Latest / Whys & Finds / Christmas Gift for a 3-Year-Old Who Loves Dinosaurs
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- Ben: A 3-year-old who can name more dinosaurs than you can. The holidays are coming, and the gift lists keep saying "perfect for any toddler." Where do you even start? Ellie: Welcome to Whys & Finds. I'm Ellie. Ben: And I'm Ben. Ellie: Today: what is a good Christmas gift for a 3-year-old who loves dinosaurs? Ellie: From what I've read, start from the dinosaur, not from the gift list. Pick something they'll do dinosaur things with every day. Carry it, play out a story with it, or have it in their room. A gift that's cute for every kid tends to end up in a closet. Ben: That's a strong claim. What's wrong with cute? Ellie: Nothing, on its own. The trouble is a gift picked for "any toddler." It isn't picked for this one. Ben: Okay, but generic gifts are generic for a reason. A toy that lights up and sings. Kids love those. Ellie: Plenty of kids do, for a while. A dinosaur fan might press the button twice and go back to the T-Rex. Ben: You can't know that. Ellie: Not for one child, no. But there's a public source on the pattern. ZERO TO THREE, a U.S. nonprofit that works on early childhood, has tips for parents on choosing toys. One line there: "We all know the feeling of buying a toy a child plays with for two days and never touches again." Ben: Two days. That's generous for some gifts. Ellie: That's the generic gift. It's chosen for an age, not for a child. Ben: So what's the alternative? Put a dinosaur on everything? Ellie: Not quite. Look at what the child does with dinosaurs. Some kids line them up and name every one. Some stomp around the room and roar. Some carry one everywhere. To the store, to the car, to bed. Ben: The roaring one, I can picture. Ellie: That's pretend play. The child plays the dinosaur. Ben: Fair. Ellie: There's another line on the same page: "The more a toy does, the less your child has to do." Ben: Meaning? Ellie: A dinosaur that roars on its own does the roaring for them. A plain one leaves the roaring to the child. Ben: So the quiet dinosaur wins. Ellie: For play, often. The child does the sound effects. Ben: Loudly. Ellie: Very loudly. Ben: Okay. Make it concrete. Say I'm the aunt. I get one gift. I see this kid a few times a year. Ellie: Then ask the parents one question first. What does this child do with dinosaurs every day? Then match the gift to that. Ben: Say they carry one everywhere. Ellie: Then give them a way to take it along. To daycare, to grandma's, in the car. A small backpack with a dinosaur on the front does that job. A snack inside, the dinosaur outside. Ben: Say they're the roaring type. Ellie: Then something for their hands. Soft, plain, nothing that makes the sounds for them. Ben: And the one who names them all and lines them up? Ellie: That child might like a set of different dinosaurs to line up and name. Or dinosaurs in their room: a book, a poster, a lamp for story time. Ben: A lamp? That sounds like a gift for the parents. Ellie: Partly, yes. And I'd say so when you give it. It's a gift for the room, for story time. Ben: Can I push back on something you said, though? Start from the dinosaur. Fine. But a kid who loves dinosaurs already has dinosaurs. Relatives keep bringing one. By the holidays, it's the twelfth T-Rex on the shelf. Ellie: That happens. Ben: So before I buy, I'd ask the parents a second thing. Which dinosaur things do they already have? Then I pick a job that's missing. If the shelf is full of figures, I don't add one more. I bring something that does a different job. Something to carry, or something for the room. Ellie: You're right. That's better than what I said. The dinosaur tells you what they love. What they already have tells you what's missing. Ask both. Ben: I'll take that one. Ellie: You earned it. Ben: So say the missing job is carrying. The dinosaur has to come along. Ellie: For that job, Naturally KIDS makes a small T-Rex backpack. The T-Rex sits on the front. They can take it out for a hug and put it back. Inside, there's room for a snack and a treasure. Ben: So the T-Rex rides to the store, comes out in the car, and goes back on the bag. Ellie: That's the idea. There's a triceratops too. Ben: And as a gift, how does it show up? Ellie: It arrives gift-ready in a kraft box. Two gifts in one box: a backpack and a plush friend. Ben: And the roaring type? The one who lines them up? Ellie: There's a set of six plush dinosaurs: a T-Rex, a Mosasaurus, a Spinosaurus, a Triceratops, a Brachiosaurus and a Stegosaurus. They come with a drawstring bag for easy carrying. Each one is made so a child's hand can grab it and hold on. None of them roars on its own. Ben: So the roaring stays with the kid. As long as the shelf isn't full of dinosaurs already. Ellie: That's your rule. Ask first. And there's a set that does two jobs: a T-Rex backpack with four mini dinosaurs. It comes in the kraft box too. Ben: And the child who wants dinosaurs in the room? Ellie: There are dinosaur lamps too, with a warm light. The lamp comes in a box ready to give. Ben: And where does it go? Ellie: On a dresser or a shelf, with an outlet close by. An adult turns it on as part of the bedtime routine. Ask the parents about that spot before you wrap it. Ben: Okay. So the Naturally KIDS T-Rex goes with them, the plush dinosaurs get played with, and the lamp stays in the room. Ellie: Exactly. Ellie: Now, a few different situations. If dinosaurs are making room for another animal, the same small backpack comes with other animals too. Start with the one they love now. Ben: And if they already have a backpack they use every day? Ellie: Then pick a different job: the plush dinosaurs, or a dinosaur book you read together. Ben: And if the parents asked for no more stuff? Ellie: Then respect that. Time with you counts. A trip to see dinosaur bones at a museum, if there's one nearby. Ben: That one I'd go on too. Ben: Okay, let me see if I've got it. One: the generic gift is chosen for an age, not for a child. ZERO TO THREE names the feeling of a toy played with for two days and never touched again. Two: watch what the child does with dinosaurs. Carry them, roar with them, or line them up. Three: the more a toy does, the less your child has to do. That's ZERO TO THREE too. Four: ask the parents what dinosaur things the child already has, and give one that does a missing job. And five: a lamp is a gift for the room, for story time. 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.