It’s been a big week for talking about our feelings, all thanks to Elmo making a splash on X (formerly Twitter) by simply asking us how we were — and receiving a notification inbox full of “very much not OK, Elmo. thx.”
And while some of the Twitter responses — or daytime TV responses — might’ve been a little silly, it brings up an incredibly important point: We’ve got to talk to each other about how we’re doing.
Of course, it’s important for adults to check in on each other, but it’s equally as important that we have these conversations with our kids early. These conversations can teach them about identifying their emotions and learning to cope with them, as well as recognizing emotions in others and having open discussions. It gives kids confidence to feel all of their feelings and let you know when things are getting a little too overwhelming.
One amazing way to open these conversations up are through play. The toy industry has been a-buzz with SEL (social-emotional learning) in the past, but has recently revamped to MESH (mental and emotional social health) when discussing play benefits. There are plenty of toys out there on the shelf to help kickstart mental health and wellness conversations with kids, so we rounded up a few of our favorites below.
MINDFULNESS & YOGA TONIES
The latest figures from tonies feature a sloth and a llama. The Mindfulness Tonie takes kids on adventures through nature with Mo the sloth while the Yoga Tonie gets kids moving with Sara the Llama.
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EXPRESS MY FEELINGS JOURNAL
Through prompts and activities, this journal encourages kids to engage with their emotions and make a personal connection with how they feel. The journal introduces 20 common feelings and 10 reflection activities.
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MY FEELINGS RAINBOW FIDGET
This holiday, kids can focus their attention on this magical display of colors as they flip the rainbow upside down This double-sided, sensory rainbow features a smooth flow of colors coming from the happy cloud and choppy drips of colors coming from the sad cloud. Kids instantly relate to this adorable rainbow as a way…
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BIG FEELINGS PINEAPPLE DELUXE SET
The deluxe version of the Big Feelings Pineapple comes with 41 interchangeable pieces, including mouths, eyes, eyebrows, and hands. Kids can switch the pineapple’s expressions as they build preschool-level social-emotional learning skills.
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PLAY & LEARN MONSTER MATES — EMOJI MONSTER (BLUE EDITION)
Kids can learn about and understand their emotions with these 10 little monsters. By putting each little monster piece into the bigger Emoji Monster, kids will learn how to express their feelings.
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EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FRIES
Kids can cuddle these plush fries, share them with friends and family, or hand one over to communicate exactly how they are feeling. Plus, these cuties are easy to remove, rearrange, and return to the carton.
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EMOTIONAL SUPPORT LINE DUMPLINGS, STRAWBERRIES AND NUGGETS
The universal comfort meal, now in plush! These adorable food plushies look just like the real thing. They're squishy, shaggy, and downright cute. From happy and sad to flirty and mad, Emotional Support plush are now available as Chicken Nuggets, Dumplings and Strawberries.
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EGGXPRESS YOURSELF!
Kids can practice matching skills, social-emotional intelligence, and more with these 12 wobbling eggs, complete with shapes and colors on the inside and facial expressions on the outside. The set includes a mirror card, a storybook, and more.
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MY FEELINGS BEAN BAGS
These tactile bean bags encourage kids to explore their emotions and express their feelings. In addition to sensory play, they promote self confidence. The bean bags come with a drawstring bag and an activity guide.
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MAGNA-TILES DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD — SO MANY FEELINGS!
This interactive, magnetic building set encourages social-emotional learning with Daniel Tiger and friends. Kids can learn to identify their feelings, including feeling more than one feeling at the same time.
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AHA! EMOTION SCIENCE
This tactile STEM kit includes a storybook and conductive play doughs. Kids use the dough and the book to create an emotion circuit, which teaches them how our bodies connect to our emotions.
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PLUSH PALS
As we know from the Elmo situation, we all love to have a buddy to talk to — and from plush to interactive pets to dolls and more, there are plenty of friends for kids to connect to. Since collectible plush is all the rage these days, there’s also a social aspect to buying, swapping, and sharing plush that can strengthen kids’ real-life relationships and bonds, and encourage empathy and sympathy in their friendships.
Below are some plushie friends your kids can snuggle with when they’re sad!
SESAME STREET ELMO SLIDE
This interactive plush sings, sways, flaps his arms, and glides to the song “Elmo Slide.” Encourages little ones to dance or play a game of Elmo Says. Features soft fabrics and hidden wheels for smooth moves, and speaks English and Spanish.
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SQUISHMALLOWS 16-INCH BUDDY SQUAD
Kids can collect a growing assortment of ultra-soft, 16-inch plush characters, each with its own name and unique personality. Squishmallows have a unique texture and form factor and new characters join the Squad each month.
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MY FUZZY FRIENDS: MAGIC WHISPERS KITTY
Kids can place this interactive kitty's light-up heart on their forehead and she will whisper to them. Using special sound-conducting technology, no one else can hear her give advice, say how she feels, or tell cat jokes.
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FINGERLINGS
These baby monkeys know when they're on kids' fingers. They feature glowing hearts, poseable tails, flocked hair, unique personalities, and more than 70 sounds and reactions. Collect four new characters: Charli, Leo, Ava, and Harmony.
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CRY BABIES FIRST EMOTIONS
Dreamy and Jassy each make more than 65 expressions and baby sounds! Each doll comes in a trendy unicorn- themed outfit and comes with different accessories so kids can interact with the doll and discover different ways to care for and play with their baby! Kids can give her a pacifier to calm the baby…
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FEELINGS FAMILY HAND PUPPETS
Each of the five puppets expresses an emotion through its unique facial expression, body position, and design. As kids explore the puppets through dramatic play, roleplay, and guided discussions, they will develop the skills to understand five core emotions: happy, angry, surprised, sad, and scared.
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OUCH & OOPS PLUSH
These plush pals are a playful way for kids to say they're sorry. Based on the popular psychology theory. Includes two plushies for apologizing and being apologized to. When kids are hurt, hand them "Ouch". When you've hurt them, say sorry by giving them "Oops". Ouch & Oops are a great way to teach kids…
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TOGETHER TIME
And just because a toy doesn’t scream “THIS TOY IS ALL ABOUT SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH” doesn’t mean you won’t be reaping the benefits from it during playtime. Activities and games that families can play together spark quality time. The games and activities below encourage you and your family to put down your screens and engage in some good ol’ fashioned conversation.
STREAKS
Can you keep the fire alive? Players are challenged to count to 21 before the fire dies out. Go around in a circle taking turns counting but follow the rules for each number. If anyone messes up, the round starts back at one. The unique flame on the gameboard will act as the timer, dimming…
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TACO CAT GOAT CHEESE PIZZA
Race against other players to slap the pile first when the card matches the spoken word in the "Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza" sequence. It only takes a minute to learn before gameplay can get started, which lasts about 10-15 minutes.
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ABRAHAM HUNTER PUZZLES
RoseArt (part of Cra-Z-Art) signature artist Abraham Hunter paints beautiful scenes to calm the soul, available in varying piece counts including 500 and 1,000. Mounted on European premium puzzle board, kids will feel the weight and quality in every piece. Each piece is fully interlocking and has a beautiful “snap” as the puzzle is assembled.…
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TWISTER AIR
In this app-enabled, augmented-reality spin on Twister, players can strike poses to music beats as they match their wrist and ankle bands to the colored spots on screen. The game includes eight Twister Air bands and a device stand.
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WAFFLES VS PANCAKES
It’s a breakfast battle this holiday season with Waffles vs. Pancakes! Players choose a side, grab a spatula, and put on a blindfold. Then players race to fill their plate with waffles or pancakes! Collect bonus Food Fighter Cards, and avoid the Totally Toast Card! It’s a fan-flipping-tastic battle packed with fun for the whole…
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PIGS ON TRAMPOLINES
Players use the included mini trampolines to bounce pigs into the pig pen and try to land them in the mud puddle. Every pig that players land in the puddle earns them a mud pie. Whoever has the most mud pies in the end wins the game.
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MONOPOLY SCRABBLE
This game combines elements of the Monopoly game with the crossword-building play of Scrabble. In place of rolling dice to move around the board, players build words and move ahead by their score. Features custom Community Chest and Chance cards.
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Bluey Color & Sticker Activity Set
This set features 32 coloring pages, five Crayola Pipsqueak Markers, and more than 50 stickers of Bluey and other characters from the series.
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CHUCK E. CHEESE & FRIENDS PARTY COOKBOOK
This cookbook features recipes inspired by Chuck E. Cheese characters, from Ronnie's Ice Cream Pizza to Chuck E.'s Mummy Dogs. Kids can craft meals designed for the holidays, slumber parties, and more. The book is available for preorder now and is expected to ship this March.
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SQUISHMALLOWS TAKE 4
In this game, players must collect cards from one of four squads: Classic, Sealife, Fantasy, and Food. Whoever collects a full squad first wins! In each round, four new cards are displayed. Players must pick which card they want to collect, but if another player also wants the card, whoever grabs the exclusive Benny the…
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BY THE BOOK
In this single-player game, kids will draw one of 40 challenge cards indicating which books they must use and how many of those books they must place horizontally. Then they will try to build a balanced bookshelf following that prompt.
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SHIMMER ‘N SPARKLE DIY ABC FASHION BEADS
Thanks to Taylor Swift’s ERAS tour, friendship bracelets are hotter than ever! Kids can design and create fashion friendship bracelets in bold and bright colors. The ultimate bestie wristwear for kids to wear and share! Show off unique styles by mixing and matching all the chic accessories. Kids can personalize bracelets with sayings using the…
