WIN! a Kimochis Emotion Doll!

Sometimes it is hard to talk to our children about feelings. I mean, lets face it, sometimes we as parents, as adults have difficulty as well. Talking about feelings and emotions can sometimes be challenging for children, especially when they may not understand what they are feeling themselves.

This is why the Kimochis were created. To help parents and educators help children talk and communicate about feelings and emotions.

If you have never heard of the Kimochi (KEE. MO. CHEE), which means “feeling” in Japanese by the way – are plush, educational toys designed to help kids identify, understand, label and manage their feelings in a fun and comfortable way.

As children will often face different social and emotional challenges at school, at home, among friends or on their own, these multi-award winning educational toys are designed to get kids talking, promoting strong parent-child, teacher-child and child to child connections.

They are toys with feelings inside.

 

They are toys that help parents talk and teach their kids about feelings such as mad, brave, sad, uncomfortable, lonely, or frustrated, just to name a few.

As a therapist and family counsellor I am always working with young children and their families, trying to create change, communication and understanding. Within my professional role I am always looking for new ways to communicate through play with children, while similarly, help parents communicate with their children. The Kimochis allow me to do this! The Kimochi dolls are also designed for teachers to use in the classroom (any teachers out there…)

So basically each toy comes with a pack of “feelings”. Children can put all the feelings inside their doll, some of the feelings, maybe even just one. Parents can ask children, “what is cloud feeling today?” (Cloud is one of the characters, which i will explain more about further down).

If a child then says “angry”, parents can use this as a probe to ask further questions about feeling angry.

“Why is cloud feeling angry?”

“What has made cloud feel angry today?”

“What does angry look like for cloud?”

“If you had to draw angry, what would it look like?”

And the many more questions could continue!!!

What I also loved about these fabulous friends is that each Kimochi comes with a “Feel Guide”, which is basically a guide to help you use the Kimochi to it’s best. It gives instructions or ideas per say about how best to play with Kimochi. For example, one idea is:

Play Kimochis Charades! Pick a feeling and act it out. Whoever guesses it correctly goes next.

And there are ideas of how to Communicate, Connect, Practice and Create each emotion. It is just fantastic! And such a great tool!!!

 When children can effectively communicate their feelings, they build confidence, self esteem and strong relationships.

Ohh and did I tell you there are 6 Kimochi friends you can choose from….

I was lucky enough to receive Cat and Bug. Let me tell you about my friends:

CAT:

Cat knows what she wants. She is very persuasive.She loves to be in charge but can sometimes be a bit bossy. Cat lives in a Cherry Blossom Tree.

She likes to keep her house tidy and loves to host tea parties. Cat’s favourite number is 10, her favourite colour is purple, and she loves to snack on toasted almond cookies and warm milk.

Cat comes with five bandages to help heal hurt feelings, and three feelings: Happy, Curious and Cranky.

BUG:

Bug is thoughtful and is extremely cautious. He is really smart, a skilled conversationalist and is known to talk himself and others out of any given situation, because he likes to examine all sides.

He lives in a Manzanita tree. Bug has a swimming hole with a tethered rope swing in the centre of his living room. His lucky number is 2 and his favourite colour is magenta. He loves the smell of rosemary and the taste of wildflower honey.

Bug is afraid of change and because of this, being a caterpillar is not easy for him. He is always the last one to try something new. Although Bug is afraid, he secretly dreams of flying.

Bug comes with three feelings: Happy, Brave and Left Out.

Be sure to check out the other Kimochis here

So here is the FABULOUS GIVEAWAY! The most fabulous to date!!!!

I have Cat to giveaway to one lucky reader, which includes the three feelings, Happy, Curious and Cranky, PLUS one Mixed Feelings Pack which includes

Jealous, Loved, Grateful, Scared, Shy, Make-Your-Own

This incredible prize is valued at $69.90.

All you have to do is tell me how you would use Kimochis Cat in your home with your family.

 

The other bits:

– Sign up to The Parenting Files via one of the options on the right side bar. There are a few, RSS, monthly newsletter, or email.

– Share this competition on Facebook or twitter and receive an extra entry. Just leave a comment below telling me so.

– The competition will close on Monday 26th March at 5pm.

– The winner will be drawn at random

Good luck!

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