The Inventor's Desk

I Promise I Won't Be Scared: When Your Toddler Promises the Impossible

Your toddler promises never to cry at drop-off again, and means it. You know tomorrow morning. Both the sincerity and the limit are normal. One book and a free coloring page to name one thing they ...

The Walk That Takes Forever: When Your Toddler Stops at Everything

Your toddler stops every few steps to point at something you walked right past. The stop is your child looking. The point is your child asking you to look too. One book and a free coloring page tha...

Who Made This?: When Your Child Asks and You Have No Answer Ready

Your child holds up a cup at breakfast and asks who made it, and "the store" does not satisfy anyone. Not knowing how to explain that everyday things were invented by someone is normal. One book an...

Hands Off or Hands On: When the Zipper Will Not Catch

You watched your child try the zipper three times and then fall apart when it still would not catch. Stepping in and waiting both feel right, and both feel wrong. One book and a free coloring page ...

Happy to Furious in Four Seconds: When the Switch Flips Over Nothing

Your toddler was laughing, and now they are screaming because the cup is the blue one. The speed of it leaves you with nothing to say. Big feelings over small things are normal. One book and a free...

Are Toddlers Too Young for STEM Books? A Patent Attorney's Honest Answer

The short answer is no. The long answer is what changes about STEM when you write it for ages 2 to 4 instead of ages 5 and up.

How to Read STEM Books With a Toddler Who Won't Sit Still

A preschool co-founder's three-rule playbook for read-aloud time with a child who treats sitting as optional.

Why Kit Puts His Mark on Everything He Makes

A patent attorney on the one idea behind intellectual property that a toddler can actually hold: credit belongs to the person who made the thing.