by Deborah Brooks  I didn’t think my youngest was overly sensitive to physical things. Surely, he was just being picky or wanting more attention. But he was my only child who complained about shirt tags, cried if I put him in footed sleepers, and very quickly became attached to certain blankets refusing to use other perfectly good blankets. Similarly, he was drawn to certain colours and textures. I believe most people are sensitive to certain things but with children, it is especially magnified during stressful situations, such as back-to-school time or starting at a new child care centre ..read more

By Sperry Bilyea  My Puffin was designed with differently wired kids in mind. Our materials (soft chenille fabrics or soft smooth vinyl), hidden zippers (for safety), and low odor foam all provide the perfect environment for kids who need a safe active place to play or a quiet retreat. My Puffin is perfect for unstructured play and helps children develop gross motor skills, problem-solving skills, and self-regulation.   I want to share my top 3 reasons why our customers are loving My Puffin:  Creating a Quiet Haven--My Puffin was designed so a child can easily build a sturd ..read more

Guest Author Dr. Ashley Olivine  Bedtime battles, late nights, rushed mornings, and moody days are all too common. The evening stretches on as that early bedtime goal slips out of view. Tensions run high as the struggle to sleep gets bigger. By the time everyone is finally in bed for the night you know it is too late. There is simply not enough time before the alarm will go off. You groan and go to sleep, dreading the challenges of the following day. When the alarm goes off you want nothing more than to push snooze… or chuck the torture device across the room. The day drags on with more g ..read more

By Deborah Brooks  The best advice I received about my playroom was to get rid of my toy box! You heard it--no one should have a big toy box that becomes a dumping ground for toys. This was one of the many tips from my talk with Connie Huson, playroom consultant and former kindergarten teacher. You can listen to my discussion by clicking on the image below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by My Puffin Play Couch (@mypuffinco)   Connie recommends, after ditching your large toy box, storing toys in both open shelving and small containers. These types of storage will keep ..read more

By Deborah Brooks  When I was in grade school we had to take Home Economics classes in both grade 7 and 8. Generally the girls took Home Ec and the boys took Machine Shop. I learned the basics of cooking and sewing and had a good time in each class. These might be the only skills I learned in grade school that I still use today!  During high school Home Ec morphed into Family and Consumer Studies but even then the remarketing and new curriculum didn’t stick. Reasons cited for its demise range from understaffing, low enrolment, and students wanting more marketable skills for competiti ..read more

By Sperry Bilyea “Circle time” conjures an image of children sitting close together, cross-legged, on a brightly colored rug as a teacher guides them through the day’s routines, singing, clapping, and laughing. This seemingly harmless practice, like so many others, has been complicated by the pandemic. We know that most of the daycare and school classrooms have been stripped of anything soft due to the new pandemic requirements. And we want to do something about this! Over the last few months, Deb and I have been working on a number of products that support daycare and classroom spaces. We fou ..read more

By Sperry Bilyea My Puffin’s dimensions are a little different than all the rest of the play couches out there and here’s why. Hint: it involves the environment and building up kids’ self esteem. This is probably not what you expected to hear! Read on to find out why My Puffin is looking at the big picture.  Most of our competitors copied the Nugget play couch and did not innovate further. The typical play couch measures 33 by 66 inches and includes two isosceles triangles. We knew we could do better, so when Deb and I sat down to design My Puffin we took a different route.  These ar ..read more

As posted in Daddy's Digest By Deborah Brooks Is roughhousing with your kids a good thing? Play couches increase active play and imagination but are they generating even more benefits than parents are aware of? The answer is yes! The benefits of play have been well documented: everything from improved brain function, to stress relief, and improved social skills. But with play couches, we know kids are engaging in rough-and-tumble play in addition to imaginative play. This is creating even more tangible benefits. We hear from moms and dads that they love the play couch because they can roughhou ..read more

By Sperry Bilyea I never was big on geometry at school.  There were times at school when I would ask myself, “Will I ever use this in life?”. Geometry was one of those subjects. Lo and behold – I am using geometry every day with the My Puffin design process! There are many play couches out there and it’s hard to sort out the differences between them. The first difference I would like to share is the design of our triangle which we call the Stander. We made our triangles right-angle triangles. This is unlike most of the triangles out there which are equilaterals. There are many reasons why ..read more

History of My Puffin  Born during the pandemic, My Puffin was created in October of 2020. Founders, Deborah Brooks and Sperry Bilyea caught wind of the play couch trend and knew they had to bring it to Canadian parents. Brooks and Bilyea are both lifelong entrepreneurs who met through a Toronto-based mom’s group and quickly became close friends. Sixteen years after meeting, they started My Puffin and within 6 weeks they were selling play couches. “It was an incredibly fast start for us because we both came from business backgrounds with lots of entrepreneurial experience,” said ..read more