What criteria should I use when buying toys?

The early stages of a child’s development are the time when lifelong neural connections are formed in the brain. The rest of your little one’s life depends on how their early childhood goes. That is why it is so important that the toys you choose for your toddler are diverse, developing and combine fun with learning. What criteria should you use when choosing toys for your child? We suggest!

Construction material

The material your baby’s toy is made of has an impact on how safe and valuable it will be for your baby’s development. Unfortunately, smooth, slippery plastic is not only a useless sensory material, but also a danger to your baby, who may smash, break or tear off a part of the plastic toy and swallow it or hurt himself. Wood will be best for little ones because of its durability, resistance to falls, and non-toxicity. Toys made of wood can be covered with non-toxic paint or left in their natural color, they will be just as beautiful, although the colorful ones will definitely appeal more to your child. It is also important to mention the fact that toys made from natural materials are better for your baby’s future than those made from plastic

Sensory qualities

When choosing toys for little ones, try to make them sensory. Colorful, glowing, and playing trinkets are fun for an older child, but babies develop through play. To develop his skills, small motor skills, stimulate the brain to produce new neural connections, the toy must be well thought out. What does this mean? A small child learns the world by touch – the more something has a variety of shapes, textures and consistencies, the better. A great example here will be wooden blocks in very unusual shapes, which you can buy on jelej.com. Such blocks will not only be an interesting sensory experience, through its shape, but also the texture of wood, its temperature and hardness, will also develop fine motor skills in slightly older children. This is a toy that will grow with your toddler and will be used for a good few years.

For infants, a sensory blanket, i.e. a scrap of material covered with ribbons of various lengths and textures, will be a perfect first toy. For slightly older, two to three month old babies, rustling cubes or sensory plushies will be suitable, fulfilling the same task. They are just bigger and heavier, which could be dangerous for a newborn

Versatile use

Try to choose items that your baby can play with in different ways for a long time. This will make your parenting more eco-friendly and economical. Toys that last for years don’t have to be boring at all. At the beginning, a manipulative board can be used only for watching, later, with time, a toddler can try to make something with it, and a few years old can use it for creative play and developing imagination – such toys have the most value

Avoid kitsch and junk

Although all the toys that play and blink with colored lights appeal to children and hypnotize them for a long time, studies have shown that prolonged exposure to flashing lights in early childhood can delay a child’s speech development. Just like screens, avoid kitschy toys with lights. On the other hand, playing toys that make unpleasant, low-quality sounds and play uninteresting songs are detrimental to a child’s auditory development. Contact with music is very important, but not in this form. It is much better to find a variety of good music for children and make music with them, for example, on drums, which can be played by a child as young as several months

Valuable and developing toys for toddlers are an important part of the layette. Play is the key to development, so choose wisely.

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