With the gift giving Chanuka holiday before us, let me take this opportunity to discuss developmentally appropriate toys. When choosing a toy for a gift, it is important to think about many factors including cost, durability, safety and age appropriateness. Big sellers are not necessarily good toys. Toys can teach children how the world works, develop motor skills and improve language and social skills.

 

The value of a toy is not measured by its price but rather by how it matches a child’s developmental stage and how much creativity it inspires. A toy in a big box is not necessarily better, except that the child may really enjoy playing with the box!

 

 

Infants learn by stimulating their senses, especially sound, sight and touch. Pick a bright colored toy with contrasting colors to get the baby to focus on the object and start to reach or swipe for it. For older babies, pop up toys teach them about the wonderful world of “cause and effect” while developing their coordination skills. Toys that encourage babies to pick up their heads while lying on their stomach or giving them incentive to crawl are great.

 

 

Toddlers are busy exploring the world and learning such concepts as size and shape. Shape sorters and puzzles are good choices as well as nesting blocks and other toys that develop the concept of big and small.  Early building toys (like large lego and waffle blocks) work on developing fine motor coordination. The classic Israeli toy car, bimba, works on developing gross motor skills and movement in the legs.

 

 

At this age, fantasy play is being refined and developed. Dolls, dishes, cars, animals and toy soldiers are all essential “tools” for this age group but their fine motor skills need development too, so playdough, lego, kinex and kapla are appropriate. They are also beginning to develop their graphomotor skills (pre-writing) so fat markers, finger paints and fat sidewalk chalk are all good choices. Drawing on an easel is recommended for kids who are having trouble holding the marker or pencil properly and can be used for a variety of medium (markers, paint, and more). Tricycles and balls will get their gross motor coordination going while a mini trampoline, ball pit and hippity hop are all good for sensory stimulation.
 

Elementary school

 

School age children enjoy group play so I recommend basic board games like Monopoly (junior or later on regular) and Life which teach money skills; Scrabble, Boggle, or Pictionary that help develop reading and writing skills; and Othello, Abalone, Mastermind and Rush Hour for critical thinking skills (these games all are available in Hebrew for added language value). Craft projects and more complex building toys continue to develop fine motor skills. Musical instruments are a big hit too. Motor skills are being refined so advanced equipment will be appreciated as well as games like twister and skip its.

 

Remember when shopping to stop and think what your child likes, what activities are easy for him and which are a little more difficult and use games and toys as an opportunity to help develop their skills.