Toddlers are little explorers who learn through actions. Play gives your child an opportunity to develop and practice new skills at their pace by following unique interests. Your child’s toys and playthings shape their development in meaningful ways. There is a massive array of toys developed for the toddler market. How do you choose which is suitable for your child? How can you tell which high-quality ones will last for 12 to 24 months kids?
Which will engage your child’s interest for more than a few days or weeks? Following are some ideas for choosing toys that grow with your child, challenge them, and nurture overall development:
Open-ended play
Choose ‘open-ended’ toys because your child can play many different games with them. For example, wooden blocks help them make a road, a zoo, a bridge, or a spaceship. They spark your child’s imagination and help them develop problem-solving and logical thinking skills.
Growth
We all have experienced buying a toy for our kid who does not play with it for more than two days. You can look for objects that are fun at different developmental stages. For instance, small plastic animals are fun for a young toddler making a house from a shoebox, while an older one uses them to act out a story.
Imagination
Shop for toys for 12 to 24 months so that your child can use them as they develop and act out stories. Pretend play builds problem-solving skills, language and literacy skills, and the ability to sequence. Examples are action figures, stuffed animals, trains, trucks, dollhouses, etc.
Problem-solving
Play gives children an opportunity to practise new skills. They figure out something independently and build logical thinking skills with some coaching. They also help develop spatial relations, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills.
Introduce real stuff
Your toddler starts figuring out how objects work and gains interest in playing with the real stuff. These objects help children learn spatial relations and develop fine motor skills in small muscles in the hands and fingers.
Cross-generational play
While adults and children play with almost anything together, you find some toys designed for adult participation. As your child turns a toddler, buy toys for 3-year-olds that require memory usage or those that do not require reading and are fun for players of all ages.
Physical skills
Toddlers perform all kinds of physical tricks since they are stronger and more confident with their bodies. Be an appreciative audience for your child’s newest playground achievement. Check toys that help your little one practise physical skills and develop new ones as they grow.
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