We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. An Aha! Self Worth kit where they can build a kaleidoscope, and in the process build up their own self-esteem and self-confidence.
Promising review: "Self is a super important yet difficult concept to explain to kids. I was so glad to find this toy on Amazon that can actually do that work for me by teaching about ourselves and memory through play! There are many stem boxes in the market, but this one is definitely the most meaningful one I’ve ever bought." —mj
Get it from Amazon for $29.95 (available in other editions).
2. An interactive smart teddy bear filled with more than 100 scenarios to help kids create good habits, emotional intelligence, as well as other helpful information. The bear also helps with kids' daily routine including teeth brushing, potty training and other info like math, facts about the world, and more. The app can connect to parents mobile device, too so parents can not only see what the kids are learning but can initiate lessons, too.
Promising review: "We’ve tried so many toys to keep our 4-year-old busy so that we could get at least 15 minutes of peace and quiet to have breakfast or reply to an email, but absolutely nothing worked! Our friends recommended Smart Teddy, and it finally helped. This toy is a treasure and our little helper!" —Peter
"We didn't even know that the bear has so many activities, from washing the hands to workout and more. An amazing purchase!" —ANDREY DORONICHEV
Get it from Amazon for $199.95.
3. Emotional Rollercoaster — through chaos cards and coping cards this board game will help kids identify what makes them angry, how to express that emotion, and how to manage their anger.
Promising review: "I work in a special education classroom and this game is perfect as we learn to manage and cope with strong emotions." —Laura Richins
"I am a behavioral health therapist and this is a game that kids request the most. It is one of my favorites as well. I am finding that the board is getting a little bit flimsy, so I have to be gentle when folding and putting it away. Worth it!" —Kat
Get it from Amazon for $31.50.
4. An Aha Emotion kit featuring a super fun science experiment that also teaches about the science of emotions — specifically, how the emotions are made.
Promising review: "Bought this as a gift for my 5-year-old niece. The box comes with a story book, parts to a robot and conductive doughs. She had fun making the little robot and learned about the science of emotions. Making the dough to trigger the little robot eyes shining and heart beating wows the kid! So fun! It works like a charm!" —Kelley
Get it from Amazon for $29.95.
5. Who's Feeling What? — sort of like Guess Who, except instead of trying to find people wearing glasses, you're trying to find the person feeling a certain emotion.
The game is actually inspired by distance-learning, which is helpful when so many interactions are now through video screens. The game sets out to help children recognize other people's feelings and emotions, as well their own.
Get it from Amazon for $12.79.
6. A rainbow feelings sensory tube complete with an activity guide to show how the tool can be used to explore emotions. It's designed to encourage conversation about how to respond to emotions in positive ways. It doubles as a fidget toy that reacts when you flip it.
Promising review: "This is a great tool for not only my own child, but for my students as well. We use it as a calming tool." —hilaree emmons
Get it from Amazon for $17.79.
7. An emotional pineapple with two sides and a variety of pieces to teach kids to recognize what they're feeling, understand that emotion, and embrace those feelings. And, the pieces store inside the pineapple for easy cleanup.
Promising review: "I was really excited to receive this toy and play around with it. I will say that it was a little smaller than I expected, but it feels fairly durable and I think it was a good value for what I spent. I work in an elementary school as a mental health therapist and this will be so great for my kids to use to talk about how they are feeling. Sometimes I have them draw pictures of how they’re feeling each day, but I think this will be a great alternative. The facial pieces and arms are very flexible and bendy. Some of the face pieces are a little small and could be a choking hazard for young children. I also really appreciated that it included a picture guide of the many different expressions you can use with the pieces included. I definitely think this is an upgrade to the classic Mr. Potatohead toy!" —Fielding Fam
"Happy Feelings Friday Friends! We're using this as a launchpad for talking about and naming our feelings. Its wonderful. Way more adorable than Mr. Potato Head, more durable and no butt flap for stuff to fall out leaving a trail of carnage! (The "crown" is removable to reveal a storage space.) It came with a poster of MANY facial emotions and more than the average happy, sad, mad. Well worth it as an educational product but also, it belongs on the mantle. 🍍" —Abby
Get it from Amazon for $10.99.
8. A set of mindful maze boards ideal for children to use when they're feeling anxious or stressed. The boards have a maze that children can travel with their fingers which can help them acquire the skill of self-soothing, mindfulness, and emotional control.
Promising review: "I bought these for the calming corner in my elementary classroom. I can safely say that it truly does help. Students can use it individually or if I see the class getting too rowdy, I pull one out and we do the breathing exercises together. It’s easy to clean as well. I highly recommend these to use as a calming aid." —Amazon Customer
Get a set of three double-sided boards from Amazon for $13.87.
9. A calming pup designed to guide the child with breathing exercise with the glow of its light.
Promising review: "This is such a great idea for children to have. This pup helps children at a young age manage their feelings and get to know their body through breathing. My 2-year-old loves to breathe along with this pup (he can’t hold his breath for the length of the light) and my 4-year-old also loves to breathe along with it too. Being that this is an animal with a light they think it is a fun toy for them. Such a wonderful product!" —It is me
Get it from Amazon for $21.99.
10. A thoughtful card game you can use to ignite conversation with the kids in your family. After a round, you should walk away with insight into the younger generation and deeper connection. You'll be surprised at some of the things you'll learn from family who you see all the time or find out something new about family you don't know too well.
Promising review: "I ordered this card game for our family reunion, thinking about the fact that some family members hadn’t been in touch for about 25 years! I didn’t really think we’d have time to play it, but after a couple of hours of meeting, greeting and eating, I brought it out. A few of us decided to play..my daughter, her children and myself. Within literally 10–15 minutes into the game, we had an “audience” and everyone wanted to get in on the game! We had a group of 42 people from infants to 80 years of age. I had no idea this game would be such a HIT! We passed it around to groups of six for the better part of two days. It was very easy to learn and I would recommend it as a cool gift for virtually anyone. Also, since the children enjoyed it as well as the adults, I’d say I got my money’s worth and MORE! It’s enabled our family members who hadn’t ever even met, to bond easily. Those of us who were familiar with each other, were hysterically laughing at some of the things we never knew about ourselves. The most fun we’d had — ever! WE LOVED IT!" —Paula B.
Get it from Amazon for $16.97.
11. A set of expression bottles that'll double as sensory bottles that reviewers say have become a great addition to their calming corner.
Promising review: "I absolutely LOVE this product. I was looking for something fidgety to put in my child’s calming corner that could also help regulate or show which emotion they’re currently feeling. They love that each ‘emotion’ has a different filling inside, that change at different speeds. I would highly suggest this for a classroom, Pre-K, and at home." —Arlene Pagan
Get it from Amazon for $21.96.
12. An emotion ball to catch feelings, literally. The ball can be used in a variety of activities that give kids a wider vocabulary that they can use to express their feelings.
13. A mindfulness journal, not a toy specifically, but an exciting activity that'll give kids a chance to spend some time with themselves. They'll be occupied following the prompts that urge them to connect with how they feel.
It's a 68-page mood journal with reflective activities to help children practice mindfulness.
Get it from Amazon $9.43.
14. A reversible octopus plush, a simple plushy with two strong emotions that can be a comfort tool when they need a snuggle, or an outward display of what they're feeling inside. (Adults have used this plush to communicate feelings to each other, too.)
Promising review: "I love this little kids' toy. At first I just thought it was cute then I started to use it to communicate with my significant other. On days when I’m in a bad mood I turn the octopus to the angry side and sit it on the bed. It really helps prevent arguments and makes for easier communication. I also use it as a stress ball the furry soft texture really eases my anxiety. Despite it's being super cute, I’ve found it to be very useful." —Lauren
Get it from Amazon for $15 (available in 42 colors).
15. Friends And Neighbors so your kids can learn all about cooperation! What does it take to be a good friend or neighbor? Empathy, compassion and cooperation, all of which are needed to play this game. They'll identify why a friend feels a certain way and how they can help that friend feel better.
Promising review: "Enjoyed playing this with our 4-year-old granddaughter who is usually nonstop high energy. Nice to sit with her for a peaceful respite! She caught on very quickly and became more familiar with the emotion 'frustrated.' I like the Peaceable Kingdom games because all players work together and help each other to win over adversity." —Mrs. B.
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
16. Table Talk — a fun card game that'll encourage meaningful conversation with the entire family, both young and older.
17. Caring Cats you can use to help children learn about kindness by joining together to beat that ~mean~ mouse.
Promising review: "I'm a special educator and work with clients of all ages. I absolutely am crazy over this game and so are the children!! The cards are full of language skills that the kids can describe what's going on in the picture as well as the main theme of which kindness to perform. Not only that, but this game also promotes critical thinking skills and problem solving. A must-buy!!!!!!!!!" —Special Educator
Get it from Amazon for $25.
18. Emotion-oes that plays sort of like dominoes as players match faces to learn how to identify emotions.
19. A dozen eggxpressive eggs complete with a book you can read along with while the littles identify the emotions with the actual toy eggs.
Promising review: "Great educational toy with lots of thought put in it. I like how it has many but not an overwhelming number of emotions presented in the toy which is very helpful for my 2-year, 10-month-old boy to learn his feelings and verbalize them. My boy really likes the story that comes with the toy too. My 9-month-old baby also likes to play with this toy. She is happy to remove all the eggs from the carton car and bang the eggs on the floor. I like how the eggs are very durable so I don’t need to worry that my baby will break them." —BobaTea Mama
Get it from Target for $17.99.
20. A Leapfrog interactive pup that'll give them hours of fun while learning first words, animals, counting, mindfulness, and emotions.
21. Grounded for Life is from the makers of What Do You Meme? which brings an entertaining game that makes room for quality time with the whole family. Beware of the secrets you'll uncover from those teenagers!
Promising review: "I got this as a fun gift to play with my partner's two kids. We played it twice. On the second night we learned some secrets about the two kids that we now cannot bring ourselves to play the game anymore because of the bombshells we learned. It’s awkward. Other than that, it’s a fun game. Lol." —Brandi
"This game is adorable! I have three teenagers ages 12, 13 and 14, and this game is appropriate for all of them. We love family game night and this game has brought us hours of laughter together." —chasity
Get it from Amazon for $19.82.
22. A set of expressive baby dolls for hands-on sensory play your littles can use for imaginative play and to identify emotions.
Promising review: "These are so cute! We’ve been talking about diversity and emotions at home with our 2-year-old and she loves talking about all the feelings these babies are having and how they are alike and different. The gowns are all removable so she likes swapping them out too. she also loves the cute little basket." —Catalinamag
Get it from Amazon for $37.57.
23. A face-making set ideal for a mix of craft and play. They can build a variety of different faces that represent feelings and build confidence, resilient, and maturity.
Promising review: "So cute to teach emotions and feelings to toddlers. It is very sturdy so very heavy. Bought initially for airplane travel but it’s very heavy and didn’t pack well. Still very happy with it. My toddler likes to look and faces and is interested in emotions. Super cute." —Gina Ellingson
"This is a high-quality product that easily engages students in conversations about feelings. It is versatile and beautifully packaged!" —mallory ungs
Get it from Amazon for $17.99.
24. A feelings beanbag set so kids can play a game of cornhole that gives them insight into their emotions. Each beanbag has a different facial expression and a different texture to satisfy sensory needs, too.
While kids toss around these 10 tactile emotion beanbags, they'll be strengthening their social-emotional skills by discussing the feelings shown on each bag. It will also expand their vocabulary to better help them communicate how they're feeling.
Get it from Amazon for $24.99.
25. An anxiety management box to transform therapeutic concepts into a fun activity that helps kids learn about self-care and retrain their worry thoughts into likely possibilities.
Promising review: "I did this with my nephew last weekend and I am super impressed that they had such well thought out lessons and crafts in a kids toy. I expected some superficial tips to manage anxiety like 'picture a happy place' but it really dove into why people feel anxious and real tips to deal with it in super light and interesting ways" —E Stephan
"I got my kids this and the anger box since they love the movie inside out and have been really curious about their emotions. They were able to grasp so much more of this than I would have expected at their age, and I learned a lot about them and how they think during the process!" —Douglas
Get it from Target for $24.99.
26. Stone Soup — where teamwork makes the dream work, or the soup taste good in this case. This yummy memory matching game invites players to work together to "cook" up a soup by making matches of ingredients.
Promising review: "I use this game in my family therapy practice. Most children I see don’t know the stone soup story so they find it quite funny when I read the story that comes with the game. I love that it’s cooperative and not competitive." —Grace
"The kids in our K-2 autism class love this game - even though none of them would ever eat a real vegetable :) It is a simple game with rules that are quickly learned. It may be too simple for kids who don't have some of the issues ours do. For example, once someone turns over the 'magic stone' card, winning the game is guaranteed so there is really no point in finishing. However, our kids haven't figured this out yet and after the stone is turned over, they are still excited with each pair of matching vegetables and still groan whenever a Fire-out card is turned. Our kids can be terrible sore losers but there is no sore loser nonsense with this game, since we either all win or all lose. I highly recommend this game and another by Peaceable Kingdom, Race to the Treasure. Peace reigns in our classroom when we play these games." —Linda
Get it from Amazon for $19.95.
27. An expression puzzle block game that requires fast fingers to be the first one to build the facial expression shown on the card. The person with the most cards at the end wins!
28. A feelings mirror that focuses on kids learning to identify six feelings. They can mimic the emotion being shown and ~see their feelings~ in the mirror.
Promising review: "I'm a child therapist and use these regularly. I would recommend for both professionals and parents. Kids love to look at themselves and it's a great way to increase feelings vocabulary and in turn emotion regulation." —KJ
Get it from Amazon for $14.98 (also available in a set of four).
29. A learn about feelings activity set with 10 fun activities geared toward children learning to be aware of their emotions and improve their social-emotional, relationship, decision making, and self-management skills.
Promising review: "I love this!! I currently use it to help my 1-year-old with handling emotional communication. Once she learned what each face represented she could point out her feeling." —Amazon Customer
"My grandson loves the game and he loves talking about why someone is happy, sad, mad...." —Christina Murray
Get it from Amazon for $19.18.
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.