The Science of Gift Giving and Choosing the Right Products for Your Kids

Kids of all ages are unique, complex and think in wildly different ways. When I was eleven, on Christmas morning my little brother got a radio-controlled car. Five minutes after it was out of the box, it lay cracked in half on the kitchen floor. By the time Christmas dinner came around, I had pieced it back together and was driving the gift my brother left for dead. This gave my parents valuable insight into their kids' personalities. I liked to tinker and figure stuff out, my brother was happier with the paint set that was meant for me. By observing how a child plays and approaches the world, you will figure out what gifts will challenge them to learn and explore.

With more choices than ever, gift buying can take on the logistics of a NASA space mission. To simplify things, try to identify the child's personality type. Though there are countless traits a kid can possess, here are a few specific archetypes that stand out especially while observing children at play:

« The Tinkerer: – A modern engineer, intrigued by the workings of the world.

« The Tech Wiz: – An expert and library of knowledge and technology.

« The Naturalist: – This one sees and preserves the beauty inherent in nature and rusticity.

« The Artist: – Inspiring, passionate, vivid and empathic.

« The Explorer: – Intrepid and fearless. There is no limit.

« The Hard-To-Please: – Critical, but only because they're still looking for what they want. Help them out!

Each child may not fall under any one of these categories more than another. Maybe they do not fall under any of the mentioned above, but by using this guide you can start to figure out what makes them tick…

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