For the most part, when I put together this gift guide, I had in mind how stressed out tweens and teens are these days. There is so much pressure on these kids to be the best at everything and expectations are not always developmentally appropriate for these kids. With that in mind, many of the items on this gift guide are geared towards managing stress and toys or games that offer a distraction. I also tried to keep with the occupational therapy spin and make sure that there are ways to sneak in things like improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourage creativity and imagination skills.There was so much more I wanted to put on this gift guide and have so many other suggestions so if you don’t see what you are looking for and would like some ideas, email me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for your kiddos!
1. Be Mindful Card Deck for Teens-as I have already mentioned, today’s tweens and teens face a lot of stress on a daily basis. Expectations are high and most kids I know have very high expectations on themselves to be wonderful at everything they do. Incorporating mindfulness activities into a child’s life can help them become more emotionally regulated, decrease anxiety, can lead to decreased stress and improved sleep patterns. These mindfulness cards were created with tweens/teens in mind and offer you 50 ways to be more present in your life in the moment. Kids are encouraged to use the cards to help them develop strategies to help them when they are feeling anxious, moody or are having difficulty with relaxing. As both a parent and a therapist, I think giving your children tools to develop a more mindful attitude will help them be more successful when they are older and facing even more stressful situations.
2.Desktop Skeeball Mini Kit-who doesn’t love skeeball? It is still the first game I will play when it’s available. This tabletop version of the game doesn’t take up too much space and could be a perfect game to keep on a desk when your kid might need a break while studying or doing homework. Skeeball is great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, improves visual motor skills and promotes patience, concentration and focus.
3. DIY Fantastical World Clay Shadow Box Kit-this DIY craft kit is perfect for kids who love to create. This kit includes everything a kid needs in order to build a 3D troll or bat such as a wooden base, clay palette of 8 colors and clay tools.. It also includes step-by-step directions with access to a video tutorials. This is a great sensory experience for kids while working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves grasp strength, improves hand-eye coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills. It’s also a great way to work on executive functioning skills such as following directions, improving focus and attention and task completion.
4. Conversation Starters Teen Edition-as a parent of a teenager, I know how challenging getting a conversation going with her at times can be. For children who have language or learning challenges, this can be even more difficult to navigate. As someone who led social skills groups for years, I found that a good deck of conversation starters could be a game changer. This conversation starters set from Talking Point comes is designed with tweens/teens in mind and offers 200 cards with talking prompts. The prompts were creaated by experts to allow parents and children to have more meaningful conversations with comfort and ease.
5. Foldology-The Origami Puzzle Game-while I find origami to be challenging, I have had plenty of kids on my caseload in the past who love the challenge that it provides. I like this particular origami set because it is more about figuring out a picture puzzle through folding the paper. This particular set has 100 different puzzles that become increasingly more challenging. Foldology has so many occupational therapy benefits including improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and is great for working on motor planning, problem solving, concentration and increasing focus, attention and frustration tolerance.
6. Frozen Bubble Kit-sometimes older kids just need a silly toy that makes them feel like a kid again and this frozen bubble kit is perfect for that. This kit was created using sustainable, biodegradable and vegan materials and let’s kids make ice crystals by blowing freezable bubbles. Each kit comes with the bubble solution, a bamboo cup and straw and an instruction manual. The bubbles take about 20 minutes to form and if you live in a colder climate, they will stay frozen for much longer if you are outside in colder temperatures.
7. Glyphics-this is a fast paced word guessing game for older school-age/teens. Using a variety of uniquely shaped plastic pieces. Glyphics comes with 150 playing cards and 40 plastic shape pieces. This game was created as an alternative to games like Charades or Pictionary but you use the plastic pieces to create the word that you have drawn from the deck. Not only is this game a lot of fun, it’s great for working on a variety of skills such as improving hand-eye coordination, encourages manipulation and grasping skills and encourages creativity. It’s a great game to play with friends or as a family and can easily be taken on the go for vacations.
8. The Life of a Bead Girl Little Word Project Bracelet Kit-I am obsessed with the Little Word Project bracelets and have a ton of my own and give as gifts as often as I can. I love their DIY bracelet kits and if you have a Swiftie on your gift list this year, this would be perfect for them. Each kit comes with assorted block letter beads, colorful random shaped beads, elastic stretch string and an instruction booklet. Kids can create their own bracelets with whatever word they choose. This is a great gift to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves bilateral and hand-eye coordination, encourages creativity and is great for working on executive functioning skills such as planning, time management, organizational skills and focus and attention.
9. Murdle Jr.-this is a series of 3 interactive cbildren’s mystery puzzle books that features a team of four junior detectives. These books were created to promote critical thinking and be a screen-free opportunity for kids. The books are filled with “whodunits” with clues, codes and illustrations that require kids to use a mystery-solving logic grid to figure out the solutions to the mysteries. The puzzles include traditional logic problems, codes, and even mazes and word searches in some of the more activity-focused books.These are great for working on executive functioning skills such as problem solving, planning, organization, focus and attention and is a fun way to work on graphomotor skills. Kids can complete the puzzles on their own or you can have them work with a friend or a sibling in order to work together to solve the mysteries.
10. Pancake Art Kit-I have always wanted to learn how to make pancake art and this set by King Arthur Flour looks like a great starter kit. If you have a teen or tween who is into cooking or baking, this could be the perfect gift for them. The kit comes with four squeeze bottles, a mini sparkle syrup, a set of 4 plant-based food colors, pancake mix and a recipe card. This is a great activity to work on following directions, problem solving and other executive functioning skills such as planning, organization and time management skills. It’s also great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination and works on visual motor and visual perceptual skills while encouraging creativity.
11. Paint By Sticker Books-these activity books are one of my guilty pleasures! When I need to take my mind off of something or just need to keep my hands busy, I will pull out one of the several Paint By Sticker books we have in our house. There are a bunch of different books to choose from ranging from animals, to famous rock stars and all different kinds of animals. Kids match the sticker to the right number to complete the picture. This is great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving hand-eye coordination, visual tracking and other visual motor skills and works on improving focus, attention and organizational skills. It’s also a great self-esteem and confidence booster as they complete each picture.
12. Speks Odds Silicone Magnets-fidget toys are not just for kids! We have a couple of sets of these at both my gym and at home and they are great for relieving stress and keeping your hands busy. For some of my older kids who are working on more advanced things such as handwriting, drawing or more advanced crafting activities, I like to leave a set of these magnets on the desk so if they need a break, they can grab these and play with them for a bit. In addition to being a great fidget toy, they are great for working on increasing grasp strength and help to improve fine motor coordination and manipulation skills.
13. Tinytown Sticker Sets-I am obsessed with these sticker scenes from Pipsticks and have actually done a few of them when I am feeling stressed out or anxious. Tinytown Sticker sets are a series of isometric sticker scene kits that encourage kids to build their own sticker worlds using the cutest stickers. Each kit comes with with two scenes and a ton of adorable stickers to create your scene. You can follow the design on the packaging or design your own scene. These sticker scenes are great for working on grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and great for working on executive functioning skills such as planning, focus and attention.
14. Watercolor Workbooks-I have picked up a handful of these books for my 15 year old daughter who has loved painting for ages. Emily Lex watercolor workbooks are great for beginners because they are designed to make watercolor painting accessible and enjoyable for all people. Each of the books features 12 lightly sketched illustrations with step-by-stop instructions and color examples to facilitate success.There are lots of examples throughout the workbook for kids to look through and help them while they paint. What’s nice about these workbooks is that they can paint the picture right in it with the instructions right there for them to follow. There are all kinds of themes to choose from including holidays, animals, birds, flowers and so much more. Watercolor painting is a great way to improve fine motor skills, work on improving hand eye-coordination, encourages creativity and works on improving focus, attention and concentration skills.
15. Woobles Beginners Crochet Kits-I learned how to knit when I was much older but wish I had learned earlier. I love that these Woobles kits are created with the idea that younger kids can work with yarn to create and they make it so motivating. Woobles Crochet kits provide all the tools and materials required to create a cute little stuffed animal. In addition to all the materials, it also comes with a QR code that sends you to easy to follow step-by-step instructions. The beginner kits also come with a pre-started piece to avoid the trickiest part of the process which makes this less frustrating for a kid. Crocheting is a great skill and works on so many occupational therapy skills such as improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages bilateral and hand-eye coordination and works on executive functioning skills such as improved focus and attention, motor planning, organizational skills, following directions and time management skills. In the end, once they have completed their crocheted stuffed animal they will feel so confident and their self-esteem will soar.
