The first time I went toy shopping for my elder son, I remember picking up a lot of toys. I went crazy looking at the aisles and aisles of fun and colorful toys for kids. Nicely bifurcated age-wise to make things a little easy, if not too much. So, parents before buying toys for your kids, have a mental list of things to look out for in toys. The idea is to give your child toys that are not just appealing but also act as stimulants for their brain development. Here is a list of things to narrow your search while buying your child, toys.
Age Appropriate Toys
The first and foremost factor to look out for while shopping for toys is age appropriateness. It is very important to give your child toys that are interesting, stimulating and designed according to their age. A toy designed for older kids can be complicated while toys for younger kids can be boring and unexciting for your child. The cognitive skills of a child are at play while they are interacting with the toys, so ensure to keep challenging them as they grow.Open-ended Toys
Toddlers are a curious bunch and are always picking, pulling, adding or building something with the objects they find around them. Find toys that allows them to do the same in a definitive and educating way. For instance, building blocks, wooden puzzles, assembling parts of a toy, etc. will help them expand their learning curve, logical thinking and keep them excited at the same time.Stimulating Toys for Brain Development
Toys have a greater purpose than entertaining your child with colors or shapes. Toys that stimulate your baby’s sensory organs with sound, vision and hearing aid to develop their balance, hand-eye coordination, and motor control.According to What to Expect, “For young babies, that might be toys that stimulate the senses (sight, hearing, touch) and help develop hand-eye coordination; for toddlers, you might look for toys that encourage walking, climbing, and balance, help teach them about the physical world (how to manipulate things, cause and effect, numbers and patterns), and show them how adults do things (cooking, housekeeping, baby care, work).”
Real Toys
Your curious toddler is learning about the world through you. Increase their knowledge by getting toys that look like everyday objects from the real world like cars, television set, kitchen sets, phones and even toy animals. Miniature toys will help them get familiarized with the objects from the real world. So even before they go to school, they will have a wide vocabulary of things they know about from the world that surrounds them.Active Toys
Toddlers are full of energy all the time. It is safe to introduce them to toys that help them stay active and healthy. Get them toy cycles, basketball or football sets, mini wagons to carry things, etc. These toys will not only teach them new things but will also prepare them to be active from a very early age. As parents find the right toy that can help your toddler according to their physical abilities and help them develop new ones.Child’s Safety
The companies developing these toys for kids always have safety standards in place. However, babies in their first year will bite, chew, drop or throw the toys, which can break them. The toys should be designed in a manner that they are prone to these accidents and don’t hurt the baby with broken pieces. Toddler toys should not have many small parts or complicated designs to prevent choking or getting hurt. The toys should be properly finished with non-toxic paint materials.Durability
Usually, not all toys end up becoming your child’s favorite pass time. There are many toys that are hardly touched after the first couple of days of purchase. To avoid this, get toys that have longevity, like a doll-house, for instance, can be played with until the child is about 6-7 years old. Or pick varied toys to keep the interest level high according to their different developmental stages. Choose toys with different shapes, texture, colors, lights or sounds.Toys always need to be kept clean and germ-free, so ensure these toys are water or wash resistant. And lastly, opt for simpler toys as they have simpler designs which are durable and can hold the test of time.
In
the end, pick toys that can help and build the first years of your child’s cognitive skills. De-clutter your baby’s room and give only a few toys to play at a time, to keep them interested, at all times. Keep a toy cleaning routine in place to ensure your child is playing safely with germ-free toys. Also, teach your child multiple ways to play with the toys, to make it a fun and educational experience.
About the Author:
Roselin Raj is a journalist and a writer. She has been writing extensively on health and wellness related topics for a little over a decade now. Besides her professional interests, she loves a game of basketball or a good hike in her free time to fuel her spirits. “Health is wealth” is one motto of life which she lives by as well as advocates to every reader who comes across her blogs.
