If you are like most parents you have most likely heard your child make the follow desperate appeals, “Can you get me that toy…I have always wanted that toy…I’ll be good if you just buy that toy for me.” However, a child’s fascination for toy does not mean that all toys are good.
 
Often times parents will purchase a toy for their child solely based on their child’s fascination and never consider information concerning the toy, such as being “age appropriate” or warnings such as “contains small pieces that may be swallowed”. Also many parents do not the difference between their child’s fascinations or if the child has a true genuine interest in a particular toy. The interesting thing is, it does not take long for a child to determine whether a toy is fun and entertaining or boring and uninteresting, does it?

There are several ways that parents can be diligent consumers before purchasing toys for their children.

However, there are two effective ways that can help parents make wise choices when purchasing toys for their children that may prevent newly purchased toys from ending up under a bed or at the bottom of the toy chest collecting dust.
 
First, most toy manufactures as well as various news and consumer agencies use children to test toys. Parents can do a little research to find which toys are the most popular as well as which are age appropriate. However, parents must keep in mind that children have individual likes and dislikes, so this process will not always guarantee that their child will find a particular toy fun and entertaining based on research alone.

The second way that parents can learn the difference between a child’s fascination and attraction to a toy and their true interest in a toy is by simply providing personal interaction as well as introducing toys, especially educational toys, into their child’s lives at infancy.

Research has shown that the brain develops at an incredible rate during infancy by increasing approximately 60% in size in the first year. So how does this give parents an advantage when it comes to purchasing toys that their children will enjoy playing with more than a few times?
 
By introducing educational toys to your child during this crucial period gives your child’s brain a “head start.” Nerve cells called neurons connect to each other to make circuits that enable the brain to think, do, and experience more things. The more that a child’s five senses are stimulated the more these connections in the brain are established. With the exception of tasting and smelling, educational toy are designed to provide multi-sensory stimulation through hearing, seeing and touching
 
Overall, the more that a child’s senses are stimulated, the more neurons make connections, which causes better brain development and ultimately produces smarter children. As parents interact with their children during the first six years of their lives, they will come to know which toys will stimulate, challenge and entertain their children. So in a sense (no pun intended) parents will learn from their children through observing their play and through interaction which will not only aid in the educational and developmental skills of their children, but give them an advantage in purchasing toys for their children in the future. After all, “Kids can sometimes be the best judges.”