Crayon Puzzle Sticker Book – The Essential Gadget to Keep Kids Busy on the Go

When I took maternity photos for Ma Er with photographer We We, we talked about several must-have gadgets for traveling with kids. Now I finally have some time to write them down.

Actually, I asked a classmate from graduate school to bring this back from Japan for me when Xiaoyu was not even one year old. But back then, Xiaoyu was still at the stage where he would put everything in his mouth, so I waited until he was one and a half years old and could understand what we were saying before giving it to him.

There were several reasons why I chose this set of crayons

I believe these are very appealing words for all moms

Besides catching the attention of little ones, it can also

Drawing, reading, puzzles, and stickers are undoubtedly great tools for helping children develop focus.
The crayons come in single colors, unlike some that are made by pressing together multiple small colored pieces (I jokingly call those “composite meat”). This allows you to use them as color cards to teach babies about different colors.

From letting Xiaoyu hold the crayons, I was amazed to observe her learning process—from making dots → drawing straight lines → drawing circles. Her muscle control and coordination kept getting better, and it was entirely her own growth. She started using her whole arm, then gradually just her forearm, and sometimes even just her wrist and hand muscles with great precision. It’s just amazing how God works. Watching your precious child grow day by day—only parents can truly understand that joy and warmth.

At first, giving Xiaoyu a whole box of crayons wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. When she first got them, she was excited as if she had received a whole bucket of blocks, thinking she was supposed to dump them all out. So I used the opportunity to teach her: “You can only take one at a time, no being greedy. Both hands can hold one each, but after picking one up, you can only draw for one second before switching to another.” After finishing one, she can pick another, and anything not being used must be put away properly. Otherwise, I’ll put them all away, and we won’t draw that day.

Once the crayons are used up, Xiaoyu will voluntarily say she wants to put them away. We let her do it to teach her to put things back properly after use. But sometimes she argues that she wants to keep playing/drawing. I make a deal with her—if she doesn’t put them away, and I have to do it, then she can’t draw anymore. That way, she learns what it means to make a promise and to clearly choose “yes!” or “no!!” about playing. If she chooses not to play, she has to put them away herself.

Each “piece” of crayon is shaped like a cute little flower, and they are solid and thick enough to not break easily, making them perfect for toddlers who haven’t yet learned to control their strength.

The transparent carrying bag with a handle makes it very convenient to take on outings.

Momo actually means peach in Japanese, so the crayons don’t have a bad smell. Instead, they have a slight peach fruit fragrance. They’re also easy to wash off kids’ hands, leaving no unpleasant odor behind.

Originally, when Xiaoyu was one year old, I participated in a group purchase with colleagues for a famous Japanese sticker book. One book cost between $390 and $500+ and was advertised as being made of special material that could be reused. But... for a child around one year old whose motor skills were still developing—and Xiaoyu, who insisted on “doing it herself” and refused to calmly listen to instructions—the stickers were easily torn or layered over repeatedly, which was such a waste!!

Until one day, I saw a children’s book vendor selling sticker books by the roadside in Neihu. One book only cost $30 and the illustrations were pretty good, so I bought a few for Xiaoyu (thinking that even if they couldn’t be reused, they were only $30 each—if they got ruined, it wouldn’t be a big deal). So I bought several on the spot, and to my surprise, they worked out quite well, especially the animal-themed ones, which really caught Xiaoyu’s interest and helped her learn about tons of animals.^^ As for the sticker books, I waited until she was 1.5 years old and more able to understand and had a bit more patience before letting her play with them again.

InXDDD So… every tool has its appropriate mental and physical developmental stage. I suggest parents try them out with their little ones first. If they really aren’t suitable, just put them away for now and find alternatives,

and wait until the child is a bit older before trying again, so you can get the most out of each tool.

I believe toys that every parent must buy definitely include blocks and puzzles. We all imagine that our children can benefit from these two types of toys,Wait. Back when Xiaoyu was one year old, I, as an overly enthusiastic and naive mom, bought LEGO and—very idealistically—chose the “princess series,” thinking that girls would surely love it. I thought... LEGO comes with all these squares, rectangles, and triangles. Since she didn’t yet know what squares or rectangles were at one year old, “objects with shapes” should be more attractive to such a young child, right? The result was... regardless of whether they had shapes or not, the appeal was the same for a one-year-old. What they did was... ><

And the wooden puzzles I bought, as well as the hexagon puzzles my in-laws bought—whether they featured Mickey, Minnie, or whatever—ended up the same way. Until I was shopping for baby supplies for Du Ying’s newborn and accidentally came across a simple animal puzzle. Each animal was made up of just three puzzle pieces. When I brought it home, I ended up learning a lesson... Du Xiaoyu loved it and couldn’t put it down. That’s when I realized... I had forgotten the most important point when buying those previous puzzles and blocks for her... and that was... “a sense of accomplishment!!” At Xiaoyu’s young age, she couldn’t understand as much as we do. Instead of teaching her how this should go or that should be done... I should shift my approach,and then, in

I think the reason Xiaoyu liked this puzzle more than other puzzles or blocks that were dozens or hundreds of times fancier was because...

Through playing with stickers, she had already learned about many animals, knew their shapes, and perhaps compared to other toys she still couldn’t understand—or ones that required us to give long-winded explanations (which she might not even fully grasp)—these familiar animals resonated with her. For example, the first puzzle she completed was of a dog, which she knew best. And after finishing it, she happily told me, “Ma ma, the dog goes woof woof!” XDD

Each puzzle takes only two or three pieces to complete an animal, which is much simpler compared to the expensive blocks or other puzzles we bought.

Every time Xiaoyu finished a piece or an animal, I would clap excitedly and say, “Wow!! You’re amazing!! You can put together XX!!” My daughter would happily say, “So amazing!” or proudly show me or her dad the animal she completed. I’d also ask her dad to cheer for her. The more praise she got, the more motivated she became to keep going.

At first, Xiaoyu would give up on the duck that required three pieces and a tricky angle to assemble, and instead choose the dog, frog, butterfly, or rabbit that only needed two pieces. Then came the dolphin, which needed three pieces but had no tricky angles. As for the duck... she would definitely hand it to me or her dad and say, “Ma ma/Daddy, do it for me!!” After a few tries, even though we tried guiding her hands to show her how to do it, she resisted strongly. We had no choice but to go along with her, though during the process, we slowed down our own pace,and both my husband and I were quite surprised!! From this... I was even more shocked to realize... she wasn’t giving up, but rather... she wouldn’t do anything she wasn’t confident about (this is a bit like someone else XD). She would keep observing until she felt sure of herself, and then she’d give us a Big surprise ^^, and