The Ultimate Kids Gift Ideas - Presents With Purpose
I was listening to my favourite podcast today in the car. The podcast was all about having purpose and intention in your day - every day. He spoke about how living intentionally builds resilience and joy. That having purpose in everything you do means you will make the most of every day. It's really about living your best life. It got me thinking about the art of gift giving and in particular the kinds of toys and things we give our kids. I thought it would be good to review great things we can gift our kids that have purpose, and that help nurture skills they need - AND that are also great fun for them. Here are some of my favourites.
1. Inspirational Children's Books
Everyone that knows me, knows how much I love books. I am always reading. I have been reading to my kids from the day they were born. I want them to be able to know the world, know words, be able to express themselves with words and stories. I truly believe that books are a gateway to curiosity, curiosity to knowledge and knowledge is a gateway to confidence. Books are also a way to be discuss different, sometimes difficult topics with words and pictures that may explain things better than we can.
Little People, Big Dreams Series
Discover the lives of outstanding people from designers and artists to scientists in the Little People, Big Dreams book series. All of them went on to achieve incredible things, yet all of them began life as a little child with a dream.
Kobi Yamada
The books from Kobi Yamada explore themes with you and your kids that are so important and are written so well. It's no surprise that these are New York Times Best Sellers. The illustrations are beautiful. This is a real spiritual and emotional journey for your little one, and maybe even you. It really makes you stop and think. Inspirational!
2. Strength & Mindfulness
My awakening came late in life but now that I know what I know I want to make sure that my kids start out with a better foundation than I had. Learning yoga and mindfulness is incredibly important and will help with resiliency, managing anxiety and stress; as well as building strength in the body. But lets be honest, for them its also great fun - especially when they can do it with mum or dad - or EVEN BETTER... both mum and dad!!!!
Yogi Fun
YOGi FUN games are a fantastic tool for developing emotional, social, cognitive, and physical skills and can be enjoyed indoors or outdoor - for great quality time!
3. Expression and self understanding
A big part of self awareness and self actualisation comes from being able to freely express yourself. The first part of the journey comes from crying and screaming, physically grabbing or pointing, and then as we get older speech and then writing. Through reflection and communication comes growth - emotionally and spiritually. There are various ways that kids learn to express themselves and they differ depending on their age - dolls, drawing and journaling
More than just toys, our soft dolls and toys can become partners in crime, companions, and a shoulder to cry on. Perfect for open-ended play, pretend play, and early childhood development. SHOP OUR FULL RANGE
Notebooks and journals are great for drawing, keeping notes or a visual diary or gratitude journal. SHOP OUR FULL RANGE
4. Nurture Creativity
I recently wrote about how important open ended play is for kids. It teaches kids to think abstractly, helps build creativity, confidence with testing and experimenting, and is important in the develop of intelligence. Blocks, art, drawing and other crafts are great for open ended play plus also help with fine motor skill development. For my little one, she is only just starting to colour in properly - she has been struggling to find a pencil holding position. Colouring in has been a really big focus for us this year and I can say in the last few months something has finally clicked and she is colouring in better, and writing letters as well as drawing.
5. Nurture natural interest
My kids are great at breaking things. That's their superpower. I will be honest with you, I try not to nurture that particular gift. But other kids, I have noticed, have really mad skills and interests in things like drawing or dancing. I think its really important to give kids a platform to development when they show a genuine interest and desire to learn something. My eldest has been showing interest in fashion design and makes dresses our of material scraps for her Barbies. I have encouraged her to start sewing and to read about different designers.
6. Curiosity
As I said, I believe that curiosity is a gateway to knowledge and knowledge is a gateway to confidence. There are few skills more universally important than being able to fall on your ass and be happy about it. Confidence, particularly in failure, is a more than a life skill - it's a superpower! Developing confidence in kids to learn and explore and be curious is vital in building resilient, confident kids. Below are a few of my favourite knowledge building products.
