Tag: bestgiftsforkids

Posted in Anti-Gift Guide, Uncategorized

Why are most Gift Guides so Arbitrary?: More Books Less Crap 4

Posted on by readwithriver
Most gift guides seem completely arbitrary, whether it’s a book guide or a toy guide, what do we look for in a guide that’s responsive to kids’ personalities?
I’ve never bought anything my kids liked from an age based gift guide. All Flops. I should’ve asked ‘do my kids like trains?’ Not ‘are they two years old?’ What a waste!
Any guides that distinguish between binary gender are awful. Who are building toys for? ids who like building! Toys have no gender!
Age relation to developmental stage is not universal. Puzzle complexity, for example is about what a kid is ready for, and that is personal. And you might say, but what about choking hazards! Well yes naturally safety is one issue, but skill development is a completely different thing. Also five year olds who put crap in their mouth can choke just as much as a two year old.
If we’re going to use random criteria to assign toy recommendations then we might as well make the categories fun…
Kid’s gift guide based on their Zodiac! Because why the hell not? Gemini Kids gifts!
Or Personality type gift guide?…Am I on to something?
Enneagram Kids gift Guide? Wouldn’t this make more sense?
OK but how do I find a useful guide?

Look for a guide where:

-the writer has tried the actual products and tells you about how their real kids used them. Helpful if you can tell if that kid’s personality aligns with the kid you are buying for.

-the toy company did not pay for a spot on the guide, gift guides in most magazines are paid for spots, and certainly in all junk mailers.

-where you can ask questions to the guide creator and get answers.

consider the actual kid you’re buying for.

-is the criteria for selections on the guide clear? And are they the criteria you yourself value?

-Ask the kid you’re buying for what they like, or ask their care givers and educators, use that as a starting point. If the child is going to daycare or kindergarten, they’re playing with lots of different kinds of toys, and their educator will know what they gravitate towards.

Being a thoughtful gift giver doesn’t mean being a good guesser. Asking shows respect for the child as an individual.

Delightful Funny Stories Your Kids Will Love, Gender and Age is irrlevant: These are all stories that my own children have enjoyed over multiple reads, or in some cases over the past year over and over again. The criteria is humour, enjoyability, good strong story line, likeable characters, excellent art, and that MY KIDS LIKED IT! All of my books are gifted, period, but I have not accepted any money and the links bellow are not affiliate links, I strongly suggest you buy them from your local indie bookstore.

“Leopold’s Leotard” Rhiannon Wallace, Risa Hugo 2021, Orca Book Publishers.

Leopold loves the dance! He doesn’t love his itchy performance costume. What will he do?

“Atticus Caticus” by Sarah Maizes and Kara Kramer, 2021, Candlewick.

A rhyming delightful tribute to a boy’s beloved cat. One of my three year old’s favourite book.

“Off-Limits” by Helen Yoon 2021, Candlewick

There’s nothing like the allure of office supplies, especially when they’re left unattended.

“Cannonball”by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan, 2020, Source Books Kids.

Doing a cannonball is no simple act, it takes courage, it takes chutzpah, has he got what it takes?

“On Account of the Gum” by Adam Rex 2020, Chronicle Kids Books.

A bad situation, and it just gets worse. Don’t sleep with gum in your mouth.

“Lobstah Gahden” by Alli Bridon and EG Keller, 2021, Sourcebooks Kids.

Two lobsters are just trying to win a gardening competition but boats keep dumping garbage on them, read in a Bahstan accent.

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