If you’ve never heard of social-emotional learning (SEL) toys before, you’re not alone. While they’re not a new concept, they’ve gained a substantial amount of popularity as of late. Essentially, they’re toys that help children recognize their feelings and help them express them, using the toy as either a teaching method or a conduit for expression. In the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) journal, Pediatrics, experts say that these toys are critical in child development in many areas, including their social-emotional experience, noting that they can impressively “promote the use of words and narratives to imitate, describe, and cope with actual circumstances and feelings. Such imaginative play ultimately facilitates language development, self-regulation, symbolic thinking, and social-emotional development.”
Social-emotional learning toys aren’t tech toys — and they’re not very complicated for kids to interact with. They’re toys that can be used by both children and their caregivers to facilitate the exploration of social interaction and their own emotions. And as always, if they’re not also fun, your kid isn’t going to want to play with them. The toys on this list represent a range of fun toys for young social-emotional development that your kids will actually love to play with while they learn.
Asking a toddler how they’re feeling is generally a fruitless endeavor in the beginning. This doll set is a great way to start introducing the language they need to express themselves. Have them give you the doll that feels right. “Are you angry?” Hold up the angry doll. “Are you feeling sad?” And so on.
It's trendy, sure — but it's also useful. Are you happy? Or are you not? This little stegosaurus is a statement and a sweet reversible plush. Kids can keep the plush with them, and as they get older, they can put it on their desk or keep it in their backpack. It's an inexpensive tool that speaks to your kids.
Card packs like this get a lot of hate, but I think that may be because people haven't really played with them. Assumptions, in this case, are wrong.
These cards are an exceptional tool parents can use to help children find their center — a place that's difficult for littles to find. It guides them through the tangled mess of their feelings to breathe and relax.
A sweet feelings pineapple is like as if Mr. Potato Head could really let you know how he was feeling. He's got big emotions, and sometimes they're not always easy to predict, but thanks to the different face pieces, they're pretty easy to recognize.
LEGO does it again. Of course, they would release a social-emotional learning toy that not only keeps little hands busy while they're working through big feelings but also gives them the tools to emote those feelings to others in a constructive way.
It's a huge Duplo set that fits in seamlessly with their other kits, allowing your children to bring emotions and pretend to play into everyday builds.
This social-emotional learning toy is an adorable monster that helps children find and express their emotions through interchangeable face pieces. And all of those pieces fit into the monster's attached backpack.
It's a squeezy, soft, fun way for children to figure out what it is that they're feeling.
How many times have you told your toddler, “Take a deep breath and start again?” This toy encourages just that. It has handles to tug and feather hair to blow against — plus, it’s lavender-scented to help calm your child when they’re in a state.
This little fox and the book that accompanies him help children through big transitions like moving, a new baby, starting school, and all the other biggies.
Kids can squeeze the fox as they read about how changes can be hard and scary but how they can also be good and important. Slumberkins is wonderful at hitting just the right notes for little ones.
Learning how to cooperate early can stave off a lot of bad behaviors down the line. (We've all been in that group project.) Hoot Owl Hoot! Is an early learner collective matching game that requires strategy, cooperation, and memory.
Are you feeling like a dragon? A lion? A silly elephant? Mixaroo has 12 take-apart pieces to help kids define and learn how they are feeling. The soft felt body clings to each accessory giving littles the ability to play with the plush once it's put together.
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Best Combination Reader
A Little SPOT of Emotion — 8 Plush Toys with Feelings Book Box Set
Why are these so cute? A set of eight emotion dots with a feelings book is one way to get your kids to open up a little. Everyone has a name, and the book does a beautiful job telling children what everything means and gives them the ability to say what it is that's on their minds.
Honest to Pete, these boards are as good for chilling parents out as it is for children. It’s designed to keep your child concentrating on something other than what has them upset by moving a ball through the maze on the board. It’s extremely relaxing ad frustrating all at once. In short, they’re great.
Do you remember the felt boards from your childhood? Your teacher would have all sorts of characters that they put on it? This is like that, but it’s for emotions. There are guided cards that help your children match the emotions to the facial parts needed, but freeform is just as easy.
Resolving a conflict between two young children is a little bit like herding feral — possibly rabid — cats. This hammerhead toy and book combination walks little ones through conflict resolution in a way that is productive and makes sense for children who want it to be their way or the highway.
Art is a magical way to express yourself, and this paint kit includes a person and a mirror to paint so that your child can paint how their feeling and how they think they appear. It's a genius idea because, at the end of it, they have their own handmade learning tool.
Cat BowenParenting EditorCat Bowen is the parenting editor at BestProducts.com where she researches all of the best products for families from pre-conception through their teen years, focusing on matching scientific evidence with real-life needs.
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