Take a look at your child’s room—there are already so many toys! At this point, it can be quite tricky to navigate your child’s requests, especially when they’re influenced by advertising and peer pressure. However, the most beautiful toy isn’t necessarily the best—it’s often the one that sparks the most imagination. So how do you choose the right toys for your child? Let’s find out in the following section.

Toys and Games

Toys can help children start playing and support their development. However, your child may not need as many toys as you think. The best toys are “open-ended”—they encourage imagination, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

Open-ended toys include:

1. Building blocks—one day your child might use them to build a tower, and the next day they could hold a block up to their ear and pretend it’s a telephone receiver.

2. Balls—they can bounce, be seen, roll, be lifted, and be thrown.

3. Cardboard boxes—they can replace many things, including store counters, ovens, cars, boats, and dollhouses.

4. Doll clothes—using some old clothing and fabric, your child can dress their doll as anyone or anything they like.

5. Scratch paper and scraps—colored paper, sticky notes, crayons, and washable markers can help your child start creating their own masterpiece.

Choose a toy

Many toys include age recommendations on their packaging. While these guidelines are helpful, they should be viewed as a general guide rather than an absolute rule when it comes to play. Your child’s interests and developmental stage are often more relevant in helping you choose the right toys. Of course, age information is important for ensuring safe toy use—for example, if a toy has small protrusions that could be swallowed. In such cases, it’s wise to follow the recommended safety age range.

For your baby, the best “toys” and playmates are you, the nanny, or other close family members. Your baby will love looking at your face, listening to your voice, and spending time with you. He’ll also enjoy a brightly colored telephone, a wind-up musical toy, or learning to reach for a rattle. Once your child can sit up, he’ll delight in things he can tap—after all, banging a wooden spoon against a pot can be just as much fun as any specially designed toy!

Young children love playing with boxes and often find the act of wrapping gifts more fun than the gifts themselves. Other great options include construction toys and dress-up clothes for imaginative play. Older children tend to enjoy problem-solving and using their imagination, so puzzles or games that encourage collaboration with others are also excellent choices.

Toys that make you feel uncomfortable

Some toys may not align with your family’s values. For example, some parents are uncomfortable with toys that resemble firearms, while others may prefer dolls that look more like real babies or dislike the clothes they wear.

Toy weapons

Toy weapons often evoke themes of aggression and violence. When children play in an overly confrontational or aggressive manner, it can negatively impact their self-confidence and overall mental and physical well-being. However, toy weapons can also be used in positive ways—much depends on how your child plays with them and whether they understand the boundaries of their behavior. For example, your child might use a toy as part of a pretend game involving police and robbers, which is generally fine. But if your child adopts an overbearing or intimidating attitude toward other children, they may need your guidance. The type of toy weapon itself isn’t the main issue.

Children often treat guns as everyday objects—like sticks, celery, slices of toast, or LEGO bricks. While this may not be what you’d want to see, the “energy” of a toy gun is hardly the same as that of a real firearm. A toy gun is a symbolic object and is unlikely to actually frighten anyone.

Sexy doll

Playing with dolls can be a lot of fun, but some dolls have adult-like, even sexy, appearances—for example, certain female dolls may come dressed in miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and high heels. While this may seem playful and innocent, it can reinforce a portrayal of women that you might not approve of, especially if your child imitates or models after such representations. In fact, a 2009 study by a UK human-rights organization found that the sexualized nature of toys can directly influence children’s understanding of, attitudes toward, and behaviors related to sexuality. To reiterate, it’s important to pay close attention to how your child plays with dolls. If you’re concerned about this issue, consider providing a wider variety of dolls that reflect more diverse characteristics and body types, so your child can explore a broader range of styles and physical forms.

Discuss toys

You are the one in the family who decides what kinds of toys your child gets to play with. If you have strong feelings about certain toys, you can discuss them with your child—especially as she grows older. You can also use these conversations to talk about your family’s values. For example: “Guns can scare and hurt a lot of people, so we don’t have any guns in our home.”

Scolding your child or forbidding them from playing with toys is not an effective approach. In fact, it may only make them want to play with even more toys you disapprove of. Instead, you can seize this opportunity to teach your child your own values regarding weapons, war, and violence.

Children sometimes become confused about information regarding toys. For example, if a child is allowed to watch violent television programs or play violent video games, they may wonder whether their parents have actually forbidden them from playing such games. If you don’t want another adult to give your child a particular toy as a gift, you should offer a brief, calm explanation to clarify your position. Ultimately, remember that this is your decision.

The Power of Advertising

Many toys are heavily advertised, with your child as the primary target. When “everyone has it,” it can be hard to convince your child to resist a particular toy. You may prefer to learn how to help your child avoid being easily swayed by marketing. Advertisements often highlight just one specific way to play with a toy—usually because that’s the way it’s featured in a TV show or movie. This doesn’t necessarily make the toy bad; it simply limits the ways it can be played with. Similarly, when your child imitates or tries to replicate scenes from a TV program, it can stifle their imagination.