How to Choose Toys for Your Child

With the development and progress of society, the young moms and dads are more and more attention to the child's early education.Vicki Panaccione, PhD, a well-known psychologist and the founder of the Better Parenting Institute, says,"Toys should be thought of as developmental learning tools." But toy shopping is really a serious business. This article will help you how to choose the toys for you child.

Children differ in their rate of development

While playing with toys helps in the child’s development, the rate of development may not be the same for every child. In fact, even if two children with a similar profile are presented with the same type of toys, they may differ in the way they develop. “Both nature and nurture play a part in a child’s development,” says Ms Grace Lee Ying Chin, Senior Occupational Therapist at the Department of Child Development, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), a member of the SingHealth group.

Boys and girls develop differently too. But this does not mean the toys they play with should be based solely on their gender. Instead both boys and girls should be exposed to a wide variety of toys rather than gender-specific ones.

Ms Lee says, “The types of toys to choose are very often influenced by society / environment. Many individuals already have the preconception that cars toys are for boys and dolls are for girls. However, boys could have fun playing with cooking toys as much as girls. Girls should be allowed to play with toy cars/trains if they want to.”

Choosing kids' toys that challenge

In addition to being age-appropriate in terms of the development of the child, toys need to provide the right amount of challenge, so that new skills can be learned. Ms Lee says, “A toy should offer some amount of difficulty to challenge the child’s skills, but it should not be too hard that it sets the child up for failure, leading to frustration at play. Play should also not be so easy that the child gets bored with it. Ultimately, play should be safe and fun too.”

Look for the following safety features in the toys you select for your child, especially children below the age of three who tend to put objects in their mouth:

1, the toy material is non-toxic. 
2, do not buy sharp, fast rotation speed toy for the baby, or run forward very fast and blindfolded child's mouth and nose child or wrapped around the neck of the toy. 
3, for some small babies it is best not to buy him less than three centimeters of small beads, small buttons or small glass ball. 
4, imitation guns, slingshots like the toys have a certain amount of damage, so be careful to buy.

Read on to learn what are the best toys recommended for each age group.

Babies (under age 1)

Soft toys, hand puppets, baby mirrors and rattles – anything which they can feel, look at, hold, shake and bang. After six months of age, toys that encourage babies to move, lie on their tummies and crawl, such as musical toys, stacking cups / rings, are suitable.

Babies (2 years onwards)

Kids’ toys like blocks and bricks, doll houses, doctor’s sets and dough play, work well to support the child’s development needs from the age of two to the pre-school years. This is the time when children enjoy longer and more imaginative play sequences and their play is more associative, cooperative and narrative.

In summary,remember that play is the “work” of childhood. Good toys help kids learn new skills and practice relationships with others and their world.Age-appropriate toys will complement child development.Besides providing age-appropriate toys, parents and caregivers can also facilitate correct social behaviours like taking turns and sharing, during play time.