Do you remember how it was when you where a child? What was your main
activity? Was it working? Of course not. Your main activity was
playing. You had no concerns. You needed toys and your parents where
supposed to provide you with them. They had to find toys you wouldn't
throw away and believe me, it wasn't easy for them.
Now you are a
parent and you are in the same situation as your parents years ago.
You're looking for toys that your child will like. That's why you must
know how to choose the right toys. My parents made one common mistake:
they would buy me toys that they considered wonderful. But usually, when
they would give me the toy, I would either consider it too girlish or
too boring. It wasn't fun for them to see how a toy they bought for me
to play with would stay forgotten in my closet.
How to find out what's the right toy for your child?
Just
watch your child closely to determine his preferred activities, skills
level, preferred band(s) and movie(s), and so on. Based on these
observations you can get a clue on what types of toys your child would
prefer. For instance, if your child loves the movie Lord of the Rings, I
bet that he'll also like Lord of the Rings toys...
Now don't just
go into the first toy shop and buy the first Lord of the Rings toy you
find. Observations aren't enough. There are some other very important
factors you must consider. Adding them into the equation helps ensure
you that your child will have lots of fun with the toy you'll choose to
buy for him.
Here are the factors you must consider when choosing toys for your child:
o
Child's age - This is very important. If you buy toys too advanced for
your child's age, chances are that he might get injured. Toy
manufacturers struggle to make their products as safe as possible, but
if you don't follow their recommendations, your child may suffer. On the
other hand, if you buy toys made for children with age under that of
your child, he will consider them too boring. The best thing is to
choose toys designed precisely for your child's age. Here are two
articles that will help you choose toys for babies and toys for
toddlers.
o Child's gender - This is exactly what I said above
that my parents bought me toys that I considered to be girlish. I'm a
boy, but the same is with girls too. Any detail that may make the toy
look as for the other gender than that of your child will make the toy
undesired.
o Toys your child's friends play with - When your child
is playing with his friends, watch to find out if he manifests interest
in any of his playmate's toys. If he does, then it's very likely that
he would like to have a toy similar the one his friend has.
o
Sometimes, a child tells his parents what toy he likes or wants, thus
saving them from a lot of hard work. But don't count on this. Some
children aren't very keen to talk with parents unless they really want a
certain toy.
o Safety - This is the most important factor you
must consider whenever you need to decide what toy you should buy for
your child. Unfortunately, this is also the most overlooked one.
Usually, parents forget to check if the toy they choose for their
children are safe.
o Is the toy educational? - It's a good thing if the toys you choose for your child can help him develop new skills.
And
please remember that the age difference between you and your child is
of at least 20 years. The fact that you liked a toy when you were a
child does not mean that your child will love it too. Children from
different generations like different types of toys
No comments:
Post a Comment