Children's Toys - A Guide For Parents

Play is enormously important to children. Ideally, the purpose of the toy is to entertain and stimulate the child, but it should also help meet a range of needs - physical, intellectual, emotional and to promote the child's development . Choosing playthings for children is something of a responsibility, particularly in their first five years, when according to some experts their development is more dependent upon the material available to play with than at any other time in their lives.

However, parents should not fall victim to the sense that if their child doesn't possess a splendid array of toys and games of all kinds then the child is deprived. You don't have to spent a lot of money on your child's playthings- an expensive toy isn't necessarily a good one and lots and lots of toys can be simply confusing and a nuisance for the parents, who are constantly left to tidy them all away. But with selective and careful buying, together with improvisation you don't have to fall on the trap.

• Make toys from items around the house.

Many safe and appropriate play materials are free items typically found at home. Cardboard boxes, plastic bowls and lids, collections of plastic bottles, they can even try your pots and pans and other recyclable materials, that can be used in more than one way by children of different ages.

• Find out if your public library have a "toy library" section - usually you can borrow toys for one to two weeks.
• Visit second-hand stores and garage sales
• Watch out for old toys you can revitalize with a thorough cleaning.

Each year, a lot of toys are recalled because the design or the construction faults make them dangerous and there are hundreds of toy related injuries serious enough to require hospital treatment occur each year, especially during the Christmas season

Parents, care givers and us who are buying toys as gifts for children should consider the age of the child and the nature and stage of his/her physical and mental development.

It is also important to be careful that toys intended for use by older children don't fall into the hands of those much younger who probably don't realize the dangers of incorrect use.

Always Remember: Unsafe toys are a health hazard for kids; safe toys can be unsafe if they are not suitable for the kids that play with them.

It is therefore important that the toy's label should be taken seriously. When a label states that the toy is for a particular age group the manufacturer may often meant that the toy is unsafe for children any younger than that.

• Good toys have a long play life- the child keeps coming back to them at different ages
• They can be used in more ways than one ( for example construction toys that can be used to make a variety of types of building)
• They are appropriate to the child's abilities and stage of development, providing a challenge but one which can be met.
• They give the child opportunities to experiment and find new ways of using the toy.

• They are durable so they are long lasting as well as sturdy enough to withstand frequent and heavy play.
• They are safe, well-made (with no sharp parts or splinters and do not pinch) painted with nontoxic, lead-free paint

• They should be easily cleaned.

• Check rattles, squeeze toys and teethers for small ends that could extend into the baby's mouth (accident occur when babies partially swallow the rattle while sucking on it or if they fall with the rattles in their mouth.

• Be sure that squeeze toys and teethers cannot be compressed so that the entire object can fit into the child's mouth.

• Don't forget the packaging. The box and wrapping may provide as much fun as the toy - so remove any plastic covering and check boxes for staples.

• Be alert for harmful ingredients - though you can't check this before buying, once the toy is at home you can watch for dyes and paints that rub off, particularly with toys that can be easily chewed.

• Try to imagine how the toy may be abused and whether it could become dangerous if used in a way not intended by the manufacturer. Children may stick their heads arms or fingers into apparently unlikely gaps or poke small items into their noses, ears or mouths.

• Overall the basic rule for parents is to be VIGILANT. Buying only safe toys isn't enough - children also need good supervision, to make sure they use a toy safely.