Your kid’s eyes light up at the sight of toys. It seems that his attraction for toys is instinctive. Maybe this is because toys fulfil his needs for using his imagination and his need to explore, pretend, and share. Toys are not only fun, but they can also be valuable tools to make your kid smart – and they prepare him for skills needed to be an adult.
The best toy for your kid is the one that he chooses – and it can be as simple as a cardboard box or pots and pans. When he enjoys a toy, it provides him with the greatest learning experience. Your kid is a natural learner and anything that interests him will teach him something. Also, the more variety of toys he has, the happier he is, and the more diverse his learning experience will be. He may not have access to all the toys he likes, so some you have to provide some of them yourself.
Choose toys that are developmentally appropriate for your child’s age –
if it is too advanced for him, he might get frustrated with how difficult it is to play, and he will abandon it. Worse, it may even injure him. If the toy is for a younger age, he will find it boring.
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Choose toys that are appropriate to your child’s gender.
Observe your child determine his likes, interests, his skills level, his favourite characters, etc. to know what toy he will enjoy.
Choose toys that require imagination.
These are open-ended toys that leave playing to the imagination. Avoid toys that can only be played in only one or a few ways. Toys that run on your kid’s imagination are better than those that run on AA batteries. For example, a Tigger toy whose limbs your kid can manipulate endless ways is better than a Tigger toy that can only somersault. Playing toys by making believe enables your child to test his idea about the world and develops his creativity. Research has also shown that this also develops language and lengthens your kid’s attention span.
Choose toys that allow your child to do something to them like snapping them together or shaping them. They improve your kid’s spatial intelligence and depth of perception. He also learns about shapes, colours and sizes.