Another year, another collection of memories to think back on and grow from. 

When working in the kids space that means looking back on another year of product launches, thoughts from conference speakers, and insights gleaned from industry articles.

Once we’re in the waning days of December, I like to take stock of experiences that moved me in the children’s product and media world. That includes the many articles, magazines, blog posts, and research reports I’ve read along the way. A long time ago I asked myself “What would it look like if I could somehow save all of these materials in one place? What could I learn? Would it be worth sharing with others? How could that body of knowledge be used?” I’m still trying to figure out how to answer that question, but in the meantime let me share one small first step forward with that experiment.

In the last year I’ve archived about 4,000 articles in a searchable, digital format. (Yes, the process of capturing so many articles could be described as an obsessive compulsive disorder I may need help for, but stay with me.) Most of these articles touch on something newsworthy related to kids. I’ve also tagged each article with a keyword. If an article is about the latest online teen social media game on TikTok I tag a PDF copy of that article with “teen”, “social”, “TikTok” and “game”. If an article is particularly appealing I might also include the tag “great”. So how many articles were deserving of the tag “great”? Just under 190 of the ~4,000 articles. Of those, how many are worth sharing with colleagues here? Just seven.

Here’s a collection of child-focused stories that may make you think about kids, as well as your own work, differently. Some articles are touching, some inspiring, some provide a great look into the mind of a child, others controversial. All are helpful in thinking holistically about the industry we work in and care about.

Let’s kick things off with this truly wonderful story of an 8 year old who wished to share his unique “Crismis” story with the world.

An 8-year-old slid his handwritten book onto a library shelf. 

It now has a years-long waitlist 

— by Kellie B. Gormly in The Washington Post

This thoughtful parenting piece looks at how best to help your child grow to be an independent adult, dealing with whatever challenges life may throw their way.

Raising Antifragile Children 

— by David Torcoletti in the Exploration Learning Blog

As you probably noticed this year, there were many articles about virtual reality and the dystopian Zuckerberg future to follow. This singular VR piece does an excellent job describing how virtual reality could play an important role (be it small, though meaningful) in the busy life of a teenager.

OPINION: We can help build a metaverse that works for kids 

— by David Kleeman in Kidscreen

When we make products for kids we like to think our work has a positive impact on their lives. But is that true? Are our assumptions correct?

The Mission of Kids Content – how successful has it been 

— by Christopher Skala in LinkedIn Pulse

This next piece looks at the different ways children express love. Once you understand these different expressions of love, you see how children (and yes even adults) project themselves differently into the world.

3 Ways to Tap Into Your Little One’s Preferred Love Language 

— by Suzanne Barchers in TODAY.com

Whenever there's a loss of life due to a firearm it doesn't take long for some journalist to point a finger at toy guns and video games as the cause. This piece responds to that misconception.

“The Toy Guy,” Talks About Guns 

— by Christopher Byrne in Global Toy News

When news broke that Cranium Co-Founder Richard Tait had passed away the industry was heartbroken. Everyone loves Cranium, it’s the toy company’s toy company, idolized by all. Many articles were written about Richard, but this one is required reading for anyone looking to successfully engage an audience.

People of Play Tribute to Richard Tait 

— by Jill Waller in People of Play

And finally, this last piece explores the very real importance of letting kids dream big.

64 Years of Data Proves That the Bigger Kids Dream, the More Successful They'll Be

— by Jessica Stillman in Inc.com

I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through my collection of “great” industry articles. If you have any thoughts, other articles to recommend, or ideas on how best to take advantage of an archive of thousands of articles please do let me know. I wish you all an enjoyable holiday season with time to reflect back on what was memorable about your own journey. See you next year!

Scott Traylor is the president of the Children's Media Association for the Bay Area chapter. He's also a consultant, advisor, and board member to companies that focus on products and services specifically for children. A former computer science educator at Harvard for over a decade, Scott continues to be involved in research, writing, and speaking on all things related to kids, interactivity, and play. Scott can be reached at Scott@360KID.com.