift guide to help you make conscious gift choices as you head into this holiday season.

Hot tip: On the gift guide we specify if it is something that is really meant for a specific age range, otherwise it is something that can evolve over the years as your child grows and develops.

The gift guide is broken up into a few different categories for you. Some sensory-rich gifts, some that help support nervous system regulation, there are things on there for emotional development, and we have our very own Emotion Coaching Toolkit that we put together specifically for you. Feel free to use this totally free gift guide yourself, share it with other parents or in-laws or anyone else who will be buying your kiddo a gift this season so that your tiny human doesn’t get a toy that lasts for a minute.

When we were putting this gift guide together, we looked at a few things that are really important in play for kiddos. The first is that it has high play value, so an open-ended toy instead of a one-and-done toy. The next is that they would be things that evolve over the ages, as your kiddo grows and develops in the years to come.

“Open-ended play fosters creativity and is really important for development.”

One of my favorite things to do with kids is to have a recycle bin with all the cardboard, cans, and other recyclables and then to put together a gift that is tools for building from the recycle bin. When I taught preschool, this was one of the kids’ absolute favorite things to do. We would say, “Oh gosh, guys. The recycle bin is really full, what do you think we can build from there?” Then, we would bring out rolls of tape and glitter glue and let the kids build all types of creations using the recycle bin. 

Lastly, on the gift guide we have a section for adults. For you, your partner, or any other adult you would like to give a gift to this holiday season. These are gifts that also are not one and done, but rather investments in you. In your mental health, in supporting you on this journey to change your everyday life. 

If you want to snag this gift guide and dive into these specific toys and gifts, head on over to Seedandsew.org/giftguide download it for free, share it with family and friends, and tag us @Seed.and.Sew over on Instagram to let us know what your favorite things are on there. What are you most excited to surprise your tiny human with this season? We love being in community with you on this journey. Alright folks, see ya over on the ‘gram!

Until next time,

Xoxo

Alyssa