There is a huge offer of different toys for children on the market but every toy isn’t good for them. Parents, in order to purchase toys that fulfil all requirements for a good toy, pay attention to the following 6 things.
1. The proper age for a proper toy.
Children play different toys at different ages. For example, rattles are interesting to babies, but not to older children. Therefore, when buying toys, it’s necessary to pay attention to the declaration for what age a toy is. This doesn’t only concern whether the toy will be interesting to a child of a certain age, but also whether it is safe for him/her. Toys designed for children in age older than 3 years may contain small parts dangerous for younger children. Younger children can suffocate by swallowing them.
2. A toy should be interesting to a child.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that the toy will be interesting to your child if it’s intended for him/his age. Different children of the same age may have different interests. To choose toys for children those will awaken their curiosity, knowing their interests and abilities it’s necessary. This requirement is easier to meet by shopping for children who are older. They can tell you what toys they like. If you buy toys for a young child, follow your judge and intuition. Think about him/his interests. Only if the toy is interesting to children will wake up their imagination, good mood and joyful play.
3. Toys should promote children development.
If toys are too simple for a child, will not be interesting to him/her and will not promote the child’s psychophysical development. Likewise, too much complex toys can cause boredom to the child and frustrate him/her. A toy must be something between, not too simple, nor too complex. If a toy is an obstacle for children which they can to solve, the toy will fulfil another very important requirement: promoting overall children development.
4. Toys should be made of a safe material.
Unfortunately, many toys for children content materials that are harmful. Therefore, always check whether a toy which you are planning to shop has an innocuity certificate. Check the information on a toy declaration.
Do the symbols # 7, # 3 or just PVC appear on the declaration, don’t buy the toy. Symbol # 7 signifies that the toy has bisphenol A (BPA), that is carcinogenic and can cause attention disorder. Symbol # 3 or PVC indicates that the toy contains a polyvinyl chloride, which represents residues of plastic and may contain very dangerous poisons (phthalates, vinyl chloride, dioxin…). These poisons may cause asthma, allergies, problems with reproductive organs. The toy doesn’t contain PVC if its declaration contains labels # 1, # 2 or # 4. According to Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC, harmful chemicals which often occur in children toys but should be also avoided are mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, antimony, tin, chromium, cobalt, nickel,…
It doesn’t only matter a quality material of a toy, but also that it has no sharp edges or metal parts to injure a child during the play.
5. Toys should satisfy hygienic requirements.
Toys for children must be stable colours. If the toy’s colour is sniffed when you scratch the nails over it, return the toy on the store shelf. It’s also necessary to pay attention to whether it can be maintained in terms of washing and disinfection.
6. Toys should satisfy aesthetic requirements.
Toys for children aren’t just an instrumentality of their entertainment. Children toys should have a didactic value. They should promote the children’s development including children’s aesthetic taste. For that reason, good toys for children should be consistent shapes, bright colours and faithful imitation of the object which it represents.
At the end…
You need more time and money to purchase adequate toys for children maybe, but the quality should be above quantity. That children have fewer toys which are really fun for them it’s much better than to have many toys which don’t stimulate their development. Choose toys for children that will promote different aspects of their development. Follow instructions from this article and you will not make a mistake while purchasing toys for children. In the end, toys are important for the child’s happiness, but they aren’t crucial. The more important are parental love and care, and no one toy can replace these.
