Health and Development

Holiday Gift Guide: Tweens, ages 10-12

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

This year, we’re introducing a new gift guide category just for tweens. With all the rapid growth and change happening in our families, we know they’re going to be firmly in this category soon. Even though it’s an awkward age group, they still have their own distinct developmental needs.

At ages 10-12, kids are no longer little but not quite teens. They ask bigger questions, challenge ideas, and start understanding how they learn. Language sharpens, conversations deepen, and puberty often begins, bringing physical changes and self-awareness. Emotionally, tweens explore identity, crave peer connection, and care deeply about fairness. Gifts for this age group should provide flexible structure, foster open communication, model emotional regulation, all while supporting their evolving interests.

You also want to be careful not to choose gifts that are either too adult or too infantile. They are right in between.

Continue reading →

Holiday Gift Guide 2025: Infants and Toddlers

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

October is behind us, which means it’s officially wish list season. Sorting through the avalanche of toys and games online and in catalogs can feel more than a little overwhelming. I’ll be honest: narrowing down our favorites wasn’t easy. So yes, our list is on the larger side this year. But in our defense, every pick earned its spot.

To make the Child(ish) Advice list, we researched:

  • Is it cool and new?
  • Does it support child development?
  • Does it stand out from all the rest?
  • What do the reviews say about durability and practicality?

This year, we’ve grouped our favorites by target age and by category. First up, infants and toddlers.

Continue reading →

A Quiet Place: Voice and Volume

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Lee Abbott (signing): You cannot go down there!
Regan Abbott: Why not?
Lee Abbott: You know why.
Regan Abbott: I’m not a child! I won’t make a sound!
Lee Abbott: Just don’t. Please.

“Quiet” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when describing kids. More often, they fill every corner with sound—shrieks of joy, dramatic retellings, spontaneous dinosaur roars. Children tend to operate at full volume…unfortunately. As it turns out, there are real, developmental reasons behind all that noise.

Kids tend to be loud, not because they’re misbehaving, but because they’re still learning. Self-awareness, emotional regulation, and social cues are all works in progress. They’re figuring out how to read the room, tune into themselves, and turn the volume dial down. Add in boundless energy and curiosity, and volume becomes part of how they explore, connect, and express themselves.

Continue reading →

Idle Hands: I’m Bored

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Mick: So what? You like, knit now?
Anton: Randy broke it down for me. Idle hands is the devil’s playpen. So I’m thinking, you know, keep my hands occupied.
Mick: Nah man, that’s saying’s not…literal.

I’m BORED. If you’ve got kids, you’ve heard it. It’s the household equivalent of “Are we there yet?” And let’s be honest: it’s maddening, especially when they’re surrounded by all the toys, books, and art supplies you’ve curated at their disposal. Not to mention a chore list that’s still waiting to be done.

Recent findings reveal that boredom is a widespread experience among children. In a survey of 2,000 parents with children ages 3 to 12, the average time before boredom set in was just 33 minutes. Notably, 81% of parents reported that their children consistently sought new activities after returning home from school or daycare. Although this survey highlights a persistent need for engagement across age groups, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Continue reading →

Mom Date Review: The 40th Birthday Mammogram

| Patti Webb
Post-appointment coffee date.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends starting routine mammograms at 40 years. Having turned 40 this year, that means we were due for our very first mammogram.

Continue reading →