Recommended Toys For Different Age Groups
Babies (Birth to 12 months)
Toddlers (12 months to 3 years)
Pre-schoolers (4 - 5 years)
6 - 7 years
8 - 14 years
Babies (Birth to 12 months)
- Brightly coloured, multi patterned crib mobiles and play pens
- (Note: Remove from crib once your baby can sit up)
- Rattles
- Unbreakable mirrors
- Floor gyms
- Activity boards
- Soft, washable, colourful stuffed animals or dolls with a smiling face
- Small stuffed fabric balls
- Teething toys
- Musical and chime toys
What to Avoid:
- Toys with strings or cords more than 20 centimetres long
- Products made of PVC
- Small objects like marbles that can be swallowed by babies or can cause breathing restrictions
- Toys with small parts (such as batteries or loose magnets) that can be swallowed
- Stuffed animals with loosely sewn-on parts that can be easily removed
- Sharp-edged toys
- Toys made with lead-based paint
Toddlers (12 months to 3 years)
- Stacking rings
- Nesting cups or boxes
- Push- or pull-toys that make noise or have pieces that pop up or move
- Hammering sets that let kids hammer pegs or balls through holes
- Simple, sturdy musical instruments like tambourines, drums, or maracas
- Shape sorters
- Basic blocks
- Large play vehicles, such as a school bus or a fire engine, plus plastic people that ride in them
- Puzzles with four or five pieces
- Rubber ducks or toy boats for bath time
- Ride-on toys (feet-propelled)
- Backyard gym equipment (infant swing, small slide, small climbing apparatus)
- Bath toys
- Sandbox/sand toys
- Wading pool/water toys
- Puzzles with knobs (whole-object pieces)
- Dolls and baby gear
- Play vehicles
- Kitchen equipment and gadgets
- Play household items (telephone, lawn mower, workbench, shopping cart)
- Playhouse
- Non-toxic art supplies (large crayons and colouring books, clay, finger paints)
- Hardback books with rounded edges
What to Avoid:
- Small objects like marbles that fit through a toy-testing tube
- Toys with small parts (such as batteries or loose magnets) that can be swallowed
- Stuffed animals with loosely sewn-on parts that can be easily removed
- Sharp-edged toys
- Toys made with lead-based paint
Pre-schoolers (4 - 5 years)
- Art supplies and craft kits
- Baby Dolls – nurturing – dressing/undressing
- Blocks of different shapes
- Electronic phonics toys
- Construction sets with large pieces, such as Lego
- Puzzles of greater complexity
- Action figures
- Barbies
- Transportation toys, such as parking garages, airports, and train stations
- Board games that don’t require reading, such as Hungry Hungry Hippos or Mouse Trap
- Soccer balls and basketballs
- Bicycles with training wheels
- Basic board games. The key word here is “basic,” Szymanski says. “Don’t introduce anything too strategic yet.” Pre-schoolers are still mastering how to play by the rules and take turns, so pick games with simple scoring methods.
- Dress-up clothes, accessories, and props to assist with pretend play
- Large crayons, pencils, paints, blunt-edge scissors, glue, and other art supplies
- Modelling clay
- Books
- Basic musical instruments
- Outdoor toys like a sandbox, bucket, shovel/spade with shape moulds
- Puppet theatres and puppets
- Puzzles
- Ride-on toys. Make sure they go no faster than 5 km/h, and are used on flat, smooth surfaces under your supervision.
- Tricycles or bicycles with training wheels (plus a helmet and your supervision)
- Wooden train sets
What to Avoid:
- Electrical toys
- Remote control toys operated without parental supervision
- Sharp-edged objects such as standard scissors
- Toys made with lead-based paint
- Costumes or clothing items that are tripping hazards
- Mini-bikes
6 - 7 years
- Remote-control vehicles and cycles
- Basic science kits
- Magnets, magnifying glasses, microscopes and telescopes
- Craft kits
- Barbies
- Construction sets, such as Lego, Playmobil
- Sports equipment
- Board games that involve strategy, including chess and checkers
- Simple swimming equipment
- Pogo sticks
- Jigsaw puzzles, including three-dimensional puzzles
- Skipping ropes
- Fashion/career dolls
- Puppets, marionettes and theatres
- Doll houses and furnishings
- Action figures
- Paper dolls
- Science sets
- Model kits
- Craft kits
- Magic sets
- Art supplies
- Table top sports
- Video games
- Electronic games
- Board games
- CD Players and CD’s
- Books (children’s classics, fairy tales)
8 - 14 years
- Sports equipment and protective gear
- Bicycle and helmet
- Ice or roller skates/in-line skates and protective gear
- Advanced construction sets (Lego,Meccano)
- Jigsaw puzzles, including three-dimensional puzzles
- Puppets, marionettes and theatres
- Remote control toys
- Model kits
- Science kits
- Magic sets
- Craft and handiwork kits
- Art supplies
- Playing cards
- Board games
- Chess, checkers, dominoes and other strategy games
- Table top sports
- Video games
- Electronic games
- Electric trains
- Musical instruments
- Books (biography, mystery, adventure, science fiction)
