Whys & Finds

Something tied to what the child loves, sized for them now, ready to give when it arrives. Plus time: a book or a game together.

Show Notes

What can grandparents give a toddler for Christmas?

Pick something tied to what the child loves right now, sized for the child as they are today, and ready to give the moment it arrives. Then add time: a book you read together or a game you play on the floor during a visit.

Ellie and Ben talk about buying blind: choosing from a picture and the age on the box, then missing on size. The CPSC, the U.S. product safety agency, says to choose toys that match each child's interests and abilities. ZERO TO THREE names the feeling of buying a toy a child plays with for two days and never touches again. The CDC says to set up a special time to read books with your toddler. Raising Children Network says grandparents could read to a grandchild on a video chat. Ben adds the step that comes first: call the parents, ask what is already coming, and claim your gift, so the child does not open four of the same thing. They also cover how a gift ships and reading reviews from people who bought for a child the same age.

Sources:

Whys & Finds is made by Naturally KIDS.
This episode uses AI-generated voices for both hosts.

What is Whys & Finds?

The whys parents and gift-givers ask about little kids, and the finds that actually get used. On Whys & Finds, two hosts, Ellie and Ben, take one question per episode, answer it up front, and are honest about when something else would suit a child better. Both hosts are AI-generated voices. Made by Naturally KIDS.

Ben: You're a grandparent. The grandchild is two and lives a few hours away. You see her a handful of times a year, and you want to send something for Christmas that she'll actually love. Not a guess.

Ellie: Welcome to Whys & Finds. I'm Ellie.

Ben: And I'm Ben.

Ellie: Today: what can grandparents give a toddler for Christmas?

Ellie: It comes down to three things. Something tied to what the child loves right now. Sized for the child as they are today, not as they'll be in two years. And ready to give the moment it arrives. Then add something grandparents can give that a store can't sell: time. A book you read together. A game on the floor during a visit.

Ben: So: what they love, the right size, ready to give. Plus time.

Ellie: That's it. Let me explain each one.

Ellie: First, a common miss. I call it buying blind. You pick from a picture and the age on the box. Then it arrives, and it's made for a much bigger kid. Or it's too young for them.

Ben: In fairness, that's not carelessness. A grandparent sees the child on a screen, or at a visit. Two-year-olds don't stay the same size for long.

Ellie: True. That's why the age on the box is only half the check. The other half is inches. Look up the real size of the thing. Then picture the child next to it. Or ask the parents to hold a tape measure up to her back.

Ben: You're sending the parents out with a tape measure.

Ellie: It's a quick check. A backpack that hangs past her knees doesn't get worn.

Ellie: Second, what the child loves. The CPSC, the U.S. product safety agency, has holiday advice for people buying toys. It says to choose toys that match each child's interests and abilities.

Ben: Interests I get. So if she's into unicorns, a unicorn.

Ellie: If she's into unicorns, a unicorn. If he roars at the dog every morning, probably a dinosaur. And abilities: think about what she can do today. Not what her older cousin can do.

Ben: Fine. But let me push on something. Isn't the fun part for a grandparent the big gift? The one everyone watches her open.

Ellie: I get it. But ZERO TO THREE, a U.S. nonprofit that works on early childhood, has a line about that. "We all know the feeling of buying a toy a child plays with for two days and never touches again."

Ben: So the big moment under the tree isn't the test.

Ellie: No. The test is whether she still plays with it a week later.

Ben: Can I go back to the unicorn? You said, if she loves unicorns, buy a unicorn.

Ellie: I did.

Ben: Here's the problem. If she loves unicorns, everyone knows she loves unicorns. Both sets of grandparents. The aunt. The neighbor. She opens four unicorns, and three of them go in the closet.

Ellie: That's fair. The favorite animal is the obvious pick, so it's the one that gets doubled.

Ben: So before you buy anything, call the parents. Not to ask "what should I get". Ask "what's already coming". Then claim your gift, so nobody else buys the same one.

Ellie: You're right, and that comes before everything I said. Call first, claim the gift, then shop.

Ellie: Third, time. It's the gift people forget to count. The CDC, the U.S. public health agency, has a page of tips for parents of toddlers. One of them: "Set up a special time to read books with your toddler."

Ben: That tip is written for parents, though.

Ellie: It is. But a grandparent can set up that time too. Bring a picture book to the next visit, and read it together.

Ben: So a picture book counts as a real gift. If you're there to read it.

Ellie: It does.

Ben: What if you're not there? Say you ship the gift and watch it opened on a phone.

Ellie: Raising Children Network, an Australian parenting site supported by the Australian Government, has a page for grandparents. It says: "Try doing activities as well as talking. For example, you could play games together while you chat or read to your grandchild on a video chat."

Ben: So the book goes in the box, and you read it on the call.

Ellie: You could. And the gift itself has to work without you in the room. That brings us to how it arrives.

Ben: That's the part I'd worry about. You order it, it goes straight to their house. Does it show up in a plastic bag?

Ellie: Check the listing for how it ships. Some gifts arrive in a box you can wrap as is. Some arrive in a mailer, and the parents have to find wrapping paper at night.

Ben: Okay. Give me one that passes all of this.

Ellie: One option: Naturally KIDS makes small backpacks with a removable plush animal on the front. A unicorn, a T-Rex, a triceratops, a dog, a giraffe, and others. It arrives gift-ready in a kraft box.

Ben: A backpack, though. Isn't that a practical gift? Grandparents want to give the fun one.

Ellie: It's both. The plush is the toy. She can take it out for a hug and put it back. And the backpack has room for a snack and a treasure.

Ben: And if I want her to have more to unwrap?

Ellie: There are sets: a small backpack, a bigger plush and four mini plush animals. Dinosaurs, or unicorns.

Ben: How do I know other buyers were happy with it? I'd want to read reviews first.

Ellie: Naturally KIDS has more than 27,000 ratings on Amazon, with a 4.8 average. But read a few reviews yourself, for any gift. Look for people who bought it for a child the same age, and see what they say about the size.

Ellie: A backpack isn't the right pick for every grandchild. If she already has a backpack she loves, send a small set of plush animals instead. There are dinosaurs, and there are unicorns. Check how it ships before you order.

Ben: And if she's not into unicorns or dinosaurs at all?

Ellie: Then ask the parents which animal she does love. The same backpack comes with a dog, a giraffe, a frog or a teddy bear.

Ben: And the family that asked for no more toys?

Ellie: Respect that. Send a picture book instead. Read it with her at the next visit, or on a video call.

Ben: Okay, let me see if I've got it. One: call the parents first. Ask what's already coming, and claim your gift. Two: pick something tied to what the child loves, and to what she can do today. That's the CPSC: interests and abilities. Three: don't buy blind. Check the size in inches and the age on the box, not just the picture. Four: check how it ships, so it arrives ready to give. Five: a book you read together counts as a real gift. The CDC says to set up a special time to read books. And if you're far away, you could read on a video chat.

Ellie: You've got it.

Ellie: That's it for today. A reminder: the voices in this episode are AI-generated. Whys & Finds is made by Naturally KIDS.

Ellie: That's today's why. See you at the next find.