How do you select appropriate gifts for your child? This article provides tips for selecting toys that will grow with your child, challenge her, and foster her cognitive, physical, linguistic, and social-emotional abilities.

Toddlers are small explorers who learn by experience. Following her individual interests, your kid can acquire and practice new skills at her own pace through play. The toys and playthings accessible to your child can significantly influence her growth.

Guidelines for Selecting Toys for Infants

Choose toys that can be utilized in multiple ways.

Choose toys that are “open-ended” in the sense that they can be used for a variety of games. For instance, wooden or plastic interlocking blocks can be utilized to construct a road, zoo, bridge, or spaceship. These toys stimulate your child’s imagination and aid in the development of problem-solving and logical reasoning skills.

Consider purchasing toys that can grow with your child.

We have all had the experience of purchasing 1 year old toys that our child enjoys for two days and then abandons. Small plastic animals, for instance, are entertaining for a young toddler who may construct a shoebox home for them, while an older toddler may use them to act out a story she has invented.

Choose toys that promote discovery and problem-solving.

Children have multiple opportunities to practice new skills through play. Toys that allow children the opportunity to figure something out on their own, or with a little guidance, help them develop their logical thinking skills and become persistent problem-solvers.

Look for toys that encourage your child’s creativity.

Consider purchasing toys that your youngster can use to create and act out stories. Language and reading skills, problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to sequence are developed through pretend play.

Give your youngster the opportunity to play with “actual” objects or toys that resemble them.

Your child is becoming adept at figuring out how objects in her environment function, such as television remote controls and light switches. She is also interested in playing with your “actual” belongings, such as your cell phone, as she desires to be as mature and capable as you.

Include some “reading readiness” toys.

Books, magnetic alphabet letters, and art supplies such as markers, crayons, and fingerpaints aid in the development of early writing and reading skills in children. Your youngster will enjoy looking at and playing with “real-life” objects such as takeout menus, catalogs, and magazines, while gaining familiarity with letters, text, and print.

Look for items that stimulate your child’s physical activity.

Your duty is to be a receptive listener for your child’s latest playground accomplishment! Look for 1 year old toys that will assist your child practice and develop current and new physical skills.