Toys that help refine eye-hand coordination

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Working through little challenges — such as sorting shapes or shooting a basket — gives children a sense of accomplishment and helps develop problem-solving skills, an important new learning experience for a toddler.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Nurture your child's natural curiosity and problem-solving skills by providing gentle encouragement as he explores the toy's properties and reactions to his actions. Your enthusiasm now will give him the confidence to tackle even bigger challenges later on.
• This is a prime age for your child to start making connections between colors, shapes, etc. and their names. Reinforce these connections by saying the color names out loud and pointing them out on the toy. Do the same thing with the shapes, or any of the toy's other features.
• Help your child understand the concept of counting: pick out a specific feature of your toy — pegs, for example — and indicate how many there are. Count them out as your child pounds them down, and note how many more are left to pound.
• Use this toy for further language and concept learning by demonstrating (and narrating) over/under, up/down, in/out, loud/soft. By putting words to what is happening with the toy, you're helping your child understand the concepts behind language.

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Slow, battery-powered ride-ons

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

As your child learns to move about by himself, he's also learning the basic concepts of distance and direction. Now he has to turn corners, find the best way around obstacles, and plan routes. Ride-on toys can help him practice these new skills while satisfying the need for independence.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Clear a path all around the vehicle so he won't be frustrated by bumping into things. As he gains more control, he'll learn to steer around obstacles.
• He'll quickly learn that his actions put him in control. You can help build his understanding of directions by saying the words as he drives forward and back and makes the vehicle stop, go or turn.
• Once your child is comfortable behind the wheel and understands how to make the vehicle stop and go, set up a little route for him to follow, with guideposts along the way. This will challenge his coordination as well as his thinking skills as he anticipates what he'll need to do to get to his destination.
• Having his own set of wheels will come in handy when your child is ready for role playing. Stimulate his imagination by suggesting trips for him to take, passengers to bring along… even snacks to eat along the way.

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Grow-with-me ride-on toys

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Some ride-ons actually adapt to accommodate a child's growth and developing physical skills. As a child's balance, coordination and mastery over steering and pedaling increase, these ride-ons transform until the child reaches the point of independent riding and the ride-on closely resembles a trike. As this transformation occurs, your child's self-confidence and imaginative play grow, too.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• You'll probably need to help your child get on and off at first; soon, he'll be able to scramble right on with confidence.
• Boost his confidence with plenty of smiles and words of encouragement as he gains control, playing and riding on his own.
• Reward all of his efforts to push and scoot along — stand a few feet ahead and call, "Come on this way; I know you can do it!" Then move a few feet farther, encourage him to reach another point, and so on.
• Help his understanding of directions by using simple words to describe actions: back and forth, stop and go, on and off, forward and back.
• Allow your child to take this ride-on when you go on walks around your neighborhood — it provides an excellent opportunity for exercising large motor skills, coordination and his sense of balance.

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Cars, trucks, trains and other vehicles

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Toy vehicles stimulate the imagination as they steer your child through pretend play. Along the way, he'll learn the fun and freedom that comes from making his own decisions: "Where is the truck going today? And where should it stop? Who's driving it? What's their job?"

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Read picture books to your child about different types of vehicles and what they're used for. Talking with him about all sorts of subjects is important at this stage, when he's building his receptive language.
• Heighten your child's awareness of things by pointing out the various parts of the toy, and then relating these parts to the images you see in books or to real vehicles you see on your travels.
• Prompt your child's ability to listen to directions (keep them very simple at this early age) and get him thinking about problem solving by creating little stories and giving him little jobs to complete — "Can you drive the truck over to the door and unload the boulders there?"
• Let him haul things around in his vehicles, or use them to transport people from place to place. In this way he'll begin to understand and appreciate each vehicle's purpose. Tell him how helpful he is, and you'll really bolster his confidence.

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Construction and building playsets

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

Little workers are delighted to find they can make things happen. With busy activities and building fun, these toys promote fine motor development, encourage eye-hand coordination and foster understanding of cause-and-effect.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Explore this toy with your child, expressing interest in its features and strengthening her anticipatory and thinking skills by questioning out loud how it works: "I wonder what happens when we put the ball in here?" "What do you think will happen when we push this lever?"
• Together, read picture books about construction vehicles and how they work. Point out construction vehicles when you see them on the road, and remind your child of their similarity to her toy. It helps to solidify ideas for your child if you can relate them to things in her real world.
• Foster imaginative play and her ability to follow directions by giving her little construction "jobs" to do — "We need to unload those boulders over here. Can you help?"

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Toys to encourage early learning

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

When learning is presented in a way that's fun and engaging, children become more interested and more involved. Early learning toys help thinking skills develop and enhance vocabulary.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

• Help your child make the connection between the simple concepts introduced in these toys — letters, numbers, shapes and colors — with familiar items in the world around them. "That's the number two. Point to your two eyes."
• When you're in the car, extend the learning by playing letter or number games. Point out an object and say, "That's a red stop sign. Stop begins with the letter S. Your name, Sydney, begins with the letter S, too."

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