Kimochi Review: Teach your child to express their feelings!

Feelings are hard enough for adults to express, imagine how hard it is for kids. To help kids understand different feelings and express them, Kimochis were born. Kimochi (pronounced KEY-MO-CHEE) means “feeling” in Japanese, and that is exactly what Kimochis company is all about.

Their goal is to help children communicate their feelings, build confidence and character. To do this, Kimochis has created 3 character plushes that come with 3 feelings. Each one has a unique personality and loves to share its feelings.

Okay now you are probably confused? With a Kimochi plush you get 3 small plush pillows that are labeled with a “feeling” and have a face on them. You then take each feeling and you can place it inside your Kimochi. Parents can use a Kimochi to do four things with a child: Connect, Communicate, Create, and Practice.

• Connect: Recognize feels and learn to anticipate emotional situations

• Communicate: Use positive words, gestures, and signals to help your child understand what they are feeling

• Create: Have a comfortable environment where your child can play and talk

• Practice: Have your child communicate their feelings with family and friends

I received the Kimochi Huggtopus to review, and my son loves it! Not only is this plush super soft and colorful, but it also measures 12 inches tall! Now he is only 25 months and doesn’t really understand feelings just yet, but by looking at the feeling pillows, he is starting to get the idea. For example, I received “silly,” “happy,” and “frustrated.” Each of these pillows makes a face and Aidan looks at the bags and makes the faces they are making! It also helped that is was a giant octopus, which Aidan loves because he was thinking of Henry the Octopus from the Wiggles!

Also with your Kimochi you will receive a 32-page Feel Guide. This is a cute little book that describes all the characters and feelings. The book will also gives you ways to help your child learn to express themselves and deal with situations.

So in all you receive your Kimochi plush, 3 plush feelings, 32-page Feel Guide, and it all comes very nicely packaged. Aidan got so excited when he say the Huggtopus head sticking out! Kimochis retail for $25 and you can also purchase extra mixed bags of feelings for $6.

Check out this video showing Kimochis in action: