How to choose children's toys? What precautions?

Mar 12, 2023

There are many things in life that can make babies happy and benefit from it, and toys are one of them.

When the baby is bored, parents can use toys to stimulate the baby's interest. Good toys can not only attract the baby's attention, let the baby play obediently, but also improve various abilities, such as The development of intelligence, the training of sensory ability and the improvement of fine hand operation ability.

But how to choose toys for babies is not an easy task. Many parents have some problems when buying toys for their children.
For example: parents think that the baby will like it, but after buying it back, they put it aside and eat ashes;
The baby cried for the toy, and got tired of playing with it within two days after buying it back;
There are also toys that have potential safety hazards, but they were not found when they were bought, and they cannot be played after they are bought back, or they must be supervised by adults before they can be played by children;
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Moreover, the main purpose of the products is mostly for profit. Some manufacturers will put more thought on how to please the parents who pay for the toy in the design concept of the toy, and at the same time cooperate with exquisite marketing skills to facilitate the transaction, but the actual value of these toys The cost performance is not ideal, so it is necessary to write an article about toy purchase, and share with you the points that need attention.

After all, our resources in all aspects are limited, and everyone hopes to spend money, time and energy on the cutting edge, instead of being driven everywhere.

There are three core ideas for purchasing toys, namely safety, stimulation and age adaptation.

1. Security
No matter what kind of toy it is, as long as there is contact with the baby, safety must be the first priority. Nowadays, there are many shopping channels, but many parents are not clear about the safety standards. Here I need to explain.
strong enough
Babies don't have a clear sense of how to protect themselves. If a toy is not strong enough, and it is easy to fall apart or fall apart when playing, it is naturally not suitable as a baby's toy.
Material safety
Make sure that every part of the toy production is green and non-toxic, such as toy components must not contain lead, and the paint applied on the surface is safe and non-toxic.
Reasonable structure
In order to pursue visual stimulation, some toys may have sharp edges or fragile components, which may hide potential safety hazards.
easy to clean
Babies don't have a concept of cleanliness, and they naturally don't pay attention to these when they are playing. Repeated grasping, holding, throwing, and tasting will make babies come into frequent contact with toys. Therefore, if a toy is difficult to clean, or has many layers and is easy to breed bacteria, you should choose carefully.
Fits in size and weight
This is easy to understand. Toys or components that are too small may be swallowed, while toys that are too large or too heavy not only pose safety hazards, but also affect the baby's play experience. Weight and bulk that are perfectly safe for adults can be a threat to babies.
no string
Toys with strings are very dangerous and some cases of infant choking have occurred from toys with strings. If you must buy it, the length of the rope should not exceed 15cm, and parents must ensure that the baby cannot touch it when hanging some pendants or toys. Of course, the understanding of the rope should be more flexible. Any straps and soft plastic connections that exceed 15cm are regarded as ropes with potential safety hazards.
moderate volume
Loud sounds can damage babies' hearing, so when purchasing toys with sounds, be sure to pay attention to whether the sounds are gentle and pleasant to the ear, rather than loud and sharp, which makes people uncomfortable. Toys with sound should preferably have the ability to adjust the volume or turn off the music.
2. Stimulation
Stimulation refers to whether a toy can promote the improvement of the baby's abilities in all aspects. Not every toy can exercise and improve the baby's abilities, and some may be exquisite and beautiful, suitable for decoration. What abilities does the baby need to develop?
Senses: Sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell
Coordination: hand-eye coordination, fine motor coordination of hands, and coordination of limb movements
Awareness and concepts: cause and effect, color and shape recognition, spatial relationships, imagination and creativity
Communication skills: language and social skills If a toy is very effective in improving one of the above abilities or has multiple stimuli at the same time, then you can consider starting.
3. Age Adaptation
Age-appropriateness is when the age group of the toy is designed to match the age of the baby. Toys that match your baby's age can not only help him consolidate the various abilities and skills he has already acquired, but also allow him to learn new abilities. Generally speaking, toys that come out of formal channels will have the recommended age of use on the packaging, which is also very important.
The right age can not only meet the needs of the baby's ability development, but also ensure safety. Therefore, when we choose some toys with the nature of assembly and patchwork for children, we should follow the above optimal age, and wait until the child is old enough to no longer have a choking hazard, and the hand movements are dexterous enough to start. Another situation that occurs if parents buy toys that are beyond their age is that when the baby is old enough to play with the toy, it is likely that the baby has no interest in it.

Whenever parents buy toys for their children, they can quickly make a judgment by evaluating the toys with the above three principles. In my opinion, there are a lot of toys on the market that are overly elaborate, a bit too much for young babies, and are more pleasing to parents than babies. In fact, parents who have time can try to make toys for their babies by themselves, and let the babies see the process or participate in it while doing it. Isn't it a joy.