Choosing toys gifts for kids of different ages
First Stage – Babies (0-12 Months)
For young infants, playing is more about interaction with others, and it takes much attention of their parents or guardians in case of any potential risk, additionally, parents here can act as guides to lead them and help grow a closer relationship. Moreover, at this age, infants are sensitive to real, visible, and touchable items, such as faces that they can recognize, bright colors that attract their attention, music that they can listen to, etc.
Recommended Toys
Young infants are curious about everything around them, and they want to touch and feel them with their little fingers. So, infants want toys that they can hold, squeeze, shake or make noise with.
Soft Dolls - Jellycat Soft Toys
The soft dolls of Jellycat are furry and fluffy, they are soft enough to meet kids' need for touching and squeezing. Plus, Jellycat has abundant shapes of dolls that help babies recognize shapes, sizes, and colors.
Electric Singing Toys
This singing cow toy can walk with nursery rhymes, attracting kids to crawl after it while appreciating simple rhymes. Great for attention and listening practice.
Pretend Play
Pretend play sets of various careers or themes help kids grow their imagination and cognition of colors, shapes, even careers. It is wonderful toy for early education of practical skills such as hand-eye coordination and social skills.
Second Stage - Toddlers (2-3 Years)
The learning and exploring ability is growing rapidly for kids of 2 to 3 years old. They tend to do more physical actions with their bodies such as jumping, climbing, rolling, or hanging by their arms. And they have better control of their hands and fingers to deal with small size objects. Why not take this chance to train their brains and bodies? Toys that can cultivate imagination and creativity and train practical skills are great for kids of this age.
Recommended Toys
Simple Wooden Puzzle
Toddlers are into interesting toys that motivate them to solve problems. This simple puzzle with a few pieces is great for them to develop logic, modeling, and perception skills. Various shapes and colors provoke their creativity and imagination. Having trouble with cleaning wooden toys? Read more to know the washing methods.
Sorter Cube Toys
These sorter cube toys with different geometric blocks in different colors inspire kids to use their eyes, hands, and brains. Attracting kids' attention, these toys can also train their eye-hand coordination skills, problem-solving skills, and motor skills.
Third Stage - Preschools and Kindergarteners (3-6, 6+ Years)
How to select toys for kids older than 3 years old? Children at this age range are much more enthusiastic and curious about surrounding things. With a longer attention span than children under this age range, they'd like to ask a lot of questions or experiment with practical skills. What's more, not just playing alone, they prefer getting more friends involved in their games. Therefore, to satisfy their needs, toys that can provide them a space to create their ideas and thoughts will be perfect for them.
Recommended Toys
City Building Blocks
What kinds of toys are ideal for creative kids? City building blocks toy is a wise choice. Various shapes and colors of blocks inspire kids to employ their thoughts and ideas. Just brainstorm and design city of your own!
Table Games
Great toys for gaming with friends and families must be table board games. Unique beaded design with chess game design, this table toy requires cooperation with others, which can exercise children's motor skills and patience while promoting intimate interaction.
Erasable Drawing Board
An erasable drawing board gives kids a chance to write or draw what they want. Different from traditional crayons and papers, this drawing board is much easier to erase and create with a eraser and different magnetic numbers or shapes pieces.
Safety Tips
In addition to choosing age-appropriate toys, parents should also focus on the safety and playfulness of toys. As for the playfulness, toys that are too challenging will lead to frustration, vice versa, toys that are too easy can bore kids. In addition, how to avoid potential risks or hazards of toys? Look at the following safety list to check on.
- Read the manuals
Important information is presented in the manuals, don't ignore them. Clearly understand how to play with the toys before showing them to your kids.
- Choose larger toys
Pay attention to the size of toys to avoid choking hazards. And no small parts which can loosen easily.
- Avoid rough surfaces or sharp edges
Toys with rough surfaces or sharp edges will get kids hurt.
- Avoid toxic materials
Kids may inevitably put toys into their mouths, toys that are made with toxic materials will harm them.
- UL Approved
For your kids' safety, electric toys should be UL approved, check the label to confirm it.
Now that we’ve learnt how to choose toys gifts for kids, what can you do when kids' toys get dirty? Or how often do you have to sanitize the toys under the pandemic situation? To help you solve these problems and provide a safe and sanitary playing environment for kids, read more to learn about how to clean and disinfect toys!