Breath Buddy
Breath Buddy is an educational children's toy designed for kids around the age of 5. It provides both an entertaining and educational aspect: the toy teaches effective deep breathing techniques to help provide an avenue for self-calming and relaxation during many aspects of life.
My Process
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5 Year Old Developmental Milestones
Emotional:
Explain how they feel with explanation. ‘I am happy because I got a sticker’ or ‘I am sad because I fell over’”
NHS information from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Children and Young People’s Health Services
Physical:
“Large and small muscle control. Developing an awareness of one’s own body and its relationship to the environment. Includes use of senses to explore andp rocess information, health, safety, and nutrition”
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
At this age, there is opportunity to explore the child's connection to their emotions, as
well as coping mechanisms to handle them...
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Design a teaching toy for children at the age of 5 that provides both an entertaining and educational aspect. Allow for the toy to teach effective deep breathing techniques to help provide an avenue for self-calming and relaxation during many aspects of life.
MoSCoW
Must: provide an educational benefit, teach calming breath control, be suited for young children (age 5)
Should: fit a bright, but calming theme, be small enough to be held by a child
Could: light up, utilize sound effects, be made of soft material, attach to a car/countertop
Won’t: have any child hazards such as choking, be made of toxic materials
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Breath Buddy is a wearable wrist cuff that doubles as a child's companion, and provides an avenue to practice deep breathing techniques. The child simply puts on the toy, plays with it, etc. and when they feel big emotions and need a coping mechanism, they can use the lighting up and vibrating features by twisting the end of the tail. This activates a lighting up feature (shown in video) that allows them to breath in and breath out in a guided, calm manner.
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This project gave me the chance to dive back into the toy market and really got specific with research to make a toy that is suited for young children. I learned a lot when it came to connections and joint work (3d printed joints) and also materials and soft goods (stitching and material choice). Overall, I had fun with this project and got to explore many facets of design.
