We’re ending the week with books for kids 0-10. Publishing categories fairly closely match up with age groups, so we’re listing books by type this time. It also should go without saying that these should be physical books. We would hold off with eBooks until middle school, or when your kid can read on a device without it affecting their vision or attention.
Here are our book picks for 2024:
This category is new for us but TBH, the toys and games in this age range have upped their game in the last couple of years.
Around ages 8-12, kids make big strides in many areas of development. Their skill refinement allows for:
Here are our recommendations for kids 8+:
This has got to be the largest list we’ve put together to date, but not just because we love toys.
Kids at this age are achieving key developmental milestones and improving their executive functions, allowing for better focus and memory. As they continue to refine their skills, they enjoy social play, seek friendly competition, pursue independence by testing limits, try new things, and make new friends.
Not only did we pick a ton of toys and games geared towards these age-range skills, but we also chose practical items to encourage independence, and bigger, family-friendly gifts that include your littlest.
Here are our gift picks for kids 3-7:
Growing up in Florida, Patti and I have ridden Disney’s Haunted Mansion too many times to count. The dark attraction is a fan favorite, resulting in multiple movies and specials highlighting the grim stories of its ghostly residents. Aside from the 2003 and 2023 films of the same name, other versions include the family-friendly Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021) and yes, Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015) is rumored to be the R-rated version that never came to be.
This got us thinking how cool it is that all these different variations of the same IP cater to full spectrum of age and maturity levels. Are these stories playing toward our fear, our entertainment, or both? What exactly is age-appropriate when it comes to fear?
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I’m not gonna lie, completing this ADHD certification and writing these posts has driven me down a rabbit hole. “Do I have ADHD? Does my son have ADHD?”
While he is a 7-year-old, his past teachers have mentioned focus issues and recently, he’s been forgetting items to either take to school or bring back home. Is this something I need to be concerned about or is this just an age-appropriate phase?
For Patti, ADHD runs in her family. So even though she does not have a diagnosis, she has been on the lookout for flags since the beginning. You can imagine how these coffee chats have gone between us…
If you suspect your child’s inattention or impulsivity may be more than the norm, or you notice that it’s affecting parts of their daily routine, here’s what you can do.
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Child(ish) Advice 