Developmentally Appropriate Toys

Let’s talk about the importance of choosing developmentally appropriate toys for toddlers to support their play, problem-solving, and language development.

Choosing the right toys available for your child is important. A small amount of thoughtfully selected toys is more beneficial than a large amount of toys.

Some considerations to determine if the toys you are introducing to a child are considered developmentally appropriate toys: 

• Does the child have the fine and gross motor skills needed to play with this toy?

• Can the child play with the toy independently, or will they need the help of an adult?

• Is this toy at a cognitive level appropriate for the child?

Highlighting two companies that make finding developmentally appropriate toys easy:

Finding developmentally appropriate toys has become a lot easier over the years because brands like Lovevery curate boxes to meet the needs of children based on their age range. Now Lovevery is a luxury brand that is not accessible to everyone, nor do you have to have their toys to be providing your child with the most developmentally appropriate experience. But, their boxes provide a wonderful framework to determine what toys your child might be interested in and benefit from given their age. An example of how to use their kits as a guide for purchasing the best toys for your child's age: In the 5-6 month kit there is a tissue box with cloth handkerchiefs for children to pull out. This is a great toy that allows very young children to work on their fine and gross motor skills and offers lots of repetition. The same toy can be created with an old tissue box and scrap cloths at home. Simply lay the cloths in the empty tissue box, and support the child in finding the next cloth each time one is pulled out!

Melissa and Doug is another company that does a wonderful job of creating toys for the different stages of development. On the website, you can choose to “shop by age”, which is a great place to get a sense of what kind of toys are appropriate for your child as they grow.

Read more about your child's developmental milestones in this post.