When playing, children can master new and complex skills. There are some kids’ toys that allow simple patterns of playing while others stimulate a child’s educational development, mental skills, social skills and dexterity. During playtime, parents can make sweet memories with their children with a few toys. Therefore, if you’re looking to buy kids toys online, you need to research and choose the right toy for the job.

Why You Should Choose Toys That Develop Specific Skills

Normally, when parents are buying kids toys online, they usually consider a few basics. These include the age, gender, personality, interests, skills, challenges and how the child will use the toy. Children get bored very fast if you buy toys that don’t stimulate or challenge them. Also, if a child tries playing with a particular toy but fails repeatedly, he/she will most likely become upset or frustrated.

Children usually use toys to amuse themselves meanwhile improving their motor and cognitive skills. That’s the most important reason for buying toys for young children or for those with physical or learning challenges. Remember, that no specific toy will allow your child to develop faster. Therefore, if you buy toys that are grouped into a specific age gap, you’re guaranteed that your child will develop the necessary skills at his/her age.

Buying Toys By Age Groups

• Infants (Age 0 to 12 months)
Here, you should look for toys that expose your baby to a few experiences such as touch, taste, sound, sight etc. Here, parents will introduce lightweight toys that are squishy and often rattle to encourage exploration, holding and grasping. Once the child is big enough to sit down, you can introduce stacking rings, nesting cups or large blocks. Children at this age who crawl or walk early, you can choose large balls, pushing and pulling toys.

• Toddlers (Age 1to 3 years)
When buying toys for this age, you should focus on those that provide physical playtime. Toys for playing outdoors include balls, wagons, sandbox accessories and ride-on toys. For indoors, choose toys such as puzzles with large pieces or chunky blocks. The toys should allow the child to exhaustively use any excess energy as well as develop necessary muscle control.

Toddlers also like imitating their parents so you should buy toys such as kitchen sets, ride-on cars, baby strollers, sport sets, musical instruments or housekeeping tools. You should also consider board games where the child can practice socializing, learn how to take turns and also communicate better.

• Preschoolers ( Age 3 to 5 years)

At this age, children are fascinated with the inner intricacies of things such as how they work and why they do so. Therefore, the best toys would be washable crayons, construction sets, modeling clay, board games, paints, books, markers etc. All these toys allow creativity.

You should also consider buying toys that allow pretend play where the children can imitate their parents accordingly in order to develop life skills. For instance, you can buy toy telephones, cash registers, furniture, doll houses or town sets. Other toys that are perfect for preschoolers include animated toys of movie or TV characters that children can identify with.

Of course, you should make sure that the animated character has qualities you approve. Basically, your child will be learning from this individual and will most likely mimic and imitate his/her actions. Therefore, choose animated characters of people who can provide excellent examples for kids at any age. That’s where most superhero toys come in handy.

• School Kids (Age 5 to 9 years)

At this age, you should encourage kids to share. Therefore, you should introduce toys that teach them how to be independent as well as playing in teams. Toys that improve the kids’ self-esteem or stimulate them to use their personality or skills are also great for this age. Here, you can introduce sports toys, hobby sets, computer software, storybooks, games, math toys etc. Also, you can try out electronic toys that bring out sounds, music or lights for the best results.

• Preteens (Age 9 to 12 Years)

Most preteens are looking for acceptance from their friends as well as self-esteem. Here, you might notice that the kids are less interested in toys. Therefore, you can look for construction toys, science toys, board games, activity kits and also strategic puzzles to engage the preteens. Card games, electronic and board games can also help preteens stimulate their intellectual and social skills.

• Children With Special Needs

If you are buying toys for children with special needs, you need to remember that modified or specifically designed toys are not very important. Always remember that children use toys for play time and during this time, they need to develop their emotional, social, cognitive and physical skills.

Other Useful Information For Buying Kids Toys Online

You should always read the label on the toys before buying them. These labels usually have important information such as how the toy should be used and the right age for the toys. That way, you can rest assured that your child is using the toy in the right way.

If you’re buying toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, you should make sure that the pieces are very large or the whole toy is large enough to avoid swallowing. There are lots of incidents of children who have swallowed toys so you should do everything possible to avoid it. If possible, you should avoid toys that shoot objects or eject objects. Such toys are responsible for injuries and also for choking.

Also, don’t buy toys that are too loud since you might damage your child’s hearing capabilities. If you’re buying stuffed toys, you should make sure that the parts are sewed tight. All the edges and seams should be perfectly secure. If possible, make sure the stuffed toy can be washed in the machine. Also, remove any ribbons that might strangle the child.

Bottom Line

Buying kids toys online is very hectic for most parents. However, with the list of sites found here, you can buy the right toys for your kids without any worries. Look through this site for more information on buying kids toys.