Play Tips: Choosing the right toy at the right time

Find out what many children are capable of doing at each age and developmental stage and learn about choosing the right toys for your child to play with at each age.

Use the scroller below to browse by age

  • 1-month old
  • 2-month old
  • 3-month old
  • 4-month old
  • 5-month old
  • 6-month old
  • 7-month old
  • 8-month old
  • 9-month old
  • 10-month old
  • 11-month old
  • 12-month old
  • 12-18-month old
  • 18-24-month old
  • 2-3 years old
  • 3-4 years old
  • 4-5 years old
  • 5 years old & up

"Choosing the right toys at the right time will enrich your child's play experience and provide the foundation for learning."

- Kathleen Alfano, Ph.D. Director of Child Research at Fisher-Price

Why we developed Play Tips

Parents have told us time and again that they'd love some help choosing the right toys at the right stage of their child's development. The play tips section of our web site was created to offer that help, with recommendations of toys ideally suited for young children from birth to 5 and up. They are offered by Dr. Kathleen Alfano from her many years working - and playing! - with children in our own Fisher-Price Playlab.

How to use our tips during play

Take a relaxed, see-what-happens approach as you play together: try an idea and see how it works with your child - if it doesn't, try something new! Trust your instincts as you play with your child, have fun together, and we hope you'll come back for new play tips as your child grows and develops.

Reminder

All children develop at their own pace and reach developmental milestones at different times. The stages mentioned in this web site are meant as approximate guidelines only.