Playtime

Patti’s Favorite Posts: 2023

| Patti Webb

My favorite 2023 post was our Treetop Quest playdate review. 

I was so excited to find this activity and overjoyed at the mental and physical determination our kids displayed. Mary and I could only help or talk to our kids from a distance. We also couldn’t exactly show or model how to do the courses ourselves. They had to assess the situation, work their equipment, motor plan, and overcome a bit of reluctance. Our kids showed true teamwork, were cheerleaders for each other, and it was impressive. Such a proud mom moment. 

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Holiday Gift Guide 2023: Elementary School

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

As kids enter their elementary school years, they have achieved many (if not all) of their developmental milestones. They feel confident enough in their skills to test their limits, try new things, make new friends, and seek more independence.

This must be the largest list we’ve made to date since there are so many good toys, games, and activities out there that our kids can benefit from.

Here’s our top picks for 2023 for elementary kids, 4 years and up:

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Holiday Gift Guide 2023: Toddlers & Preschoolers

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Toddlers are experimenting with and refining their newfound developmental skills, from walking to using words to get what they want. They are also using pretend play to understand the world around them. This means more self-awareness, imagination, independence, autonomy, and tantrums (sorry, there’s no way around this).

Here are our gift picks for toddlers ages 1-3:

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Holiday Gift Guide 2023: Newborns & Infants

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It’s November and that means you are either shifting to the holiday season, or you are in denial. Gift guides and catalogs will be coming out ad nauseam from your fave influencers to big box stores (if they haven’t hit your inboxes already). But to be honest, a lot of those gift recommendations tend to overlap. Enough with the Stanley cups and sneaker erasers already….

So what then is included in a Child(ish) Advice Gift Guide?
Here’s what we use:

  • 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?

For babies, their first year is all about firsts. They are learning about their environment, their bodies, and how to interact with everyone and everything, one cry and crawl at a time.

So, here’s our top toys for babies 0-12 months:

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Our Skate Rink Review

| Patti Webb

For our last playdate review of the year, we wanted to go big. We tried to see if there was a haunted house for little kids to go along with our spooky month, but sadly to no avail. Instead, we landed on everyone’s favorite childhood party venue, the hobby that got a glow up during pandemic, and a skill that is way easier to figure out than ice skating.

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