zt toys for children

Toys for Young Infants—Birth through 6 Months

Babieslike to look at people—following them with their eyes.  Typically, theyprefer faces and bright colors.  Babies can reach, be fascinated withwhat their hands and feet can do, lift their heads, turn their headstoward sounds, put things in their mouths, and much more!

Good toys for young infants:

• Things they can reach for, hold, suck on, shake, makenoise with—rattles, large rings, squeeze toys, teething toys, softdolls, textured balls, and vinyl and board books
• Things to listen to—books with nursery rhymes and poems, and recordings of lullabies and simple songs   
• Things to look at—pictures of faces hung so baby can see them and unbreakable mirrors

Toys for Older Infants—7 to 12 Months

Olderbabies are movers—typically they go from rolling over and sitting, toscooting, bouncing, creeping, pulling themselves up, and standing. Theyunderstand their own names and other common words, can identify bodyparts, find hidden objects, and put things in and out of containers.

Good toys for older infants:

• Things to play pretend with—baby dolls, puppets, plastic and wood vehicles with wheels, and water toys
• Things to drop and take out—plastic bowls, large beads, balls, and nesting toys
• Things to build with—large soft blocks and wooden cubes
• Things to use their large muscles with—large balls, push and pull toys, and low, soft things to crawl over

Toys for 1-year-olds

One-year-olds are on the go!  Typically they can walk steadily andeven climb stairs. They enjoy stories, say their first words, and canplay next to other children (but not yet with!). They like toexperiment—but need adults to keep them safe.

Good toys for 1-year-olds:

• Board books with simple illustrations or photographs of real objects
• Recordings with songs, rhymes, simple stories, and pictures
• Things to create with—wide non-toxic, washable markers, crayons, and large paper
• Things to pretend with—toy phones, dolls and doll beds, baby carriagesand strollers, dress-up accessories (scarves, purses), puppets, stuffedtoys, plastic animals, and plastic and wood “realistic” vehicles
• Things to build with—cardboard and wood blocks (can be smaller than those used by infants—2 to 4 inches)
• Things for using their large and small muscles—puzzles, largepegboards, toys with parts that do things (dials, switches, knobs,lids), and large and small balls

Toys for 2-year-olds (Toddlers)

Toddlers are rapidly learning language and have some sense ofdanger.  Nevertheless they do a lot of physical “testing”: jumping fromheights, climbing, hanging by their arms, rolling, and rough-and-tumbleplay. They have good control of their hands and fingers and like to dothings with small objects.

Good toys for 2-year-olds:

• Things for solving problems—wood puzzles (with 4 to 12pieces), blocks that snap together, objects to sort (by size, shape,color, smell), and things with hooks, buttons, buckles, and snaps
• Things for pretending and building—blocks, smaller (and sturdy)transportation toys, construction sets, child-sized furniture (kitchensets, chairs, play food), dress-up clothes, dolls with accessories,puppets, and sand and water play toys
• Things to createwith—large non-toxic, washable crayons and markers, large paintbrushesand fingerpaint, large paper for drawing and painting, coloredconstruction paper, toddler-sized scissors with blunt tips, chalkboardand large chalk, and rhythm instruments
• Picture books with more details than books for younger children
• CD and DVD players with a variety of music (of course, phonograph players and cassette recorders work too!)
• Things for using their large and small muscles—large and small ballsfor kicking and throwing, ride-on equipment (but probably not tricyclesuntil children are 3), tunnels, low climbers with soft materialunderneath, and pounding and hammering toys

Toys for 3- to 6-year-olds (Preschool and Kindergarteners)

Preschoolersand kindergartners have longer attention spans than toddlers. Typicallythey talk a lot and ask a lot of questions.  They like to experimentwith things and with their still-emerging physical skills. They like toplay with friends—and don’t like to lose! They can take turns—andsharing one toy by two or more children is often possible for olderpreschoolers and kindergarteners.

Good toys for 3- to 6-year-olds:

• Things for solving problems—puzzles (with 12 to 20+pieces), blocks that snap together, collections and other smallerobjects to sort by length, width, height, shape, color, smell,quantity, and other features—collections of plastic bottle caps,plastic bowls and lids, keys, shells, counting bears, small coloredblocks
• Things for pretending and building—many blocks forbuilding complex structures, transportation toys, construction sets,child-sized furniture (“apartment” sets, play food), dress-up clothes,dolls with accessories, puppets and simple puppet theaters, and sandand water play toys
• Things to create with—large and smallcrayons and markers, large and small paintbrushes and fingerpaint,large and small paper for drawing and painting, colored constructionpaper, preschooler-sized scissors, chalkboard and large and smallchalk, modeling clay and playdough, modeling tools, paste, paper andcloth scraps for collage, and instruments—rhythm instruments andkeyboards, xylophones, maracas, and tambourines
• Picture books with even more words and more detailed pictures than toddler books
• CD and DVD players with a variety of music (of course, phonograph players and cassette recorders work too!)
• Things for using their large and small muscles—large and small ballsfor kicking and throwing/catching, ride-on equipment includingtricycles, tunnels, taller climbers with soft material underneath,wagons and wheelbarrows, plastic bats and balls, plastic bowling pins,targets and things to throw at them, and a workbench with a vise,hammer, nails, and saw
• If a child has access to acomputer: programs that are interactive (the child can do something)and that children can understand (the software uses graphics and spokeninstruction, not just print), children can control the software’s paceand path, and children have opportunities to explore a variety ofconcepts on several levels