CHOOSING THE
RIGHT TOYS
For your baby, toddler & childThere is now
indisputable evidence that play in the first 5 years of life is vital to
children’s later successes in all aspects of their learning.
From the earliest weeks
and months, babies explore, manipulate, experiment, imagine and learn important
social skills through play. They also relish the time you spend playing with
them, especially imitating facial expressions, repeating sounds or responding
through actions.
For children play is
essential and intuitive. It doesn’t matter whether it’s sand and water on the
beach, cardboard boxes or commercial toys. Many of the child’s learning
experiences are gained through play, both alone and with others.
It’s important to
remember that every child is unique. Children grow and develop at very different
rates and play allows them to use their developing skills most effectively and
in their own way. All children explore, observe, speculate and discover through
play, whether they know they’re doing it or not! Play also gives children a
chance to practise and develop competence.
Just watch your child
when he or she is playing with a favourite toy – look at the concentration, the
manipulation skills and the decision-making. It is easy to see why play is a
vital source of stimulation to a child’s developing brain. Above all, play helps
children realise that learning and experimenting can be fun and enjoyable.
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Give your baby a
head start
It may seem like you’re looking a long way ahead but research has shown that
children with good play skills tend to do well in school. Those play skills
can be encouraged practically from day one. The youngest babies may well
spend more than 80% of the time lying down, but they can benefit hugely from
interaction with smiling faces and adults being animated and chatty with
them. |
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Age
|
Stage
|
Key skill & how
you can help
|
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From Birth
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Babies respond to
objects and
sound. They are drawn to high
contrast colours and patterns
and the stimulus of movement
combined with sound |
Responding to sounds,
their
noises, tracking moving objects,
smiling. They will relish the time
you spend talking, singing and
smiling with them. Mobiles and
musical toys are very popular at
this stage. |
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3 months +
|
Babies are developing
grasping
skills and beginning to pass toys
and objects from hand to hand.
They respond to movement and
familiar sounds. They enjoy the
physical exploration of shape
and form and have fun with soft,
tactile toys. |
Starting to roll over
from front to
back. Placed on tummy, lifts head
and upper chest using forearms
for support. May start to respond
to own name. Can find partly
hidden objects. Mobiles, playnest
and gyms are perfect for this
stage. |
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6 months +
|
Babies are developing
greater
precision in picking up and
grasping objects. They get
attached to favourite soft toys
– great for games of peek-a-boo.
They are increasingly able to sit
upright and respond to the
challenge of sturdier toys with
moveable parts. They will start to
babble and make different
sounds. |
Sitting up unaided,
starting to
crawl around 8 months, increased
hand and eye co-ordination,
simple communication skills…
lots of babbling. Ideas for this age
group – soft books, bath toys,
teething rings, duplo and soft
toys. |
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12 months +
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Toddlers respond to a
wide
variety to stimuli. They have
much greater mobility, and are
developing physical ability and
co-ordination. They enjoy using
ride-on toys, slides, swings and
engaging in active play.
Increased enjoyment of books
with attractive pictures and flaps
to look for hidden objects. |
Starting to walk
unaided and
developing use of short
sentences. Children will like
push-along toys, nursery rhymes
and games like pat-a-cake.
Wooden cubes and stacking
beakers help develop fine motor
skills. Toddlers also enjoy
listening to sound making toys. |
Your toddler: 12
months – 2 years
Age and stages
of development |
Play ideas & toys |
12 months to 2
years most
children will… |
physical |
Intellectual, thinking
and emotional |
language |
|
Walk unaided
|
Push and pull
toys/wheeled/ride-on
toys. |
Hammering
wooden/plastic pegs
into block. Sharing
walks outside and the
beauty of nature. |
Talk to child about
pictures of him/her as
small baby and what
him/her can now do. |
Build and
manipulate
bricks and other
toys. |
Medium to large
sized blocks, unit
bricks (e.g. Duplo). |
Pouring water from
plastic bottles into
other shapes. Playing
with farm and zoo
animals confirm
child’s sense of
society. |
Talk about size and
shape. Listen to your
child’s attempts to
speak with you. |
Say several
single words
and may use
a few two-to-four
word sentences. |
Linking actions with
words. |
Recording child’s
voice on tape
recorder and playing
back to him/her. Give
lots of praise for effort
not accuracy! |
Link words with both
your own and your
child’s actions.
Encourage them to
use words associated
with actions. |
Start to make-
believe/pretend
play. |
Water and sound
play. |
Providing places to
hide, e.g. tents and
tunnels. Small-world
equipment e.g. dolls
house, farm, garage. |
Play dough and clay
can be both
therapeutic and
relaxing. Encouraging
communication. |
Enjoy making
marks. |
Use large
crayons/paint
brushes and big
sheets of paper to
make big marks. |
Scribbling on paper
provides early
opportunities for
drawing and writing. |
Try to spend time
reading together
every day – even if
only for five minutes. |
Your toddler: 3 – 4
years
Age and stages
of development |
Play ideas & toys
|
3 - 4 years most
children will… |
physical |
Intellectual, thinking
and emotional |
language |
Run and climb
with skill and
build with large
and small
equipment. |
Climbing frames,
bikes, scooters.
Things to jump on/off
and over. |
Enjoys using
stacking toys and
things which slot into
each other and
nesting boxes.
Playing with other
children and sharing
experiences. |
Children like to put
things inside
bags/boxes and
carry them around,
talking to themselves
about where they are
going. |
Draw vertical,
horizontal and
circular lines. |
Paints, brushes, felt
pens, crayons.
Scribbling helps to
develop fine motor
control. |
Using dough/clay to
make patterns and
shapes. Blow
bubbles and look at
colours and shapes. |
Talk about playdough
shapes. Talk about
bubble colours and
the way they move. |
Use four and five
word sentences
and can follow a
request with two
parts. |
Action games and
rhymes. |
Likes to hide things
for adult to find (can
forget where they
are!). Ensure child
enjoys learning about
words and numbers. |
Story books are a
must at all stages for
naming characters
and events, counting,
pointing and letter
shapes. |
Enjoy puzzles
and fine motor
activities. |
Large and medium
sized insert puzzles
with around six
pieces. |
Buttoning/lacing toys.
Use funnels, tubes,
pipes in water play to
watch flow of water.
Finger painting.
Children gain great
satisfaction by
gluing and sticking
picture cut-outs and
shapes. |
Offer children words
to use to explain their
actions. Use number
and letter cubes to
gain familiarity with
symbols. |
Toy safety guidelines
- It is important to purchase toys from a reputable toy retailer. Always
ensure that toys conform to the British Standard for toys BS EN71.
- Babies should never be left unattended – always supervise your child.
- Dispose of all packaging safely before giving the toys to your child.
- Remove all tags, labels and ribbons before your baby holds a soft toy.
- Long hair/fibre toys are not suitable for babies under 12 months.
- Always position cot mobiles well out of your baby’s reach and remove from
the cot as soon as your baby starts to sit up.
- Keep toys away from fire.
- Be particularly careful if children older than 3 years are playing in the
vicinity of younger brothers or sisters, as their toys may pose additional
hazards to babies or toddlers.
- Always remove soft toys from moses baskets or cots – a child could use
them as a foothold for climbing out.
- Never leave your baby unsupervised beneath a play gym or activity bar.
- Never submerge electronic toys in water.
- Activity bath toys – never leave your child unattended in the bath.
- Swings – always use the harness provided and only use the faster rocking
speeds for short periods.
- Keep push-along and ride-on toys away from unguarded stairs, split level
floors, public roads and pools.
FUN, FUN, FUN!
Play ideas for your baby
- From 3 months your baby will find great pleasure in those simple games
like ‘peek-a-boo’ and ‘this little piggy’
- Look at books together, pointing to and describing pictures
- Point to body parts, e.g. ‘this is my nose, this is your nose!’
- Demonstrate simple cause and effect, e.g. bang a wooden spoon on a
saucepan to show how a loud noise is made
- Read your child simple stories
- Most babies like animals, so teach them animal sounds they can imitate,
perhaps by singing ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’ together
- Roll a ball between you and your baby
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