What Toys Are Best For My Child?

As a walk down any toy aisle will tell you, there are many types of toys for all ages of children.  Most will indicate on the packaging what age they are geared toward (“for ages 2+”), but how do you know which toys will provide the best developmental opportunities for your child?

Choose toys that are open-ended.

Get the most bang for your buck by choosing toys that can be adapted as your child grows. For example, blocks are great for infants to bang together to practice cause and effect, as well as bringing their hands to the midline, a great exercise for the brain. Toddlers can begin to stack blocks for fine motor development. They can also use blocks to encourage imaginative play by pretending they are cars driving across the floor or as a telephone to call a loved one! Preschool children can use blocks to build more elaborate structures with playmates to encourage social skills and negotiating conflict. Blocks also enhance dramatic play and can be used to create a house for stuffed animals, a storefront for a restaurant, or bridge to connect people, things, and ideas.

Adapt “toys” you already have.

Parents joke that children often prefer the box the toy came in to the actual toy. Go with it! Let your creativity loose and find new purpose for items in your house. What about that mesh loofa? It makes a great sensory experience for infants, and it is easy for them to grasp as their hand-eye coordination is developing. It also makes a safe option for toddlers to throw and kick around the house. What about using it in paint for a unique texture on paper? Or add it your play with a doll or stuffed animal and practice the bath time routine.  The possibilities are endless!

Don’t forget your child’s favorite toy: You!

Playtime is not necessarily about the type of toy, but how it is used in relation with the caregiver. As caregivers, our schedules are packed, but even just a few moments of playing peek-a-boo your infants or singing a rousing rendition of “Wheels on the Bus,” with your toddler, complete with motions, will help your child’s brain develop synapse connections as they learn about the world around them. Point out your eyes, nose, etc.during bath time with your little one or try playing I-Spy in the car on the way to the store with your preschooler. Your child learns best in the context of a loving relationship with you, so go ahead, have a tickle-fest in the middle of that toy aisle and take advantage of the most priceless toy your child could have! You!

Questions or concerns?

If you have questions or concerns about developmentally appropriate toys, please contact us at info@playworkschicago.com or 773-332-9439.

Becky Clark, MS, DT
Developmental Therapist

Reference: Cook, R. E., Sparks, S. N. (2008).  The art and practice of home visiting. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co.

Photo by Susan Holt Simpsonon unsplash.com

Toys: How Many Is Too Many?

“It is a happy talent to know how to play,” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Toys help foster children’s play development. Toys are one of the first opportunities that a child has to explore and interact in their environment. They open up a world of learning opportunities through education of play. Toys provide developmental growth when it comes to cognition, language, motor skills, and social interactions (plus many more). They create opinions, reactions, and fun experiences. These experiences allow a child to engage independently and socially. Toys must be introduced and used interactively with another social/ communitive partner (i.e. an adult or parent). A child must learn how to functionally play with a toy in order to use a toy to the fullest.

Although toys have many benefits for toddlers and preschoolers, having too many toys can feel overwhelming and distracting. A toddler can feel distracted by the overload of toys and not use the toys to their full potential. A toy must be introduced to a toddler first to learn the functionality of the toy. Too many toys can distract a child from focusing their attention on one toy at a time. Many children will pick up toy bins/containers, dump them out, move them around, the room, instead of using them for their functionality. Using a toy functionally with adult assistance will help a toddler use the toy to the fullest. After a child is done using a toy having them clean up and move on to the next activity will help with the growth of their attention span. Having too many toys does not encourage the growth of their attention span.

Tips

  • When your child gets a new toy engage with the toy together first! Get on your child’s level (one the floor) and look at the toy together! Talk about what the toy is, what the toy can do, and play with your toddler and the toy.
    • Example: “Wow look at your new red car! I love how shinny it is. Vroom Vroom let’s see how fast the car goes!”
  • Select toys that have multiple developmental benefits. For example, find toys that can be used to benefit cognition and language growth.
  • Organize your child’s toys into bins to help your child organize what they are playing with.
    • Use pictures to highlight what toy goes in which bin
  • Switch out the toys and the bins to keep things fresh.
    • Example: don’t have all your toys out at reach for your child at all times. Put some toys out of sight so that your child can focus their attention on the toys in front of them.

Have fun playing!

Rachel Weiser, MS, DT

Developmental Therapist

Resources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/12/05/many-toys-bad-children-study-suggests/

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2017/case-brain-science-guided-play

https://www.therapyshoppe.com/

Toy Guide for Babies and Toddlers

With the holidays quickly approaching, families are always asking for recommendations for toys for their small children. Here are a few ideas for age-appropriate toys for your baby or toddler!

Babies (0 to 12 months)

YOU! Your baby from 0-3 months is most interested in his or her parent or caregiver. Encourage eye contact, sing songs, talk to, play peekaboo, and make silly faces at and with your baby!

Mobiles: As their vision is starting to become more clear, toys like mobiles with simple pictures or solid colors will motivate them to reach for the objects above.

Rattles: Our littlest humans are interested in sensory play so what better than something they can bang, shake, and mouth? Rattles provide visual, tactile, oral, and auditory stimulation.

Unbreakable Mirror: Children love to look at themselves and playing in the mirror teaches them self-awareness. Look at each other in the mirror, make faces, put stickers on your face, put toys on your head, or play peekaboo.

Young Toddlers (12 to 24 months)

Simple Books: Make sure the books have simple, real pictures. This will help young toddlers recognize objects in the world around them.

Push and Pull toys: These are great for gross motor activities. These toys encourage movement and great for early walkers.

Hammer and Ball or Peg toys: These are great cause and effect toys to help your child problem solve. Hammer and ball toys also allow them to use tools, which we know these little toddlers love!

Blocks, Cups, Stacking Rings: Stackable toys help children learn spatial relationships, size concepts, and problem-solving skills. And this allows them to do engage in one of their favorite activities – destruction!

Older Toddlers (24 to 36 months)

Matching/Sorting toys: Puzzles are a great way to teach matching and sorting! Older toddlers enjoy see organization in the world and help encourage the earliest of preschool readiness skills.

Pretend/Imaginative Play toys: How often do you see your older toddler use the remote control as a “phone”? Provide your child realistic objects or toys so that they can imitate your actions and daily life. Baby dolls, kitchen utensils/play food, toy phones, cars, trains, dress up clothes, child size broom or vacuum – these all encourage pretend or imaginative play. This type of play to helps your child learn about social-emotional relationships and shows you their understanding of the world.

Art Supplies: Large crayons, markers, clay, paint, glue sticks, child-safe scissors, and construction paper are great utensils to introduce art and explore color! Be sure all of your supplies are non-toxic and to engage in these activities while wearing clothing you don’t mind getting messy – or ruined!

Simple Board or Memory Games: As children get closer to three, these types of games are great ways to work on turn taking and exercise memory and object permanence skills.  It will also help your child improve their concentration.

Kimberly Shlaes, MAT, DT
Director of Developmental Therapy Services