Occupational Therapy

Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Preschool and Early Elementary

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

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:

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Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Babies and Toddlers

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It’s that time again: Gift Guide season. We’re sharing our top picks for the holiday gifts, so all you list girlies can prep before Black Friday.

To make the Child(ish) Advice cut, we use these criteria:

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

Here are our gift picks for babies and toddlers, ages 0-3:

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Fear For All: Age-Appropriate Fear

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

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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Why You Gotta Be So Mean?: Kids and Aggression

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

From rough housing to name calling and everything in between, children showcase a spectrum of aggression. While it may be for fun, it can be downright vicious in certain circumstances. Babies start showing these behaviors around 8-12 months of age to express their frustrations; but it starts to diminish when they learn appropriate means to express and acquire their wants/needs. However, school-aged children can take it to another level.

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Our Escape Room Playdate Review

| Patti Webb

When we first came up with doing playdate reviews, we hated that we couldn’t find an escape room. For every spot in our area, the minimum age was maybe 10. Fast forward a year or two, and I get a flyer for Escapology at my girls’ field hockey practice. A new space was opening up literally 10 minutes from us. I could’ve kissed the mom (who happened to be the owner) who said that they didn’t quite have a minimum age.

“How could this be?”, you say. KIDS MODE!

Escapology is an immersive, and always private, escape game where players are gathered inside a themed room and must complete their mission before time runs out. Stepping inside a real-life adventure, they must find hidden clues, crack codes, and solve puzzles to make an escape—all in an hour.

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