Age: 0 - 6 months
How They Play:
Follow bright coloured objects with their eyes.
Enjoy looking, listening, sucking, and touching.
Explore with their hands, feet, and mouth.
Listen to voices and may begin to imitate sounds.
Toys & Activities:
Rattles, teething toys, baby crib gym (remove when the baby can pull up on their hands), multi-coloured hanging toys (hung at about 1-foot height), soft blocks, soft squeeze toys, small plush animals, and toys that play music.
Age: 6 months to 1 year
How They Play:
Roll over both ways.
Enjoy bath play and splashing.
Creep, crawl, pull to stand, and hold on to furniture.
Bite, bang, twist, and throw toys.
Enjoy peek-a-boo and bye-bye games.
Enjoy pushing balls and cars.
Toys & Activities:
Floor play, push toys (animals and cars), pull toys on a short string (less than 7 inches), soft-puffed dolls, activity boxes, sound-producing toys, stacking colourful rings on a cone.
Age: 1 to 2 years
How They Play:
Like to dump, push, pull, turn, knock down, stack things up, empty and fill objects.
Enjoy opening and closing drawers.
Begin to copy adult actions like cleaning or cooking.
Like to climb and may manage small indoor steps.
Enjoy active play like kicking and catching larger balls.
Throw and retrieve objects.
Identify pictures in books.
Toys & Activities:
Small rocking horse, low slides with handrails, ride-on toys (that move by pushing with feet), tunnels for crawling, large building blocks, shape sorters, picture books (stories & rhymes), make-believe and musical toys (toy phone, drums, xylophone), bathtub activities (simple floating toys), large markers/crayons, chalk with boards for scribbling.
Age: 3 to 5 years
How They Play:
Like to climb, jump, and balance.
Begin to share and take turns.
May hate to lose and are not ready for competitive sports.
Enjoy exploring nature and science, eager to know how things work.
Engage in group pretend play.
Enjoy looking at books and hearing stories.
At age 4, they start to be more purposeful and goal-directed.
Toys & Activities:
Tricycle, lightweight frisbee/ring ball, wooden blocks, interlocking pieces, dolls (like humans), play sets (doctor kit, kitchen set, cricket set, basketball, toy train, truck, cars), simple board & card games (based on chance, not strategy), picture books (letters, stories, rhymes), paints, colouring books, Play-Doh, stickers, rhythm instruments.
Must know Precautions while buying Toys :
- Avoid any object (balls, toys with small detachable parts) that may fit in the child’s mouth and cause choking.
- Choose toys labelled phthalate-free, PVC-free,BPA-free and avoid plastic toys with recycling codes #3, #6, #7.
- Choose foil-type balloons instead of latex. Latex balloons are a choking risk to kids of all ages
- Choose toys made of washable fabrics, natural materials, like cotton, wool and uncoated wood.
- Check stuffed animals for eyes, noses and parts that can come off.
- Avoid toys with sharp edges/points and thin plastic that can break.
- Make sure all battery-operated toys have a cover that closes with screws to keep the batteries secure in the toy.
- Big No to toys with dislodging magnets & button batteries.
- In shooting toys, Arrows used should have soft tips made out of cork or rubber.
- Toys with cords or strings should not be longer than 7 inches.
- Paint on toys should be lead free.
- Crayons/paints used should be nontoxic.
- Seated baby walkers with wheels are not recommended [Hand held (sit to stand) push baby walkers are better option]
