Every child is different and has its own preferences. The following ideas for games and toys are therefore only intended as suggestions. Always base your choice of games and toys on your child’s interests and stage of development. And it’s not hard at all: Just watch your child play – he or she will show you what he or she likes to do and what he or she finds exciting!

Toys for toddlers that cost nothing

• Boxes with contents to put in and take out,
• cups, pots and plastic bowls,
• mixing spoons and whisks,
• non-fluffy cotton cloths,
• a large cardboard box – you can cut out windows and doors with a knife (preferably so that you can still open and close them), and the house is ready,
• Bicycle bell, short time alarm clock,
• Handbag with contents to put in and take out,
• pocket mirror,
• corks and egg cartons,
• water, sand,
• Leaves, chestnuts, acorns, stones, pieces of wood, shells,
• Salt dough (2 parts flour, 1 part salt, a little oil or water as needed); can also be colored with food coloring,
• homemade giant picture books: glue colorful pictures on large pieces of an old cardboard. Punch holes in the sides of the cardboard, pull a cord through the two holes and knot the ends of the cord together.

Toys for toddlers to buy and give away

• Anything that can be pulled, rolled or pushed is suitable: a pull-along toy (with wide axles), a large car with a load floor and wide wheels to sit on and load, perhaps with a trailer,
• a large car to sit on and drive around, perhaps with a trailer,
• a large stuffed animal or soft doll to cuddle and love,
• large building blocks in different colors and shapes,
• toys made of pieces that can be put together, such as cup pyramids or ring pyramids,
• simple picture books, preferably tear-proof (for slightly older children, “giant picture books” are particularly interesting because there is a vast amount to discover and look at on the poster-sized pages),
• toys for the sandbox,
• a drum,
• a soft ball or foam cube,
• a wooden train set with several cars,
• smaller cars,
• a xylophone,
• simple plug-in games with large pieces,
• wax crayons, finger paints (are also suitable for printing with potato stamps),
• toy telephone,
• cassettes or CDs with children’s songs,
• large wooden beads for threading,
• first large puzzles with large pieces.

What your toddler can occupy himself with alone

• Putting things in and out, putting things together, taking things apart (for example, shoe cabinet, drawer with dish towels, etc., but don’t leave sharp objects to play with!).
• Climbing outdoors, playing with larger rocks, sand, mud, water, and branches,
• build with building blocks,
• drive cars and locomotives,
• play with dolls,
• Making noise, drumming,
• throwing,
• draw first pictures,
• observing and imitating animals and people.

What your child loves to play with you

• Hide and seek games: Hiding people and objects and “conjuring them back up”.
• Sound games: Drumming with cardboard tubes, making paper rustle, drumming with a piece of wood on different objects.
• Building something together, looking at picture books or photos, singing.
• Jumping down from something and letting you catch them,
• run into your arms and let you spin them in circles,
• Crawl under you and climb over you or climb up you.
• Riding game: you are the horse, your child rides.
• Wheelbarrow ride: You lift the child’s legs up, the child walks on your hands.
• Test of strength: you let your child push you and push you back. The child wins – you fall over.
• Imitate the movements of animals: this is how the duck waddles, this is how the cat creeps, this is how the frog hops.
• Balance on the wall.
• Romping around, pillow fights, paper fights, playing tag, ball games.
• “Please-thank-you” games, that is, fetching or carrying away something when asked,
• Helping around the house.
• Play with simple hand puppets or finger puppets.
• Reading aloud and telling stories, especially small, everyday stories in which the child himself appears.

But surely you yourself invent many other games that just come up!

What toys must be like

The essential safety requirements for children’s toys include:

1. Toys must have the necessary strength and rigidity to withstand the stresses of play.
2. Corners, protrusions, cords, cables, and attachments of a toy should be such that risk of injury is minimized.
3. Toys for children under three years of age must be of a size that cannot be swallowed and/or inhaled. This also applies to individual components of a toy and detachable parts.
4. The toy as well as its packaging must not pose a risk of constriction or choking.
5. Electrically operated toys may have a maximum voltage of 24 volts.
6. Toys must not catch fire when directly exposed to a flame or must be flame retardant.
7. Toys must be designed and manufactured in such a way that no health hazards can arise from their ingredients when they are used, swallowed or inhaled, or when they come into contact with the skin.
8. Toys must be manufactured in such a way that risks of illness and infection are avoided.

What else you can and should look out for yourself can be found in the following tips.

Buying toys – but safely!

The essential safety requirements for children’s toys include:

1. Only buy products that meet the legal safety requirements and are marked accordingly (GS mark for “tested safety”, VDE seal).
2. If possible, inform yourself before you buy, for example via the consumer advice centers, Stiftung Warentest or Öko-Test.
3. When buying a toy, also rely on your senses: look closely and hold the product in your hand; pick at small parts and check whether rubbing causes paint to come off. And feel free to sniff the product – if it has a strong “chemical” smell, leave it on the shelf.
4. Hold toys that make noise or music directly to your ear. If it seems too loud to you there, it is not suitable for children’s ears. Refrain from using “noisy” toys such as crackers, toy trumpets, whistles and children’s guns.
5. Look for the words “PVC-free” or “phthalate-free” on plastic toys. This is because PVC often contains large amounts of plasticizers that are harmful to health. You can recognize better plastic alternatives either by the capital letters PP (polypropylene) or PE (polyethylene) or by the numbers 1, 2 or 4 to 6 in a triangle.
6. For wooden toys, prefer unpainted, waxed wood.
7. Plush toys should be washable and washed before first use. Remove bows and ribbons if necessary.
8. Take the warning “Not suitable for children under three years of age” seriously.
9. Avoid cheap toys. Random checks most often reveal harmful substances and limit values that have been exceeded.
10. Look around more often for good second-hand toys – harmful substances such as formaldehyde or harmful solvents have already evaporated in them. But be careful with older toys made of soft plastic: Here, an increased content of plasticizers is likely.

Therefore, we will talk about children from the beginning of primary education, although this is of course the case. A six year old child has little to do with another who is already looking further outside the home to be attracted to his peer group rather than toys; nevertheless, we have tried to summarize all the toys that you might like. This does not mean that if an older child wants to play with toys we should prevent it, it is not my intention to convey this idea because I defend that parents should stick to their personal interests. If you remember, we had introduced the idea that between the stages of the game, is the game of rules, and that (approximately) is acquired by 6 or 7 years.

The rule is part of the children’s game, since they are younger, but at this age they can already decide on the basis of other people, and the interpersonal relationship is gaining strength. It is true that they still have a characteristic inherent in childhood, That is the search for the immediate, getting pleasure, hence the rule we are talking aboutThey still perceive it as loss / gain, not because of the possibility to negotiate or cooperate. In children over 7 years, you will notice a real interest in children of the same age and similar, and this determines both the environment in which they prefer to play (street, park, house, but also with other children). such as toys that increasingly become “games”: Table, team (table soccer), etc.

How to choose toys for children from 6 to 10 years: What will we take into account?

• I never tire of repeating: safety is the most important thing. Check the CE marking and make sure that the product is suitable for the age of the girl or boy.
• Let’s avoid gender stereotypes: if a girl wants to play with dolls, let her play. if you prefer to do it with superheroes too.
  To avoid boredom, look for stimulating and fun toysLet the child participate and join in the game. There are many little people who do not like very complex toys because they force them to be passive.
• Learn to differentiate from misleading advertising and train children to do the same
• Since in those years many already have a console (laptop or desktop) or a tablet; Let’s be careful when choosing video games. There is a classification that responds to the acronym PEGI in
• Europe (over 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18). If you select games from categories higher than your child’s age, you may find inappropriate content for their age.
• Let’s make a pact with the extended family: it’s not educational for a child to receive more than 3 toys, he must learn to appreciate what he receives and keep it.

How to choose toys for children from 6 to 10 years: What toys to give?

It does not hurt that the children gradually take over the task of collecting and ordering toys, especially if it is played in common spacesand that they learn to take into account the characteristics of those who play with them; For example, the 2-year-old brother, another child with a disorder that makes it difficult for him to communicate, etc.. Above all, they are human beings and we want them to understand and accept the needs of others.

Most suitable types of toys

• Science and experimental games (microscope, toys to experiment with light, etc.).
• JBoard games (dominoes, chess, monopoly, the goose, etc.) and cards.
• Car or motorcycle tracks.
• Remote control toys (helicopters or cars).
• Imitation games: Kitchen set, knitting game, make-up, baby care.
• Construction games with small parts (LEGO or Playmobil type).
• Symbolic play: costumes, accessories.
• Musical instruments.
• Paintings, garden games, more complex puzzles.
• Video game.
• Books (appropriate in format and satisfied in his age) I consider essential.

Always remember that they are still children and that play is a necessity for them. You must respect and encourage it!