Finding the top toys for learning is child’s play
We all know children learn through play. LISA SALMON asks the experts which are the best toys for helping little ones develop
CHILDREN’S main job is to play and learn and the tools of their funfilled trade are toys.
But with such a huge toy selection on the market, which are the best ones to help babies, toddlers and young children learn and develop while having fun at the same time?
It’s a question that’s repeatedly asked at the Fisher-Price Play Lab (shop.mattel.com) in New York, a high-tech facility where babies and young children play with newlydeveloped toys as expert staff watch how they interact with them, using technology like the Baby FaceReader, a tool that measures facial expressions in infants.
“We want to have a well-rounded toy offering with a variety of toys for parents to choose from that help to develop the whole child from a physical, cognitive, and social-emotional standpoint,” explains Dr Lisa Lohiser, manager of early childhood development research at the Play Lab.
“It’s about providing the foundation for whole child development. It’s also providing an opportunity for children to engage and play while having a great experience using toys as tools to learn because, as we know, children learn through play.”
Many mums and dads choose a toy which is targeted at their child’s age range – and there’s nothing wrong with that, says Rebecca Deeming of the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA btha. co.uk). “Children develop at different rates so don’t worry if your child’s favourite toy is one marketed at a younger age range,” she says. “But be careful if it’s marked older than their age for safety reasons.”
As well as making sure toys are age-appropriate, Rebecca stresses that parents should check toys bear
the Lion Mark, which shows the maker is a BTHA member and has signed up to a strict set of guidelines on safety, ethical marketing and manufacturing of toys.
But how can parents know which toys are the ones their children will love but which are also helping them learn and develop? Here, Dr Lohiser outlines the ideal toys for children in different age groups.
0-3 MONTHS
During this period babies will begin to hold eye contact and will look at objects, listen to sounds and recognise smells. Give your little one objects for watching, about eight to 10 inches from their eyes,” she says, adding that toys for babies this age should have highcontrast elements for visual stimulation, or music or rattles to listen to. “Place toys within reach so they can bat at or kick them,” she advises.
3-6 MONTHS
Babies in this age group will imitate sounds and actions, like feeling different textures and will be curious to examine objects, says Dr Lohiser, who suggests parents should choose toys made with textured materials that are “teethable”. She says: “Show baby how to explore the toy and that their actions can make big things happen.”
6-9 MONTHS
At this age, babies can sit up without support, and like repetition. Dr Lohiser says they’ll still enjoy playing with textured toys, those that require simple actions to get reactions, and toys that are easy to hold.
9-12 MONTHS
This is when little ones start to understand simple commands and begin to crawl, so parents should opt for busy activity toys with lots to explore, as well as toys that encourage them to sit up, and start walking. “Toys that encourage crawling, such as balls, things that move or vehicle play are also ideal at this stage,” says Dr Lohiser, “as are toys that encourage early role play, hideand-seek games, and games of give and take.”
12+ MONTHS
Babies are turning into toddlers at this age as they learn to walk, so Dr Lohiser says they need pull/push toys on wheels with fun noises and actions, as well as foot-to-floor rideons or tunnels for crawling. “Soft lightweight balls with fun visual
effects will go down well along with toys with doors, lids, switches, dials and knobs so little ones can operate simple mechanisms,” she says.
18+ MONTHS
At this stage, energetic toddlers will be on the move, walking and running, and will be able to stack blocks and sit through a story. They’ll enjoy sturdy, tactile and picture books, and Dr Lohiser says: “Little ones will love banging rhythm instruments, listening to nursery rhymes and recordings of animal noises. Opt for blocks, stacking rings, shape-sorting boxes and toys promoting problem-solving and puzzles.”
TWO YEARS
Children of this age will like playing interactive games and wlll be able to catch a ball, balance blocks and begin to draw. They’ll love dress-up costumes, props and materials to enhance social and pretend play. Dr Lohiser says: “Toddlers love pull/ push toys that are realistic looking, such as a pram, wagon or lawnmower. Talking dolls operated by pulling string, or soft animals with mummy and baby combinations will also be loved.”
THREE YEARS
Preschool kids will benefit from listening to music they can sing to, and interactive reading that will help to build their vocabulary, as well as colour picture or number matching. “They’ll love realistic dolls with accessories, hair and working parts,” says Dr Lohiser. “Opt for stationary, outdoor play equipment, crayons, paint with easels and instruments that require blowing such as harmonicas and whistles.”
FOUR YEARS
Children will still enjoy imaginative play at this age, and will like to play with action figures, such as characters from their favourite show. “Look for dress-up clothing to role play, and watch how they take interest in small animal toys they can care for,” says Dr Lohiser.
FIVE YEARS
Children’s gross motor skills are now well-developed and they’ll love scooters or a small bike, as well as a skipping rope. “They’ll have peak interest in dramatic play, enjoy interactive reading, and be intrigued by magnets, balance sets, coloured sand and measuring tools such as rules and scales,” says Dr Lohiser.
AMERICAN crooner Al Martino was known to millions as heartthrob singer Johnny Fontane in the 1972 movie The Godfather, but he also had another claim to fame .... he was the first artist to have a number one hit in the UK.
The Italian-American scored the first number one record in November, 1952 with Here In My Heart which went on to top the charts for nine weeks. The lyrics included the lines “Here is my heart, my life, and my all dear/Please be mine and stay here in my heart”.
Born Alfred Cini, Al Martino also had hits with Spanish Eyes and The Man From Laramie during a career which spanned 50 years.
The first singles charts appeared in music paper the New Musical Express 70 years ago on November
14. It was launched by publisher Percy Dickins who was looking at ways to encourage new advertisers. He phoned around retailer friends to collect records sales figures and then created an aggregated chart. It was originally a top 12 chart but became a top 20 two years later.
Official Charts Company Chief Executive Martin Talbot says: “Over the past seven decades, the Official Singles Chart has chronicled the story of the UK’s favourite music in the UK, week in, week out, celebrating a huge range of music.”
The charts have reflected the changing face of British music since the 1950s. It was the decade that saw hits from Bill Haley, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley.
Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets was the first single to become a UK million seller in 1955.
Elvis Presley notched up his first number one single with All Shook Up and said: “They put me on television and the whole thing broke loose. It was wild.”
The Swinging Sixties saw The
Beatles at number one for the first time with
From Me To You in 1963. She Loves You became their first millionseller release in August of the same year. John Lennon said: “We were all on this ship in the Sixties, our generation, a ship going to discover the New World, and the Beatles were in the crow’s nest of that ship.”
Top Of The Pops launched on the BBC on January 1, 1964, and offered a showcase for all the chart hits as interest in music grew.
The 1970s saw singles still in demand despite the introduction of 8-tracks and cassettes. The 12 inch single launched in the UK with a re-issue of The Who’s Substitute.
It was the decade of glam, disco and ultimately punk, God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols narrowly being beaten to the top of the charts by Rod Stewart’s double A-side I Don’t Want To Talk About It and The First Cut Is The Deepest in the week of Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee.
Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon later said: “People think I hate the royal family, but that’s not true.” The first single to pass two million sales in the UK was Mull Of Kintyre by Paul McCartney & Wings in 1978.
The era of compact discs dawned in the 1980s, with Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits, the title track from their smash hit album of the same name, becoming the UK’s first compact disc single in 1985. Pop diva Madonna celebrated her first number one the same year with Into The Groove. Band Aid’s charity record Do They Know It’s Christmas also became the first single to top three million sales. The 1990s saw Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You from the 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves spending 16 weeks at number one. It broke the record for longest stay in the top spot, set in 1955 by Slim Whitman with Rose Marie which spent 11 weeks atop the charts. Everything I Do is also the biggest selling cassette single of all time.
Wet Wet Wet notched up 15 weeks at the top with their version of Love Is All Around, which featured in the 1994 British film comedy Four Weddings And A Funeral, starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. The song was originally written by Reg Presley of The Troggs, who only managed to reach number 5 with the track in 1967.
Irish group Westlife welcomed the new Millennium in 2000 with I Have A Dream/Season In The Sun. Westlife singer Shane Filan said: “The music will never stop as long as our fans are around inspiring us to keep on making beautiful music together.”
In more recent times Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Mr Brightside by The Killers among the most-streamed songs to have been released since the creation of the Official Singles Chart.
And the most streamed song released in 1952 was not Al Martino, but Singin’ In The Rain by musical legend Gene Kelly.