We’re Melanie and Melissa - two moms who kept running into each other because our daughters were best friends at school.
Our friendship was inevitable, and we soon realized that we had other things in common besides our kids’ classes: a history of entrepreneurial endeavors, a passion for education, and a nerve-wracking concern for our children’s well-being.
We thought we had motherhood pretty much covered until big emotions and major milestones hit. We read all the advice out there, but there was something missing - we wanted more than just theory and recommendations.
So we began turning all the tools we read about into toys. It worked so well that we sent out 50 prototypes across the US.
They say moms often end up creating businesses for kids—and maybe it’s true! After all,
who understands moms’ needs better than other moms?
For us, it meant transforming trusted parenting tools and social-emotional learning into fun, practical toys.
Being moms was where Playfeels started — but we knew it couldn't be where it ended. Every Playkit had to be grounded in trusted child development research and shaped by the people who study how kids actually grow.
So we built Playfeels alongside a multidisciplinary team: child psychologists, early childhood educators, behavior specialists, pediatric occupational therapists, and positive discipline experts, among others. Together, we took the proven, evidence-based tools they use every day — and turned them into toys. Hands-on experiences designed to help kids build essential life skills through play.
Our expert collaborators include:
Our creative designer, Daniela, began prototyping with whatever she had at hand - even without a 3D printer or laser machine.
Then our suppliers stepped in, and those early samples became real toys.
