Gift Guide for Teens
The teenage years are a challenge. You know this from when you were a teen or if you have parented a child in their teenage years. It’s a time of significant developmental changes, both physical and mental.
When it comes to showing the teen in your life some love this holiday season, selecting the right gift can also be a challenge. How do you choose something age-appropriate that will also spark their interest? With decades of experience working with the teenage age group, specifically teenagers with ADHD and other learning challenges, Kyra Minichan is sharing the ten best gifts for ADHD teens.
10 Best Gifts for ADHD Teens
- Subscription to YNAB–A subscription to an app like You Need a Budget provides a teen with access to financial professionals and budgeting advice. This is helpful for teens who have their first job or maybe heading off to college soon.
- Lego Iconic Brick Calendar–The Lego Iconic Brick Calendar is an excellent way for kids to keep up with the month and date. It causes them to move the pieces to change the date physically. This helps the brain stay oriented and enhances time management skills.
- Hatch Restore Sound Machine + Night Light–This all-in-one alarm clock is the perfect gift to help personalize a sleep-wake routine and help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed. This provides a gentle wake to a custom Sunrise Alarm Clock that supports healthy cortisol levels. It also includes a sound machine.
- Spikeball 3-ball Set–This is an excellent game that kids love; it’s portable and enhances executive function skills, eye-hand coordination, and processing speed.
- Blue Ray Glasses–Blue Ray Glasses are a stylish and fun gift option. Teens spend so much time on the screens that blue light glasses can help ease eye fatigue.
- Elenco Teach Tech– This is a great escape from the screen and an easy way for kids to fall in love with coding. If you have a gamer in your house, challenge them to take their love for video games and channel it toward STEM activities.
- Amazon Echo Dot–The Amazon Echo Dot can help teens with various day-to-day tasks (think: texting friends, tracking the latest trends, or tuning into their favorite songs). After a day full of all these things, the Echo Dot can even turn off the lights with a simple voice command and features an easy-to-program alarm clock, improved sound, and a new design.
- Speks–This website offers great gifts for teens who like to fidget. There are too many options to pick just one, and they come in various sizes, shapes, and price ranges—the perfect brain break for kids getting stuck in homework or fidgeting during studying.
- Cactaki 32 Oz. Water Bottle–Water is necessary for everyone, but it is especially important for kids taking medicine. One of our favorite water bottles for teens is the Cactaki water bottle. They come in a variety of colors and have time markers.
- Apple Air Tags or Tiles–Tiles or Apple Air Tags are great gift ideas for teens. Kids who struggle with executive function skills are constantly losing things. These two items are great options to decrease the time spent searching for something.
Support for Your ADHD Child
While gift-giving is just one way, we show love towards people, giving a child the gift of cognitive development is a life-long gift that keeps on giving. From a young age, the toys and games we present to children help shape how they learn and grow.
Even as teens, we must be intentional about the gifts we give them for the sake of not collecting junk in your home and supporting their cognitive development. Especially for kids with ADHD, certain items can help support their executive function skills–something many teens with ADHD struggle with.
As a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in cognitive-linguistic intervention and closing the gap between intelligence and academic struggle, each year, Kyra Minichan compiles a helpful list of gift guides that support cognitive development for toddlers, elementary-aged, and teens. If your child is struggling and presenting with symptoms of ADHD or other learning challenges, schedule a complimentary 10-minute evaluation with Kyra here.
