Choosing Toys For Your Child

November Newsletter Article;

Make your baby thankful by giving them a jump start at learning. Does your baby seem to pick up everything in sight, peer at it, turn it around, shake it, and taste it? Babies are like little scientists constantly experimenting on the world around them to learn how it works. Learn how your choices can help stimulate your little scientist, and how to choose the best toys and books for your holiday budget.

Choosing Toys For Your Child

It is through play that children learn and develop their skills. Choose toys that encourage play.

Questions to ask when selecting toys:

What can the child do with the toy?

Does it invite active doing and thinking or simple passive watching?

Is it safe for the age and development of the child?

Is it well designed and esthetically pleasing to the senses?

What materials is it made of? (Consider what the child will do with the toy, put it in the mouth, play with it in water, sleep next to it, and bang it about?)

Does the toy “fit” the developmental needs, interests and skills of the child?

Will the toy stimulate the child’s development?

What message does the toy give the child?. (E.g., does the product reflect old sexual or racial stereotypes that limit children’s views of themselves?)

What can the child learn from the toy?

Will the toy engage the child?

Does the toy encourage fantasy play?

Does the toy or game encourage parent participation?







Written by

Sara Duskin, IBCLC, Lactation Consultant and Instructor

Sara is a British trained nurse and has worked in the maternal child health field for the past 15 years. She trained as a lactation educator through UCLA and is an Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant. Sara has organized pre-schools and child development programs locally. She has worked at DayOne since its inception and gives her "common sense" support and counsel to new parents, whom, she believes, know more than they think they know. She is married with three children, three stepchildren and five grandchildren.