Toy shopping may sound simple. What's difficult about buying toys ?

I would say that, yes, it is simple if you want to buy ANY toys. But, if you are concerned whether you really get your dollars worth of toys, whether they toys are appropriate, or whether the toys you buy are good for your child's development, then you need to think more carefully on how to choose child toys properly during your toy shopping.

Ability to choose child toys which are appropriate and educational is one amongst many parenting skills every parent should learn. Yet, many parents still overlook this important task. As a result, many parents throw their money on child toys which are inappropriate, has little play value or even dangerous.

That's why I wrote this guide. This guide was created to help you to select good toys for your loved ones.

.........".So what kind of child toy should you buy ?" ........

First, inspect for the child toy safety . Sometimes, parents are tempted to buy toys which are intended for much older children when doing the toy shopping because their children are more advanced than the average.

Although the child's cognitive development is ready for it, that particular child toy may pose a danger for a certain age group. So, it is important to always follow the safety guidelines prescribed by the manufacturer.

Second, the toy must be appealing to children, fun and developmentally appropriate. Good toys should challenge, but at the same time not too complex it frustrates the child. Although the manufacturers often give information regarding appropriate age the toy is intended for, parents should determine the appropriateness according to their own child. Children develop differently, some are more advance, some are average, and some are less mature than their peers. For parents with advance children who are considering buying toys intended for older kids, safety issue should always be the first to consider when trying to decide whether a particular toy should be bought.

Third,the price of the toy should also reflect its value. The important thing you should consider when doing the toy shopping is the quality and durability of the toys. Well-made child toys are usually more expensive than those which aren't, but also last longer.

Other factor which determines toy value is playability. The toy value increases when they lack of functional fixedness. In other word, toys which can only do one thing has little value. Good toys can be approached at different levels and with open-ended results. This kind of toys will keep child's attention for a long period of time and stimulates his/her imagination.

Traditional wooden blocks and interlocking blocks fall into this category. Which adult doesn't recall how fun it was to build their favourite buildings when they're a child ?

Similarly, dolls, stuffed toys and toys like barnyard animals and kitchen sets are toys with a high playability value. These are toys which are mostly remembered by the children and often survive into adulthood.

Why ?

Because children are imaginative beings. They like to imitate adult; they like to pretend to be somebody. These toys provide them with the opportunity to do so. There is no right or wrong way in using these toys.

Therefore, it is not surprising that toys which support pretend play are children's all time favourites and consequently have high playability value.

How many times we bought expensive toys while toy shopping for our children only to find them sit on the shelf unused?

And how many times we saw our children having fun with cheap stuff that we want to get rid of ?

So here's a top tip to help you determine playability value while toy shopping. If you can think of several ways a particular toy can be used, chances are you child will find even more ways to use it.

Forth, determine whether the toy supports violence or sex stereotype. Today, we live in a society where the influence of movies and televisions are enormous. The minute a movie reaches a high success, a variety of child toys imitating the movie's main character are created. There is nothing wrong with it, except when the main character of that movies is a figure we don't want our children to emulate.

Movies also usually have a certain amount of violent scene with the frequent use of guns, knife and other weapons. If you are one of the parents who don't want your children to think that the use of weapon is a normal occurence, you may not want to have these toys in your child's toy box.

So, next time you do a toy shopping, ask these following questions:

• Are they safe ? Are they well-made ?
• Are they developmentally appropriate ?
• Do they teach something ?
• Are they fun and appealing to my children ?
• Does the price reflect the value ?
• Are they going to be durable ?
• Can the toy be approached at different level ? Do they invite an open-ended imaginative play ?