Kids Toys

Baby Toys

When we talk about kids toys, we usually think in terms of little tikes around the age of three and up. Baby toys, often given as baby gifts by friends and family, take the shape of teethers and rattles, stuffed toys and musical toys - the best options for the first few months. After about six months, we add stacking toys, push and pull toys to help with walking, classical toys like trucks and cars, dollies and play food. Educational toys for infants, like large puzzles, cloth books, balls and blocks appear during the first year of a baby's life.

Fisher Price toys have long been foundational when it comes to infant, toddler, and older kids' toys. Their products are made from sturdy, safe materials and the toys are constructed with a good sense of age appropriateness. As always, it is advisable to check the stickers on the toys to be sure you are purchasing items that are suitable for the age of your child. We all would like to think that our babies are the smartest in the world, but the reality is that if we push our babies into toys that are over their heads, we do them little service. It's not fun for them and it can be frustrating on top of it all for both parents and children.

Choosing Toddler Toys

The best choice for toddler toys are creative play toys. Toddlers are at that crucial stage between infant and preschooler, so this period of time can be thought of as a bridge. If great kids' educational toys are available for a toddler, the developmental process will have a solid foundation upon which to build. The transition into being a "big kid" and being able to play with big kid toys will be much easier and smoother. On the flip side, if the right educational toddler toys aren't available, then the transition is more difficult and a lot more frustrating for the child. The potential for expression, creativity and growth is enhanced greatly when good tools are provided.

Thankfully, there are a lot of great toys available to transition a toddler to kids' toys. Activity tables, play theaters, art easels, art tables, kids outdoor toys like ride-on toys and trikes, outdoor play sets of swings, ladders, slides, and garden sets, are all excellent tools to open your child's mind to the potential that is there. A questioning and inquisitive mind is fertile ground to grow imagination and creativity.

When A Toddler Becomes a "Kid"

Kids toys, if we think of them in terms of toys that are used post-toddler and before school, are toys that are grown into rather than a place where a child starts. If there are older children in the household, then the tiny ones want to emulate them and will try to do exactly as the older children do. That's how we learn. However, a toddler isn't as adept as a four-year-old when it comes to climbing a rock wall or riding a trike. So, how can we as parents help our children transition from infancy to being a toddler to being a "little kid"? We can best serve our children by becoming involved in their play process.

The Fine Art of Playing

If a parent is part of the play process, then the child is truly encouraged through the guidance provided. A parent has the incredible ability and opportunity to increase development through guiding the child with instruction and play. Kids toys that can be used to teach letters, numbers, shapes, and identification, mean a toddler will learn faster and, because the parent is involved, will want to do more and do better. Children really want to please their parents.

Truth be told, parents get as much or more than their kids do from this type of play. When we get older, we forget how much fun it is to just play. Having a toddler and transitioning that little person into the next level of growth provides a unique and irreplaceable opportunity to have fun and connect with the child in a way that can't be replicated.