Features

Positive Relationships: A parent's guide to ... Choosing toys for children under three years

Parent’s Guides Birth to Threes Equipment & Resources Positive Relationships Practice Working With Parents
Toys. They are everywhere. Gone are the days when they were only sold in toy shops. Now they are a few shelves away from the food in the supermarket and the aspirin in the chemist. They are not cheap, either. So, what is worth buying and, more importantly, what will genuinely help your child to learn?

In this guide, we look at choosing toys for children under three, and in the next, we will consider older children.

Our starting point with babies and toddlers is safety. In these first three years, toys have to be strong and well designed. If you have a child under two years, it is highly likely that an object will end up in your child's mouth. This is known as 'mouthing' and is a perfectly normal way for babies and young toddlers to explore. It does mean, however, that toys and anything else that you give your child must be large enough to prevent choking.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Unlimited access to news and opinion

  • Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here