Tis the season for indulgence and extra pie, cyber shopping, caroling, and gift giving. So this week, we’re bringing you our holiday toy guide, 8 essential tips for holiday toy shopping for kids. Learn how to spot the best toys for language learning and development! These quick tips will make you the master of all playthings, and Santa’s favorite elf.

Go Old School

The traditional toys that we all knew as children are really the best ones to get the cognitive wheels turning. Children have to learn to manipulate objects within their environment and the basic toys are perfect for this. An upgraded set of blocks (perhaps your kiddo is ready for Legos?), a more difficult shape sorter or more complex puzzle, toys that require building and knowledge of use of size/matching concepts (putting together train tracks, maybe?). Forget getting mod[ern] and fancy, get traditional. Check out these Top 10 traditional toys for suggestions.

No Batteries Required

Batteries are a hassle regardless, so let’s simplify our children’s toys and look for the those that don’t require batteries. Sounds and lights can sometimes be distracting, and take away from the language rich environment that you could be providing for your child during play. When you have your child’s full attention, you are optimizing a learning moment.

More words, less letters

Children under 3 should be more focused on word learning and language development, rather than identifying, writing, and saying letters. Sure, we sing ABC’s for fun, but actual letter and number learning is more of a pre-school concept. So for the toddler, keep it simple and bombard them with strong vocabulary and language to enhance their development.

Mix up the gender specific toys

Girls play with dolls and boys play with cars, but why not switch it up? Research has been done since the 1970’s showing what these gender specific toys do for our children’s minds. The result, girls toys helped develop communication skills and emotional literacy, while boys toys encouraged more technical knowledge. Give your child the best of both worlds!

Books just don’t get old

Using pictures and book reading can always boost your child’s language and word learning. Choose books that have vivid vocabulary and opportunities for you to ask questions during reading. Take book reading to the next level, with new books this holiday season. Check out our recommended book list, or these Top 10 books for baby.

Get Real

On a budget this holiday? Sometimes the best “toys” are not toys at all. Children can learn and use pretend play using real adult items. For instance, an old set of pots and pans for pretend cooking, or head to the dollar store for some cheaper cooking or cleaning items, or set up for a tea party. Basic stationary and office items like envelopes, post-its, and paper bags can also make for great craft projects, like puppets.

Toy Rotation

If you haven’t heard about toy rotation, get on board. It’s a great way to use and reuse old toys, or swap with friends to give your child a new experience and an opportunity to build a new set of skills.

Less is More

Remember, that when it comes to the tangibles, less is more. The best learning opportunities happen when you are present as a parent. So get outside, get playing, pretend, read, and spend quality time with your kiddo, that you’ll never regret.

Happy Holidays!!

One of your top 10 favorite toys should be one of the simplest of them all... a ball. Along with some of the other no batteries required toys, a ball is a great way to promote word learning and sound development in the pre-talker, and other gross motor benefits for the older kiddo.

A ball facilitates early social skills, like turn-taking and eye contact. It’s great for word exposure to verbs (throw, roll, pass, bounce), and opposites (up/down, inside/out). Hide the ball behind your back or under a blanket and see if your baby can locate it when it’s out of sight. This theory of “object permanence” is an early cognitive skill, usually developed around 9 months.

Some Target Words & Phrases to use during ball play for Word Learning

Work the verbs:

• throw, roll, pass, bounce, toss, squeeze, shake, chase

Try out Spatial concepts:

• up, down, on, inside, under, behind

As your baby grows, have them imitate and repeat simple phrases.

Actions:

• Roll it, Throw it
• Mama gets it, Baby gets it
• Teddy Bear can throw too

Locations:

• Ball up
• Where is it?
• It's inside the bag, on the table, under the couch

Teach Possession and Pronouns:

• Who has it? Mama has it, it's my ball.
• Your turn, who has it? Baby has it, it's your ball!

Pragmatics:

• My turn, Your turn
• Please, Thank You

Low-tech toys are fantastic for developing play and language skills because they must be manipulated to make them interesting. Remember that its our responsibility as the adult, to make the toy more visually appealing and to engage our child to keep their attention for longer periods of time.

By combining early language skills and cognitive development, puzzles are a unique method to establish good attention and concentration and help your child thrive.

Here’s how:

1. Spatial Concepts - Studies support that high quality parent interactions during puzzle play promote spatial thinking and later math skills. Create that for your child and teach words such as, Next to, above, below, between, edge, flat, straight, corner, curve, side, top, bottom, long, short, inside, outside, upside down, and flip.

2. Labeling - labeling parts and whole (e.g. the arm of the Giant, the Giant’s eyes) for fast word learning and expanding vocabulary. Providing a language-rich environment during play will always be the best way to learn more words.

3. Boost in cognitive skills such as Problem Solving & Reasoning - The old “guess and check” method is the simplest form of problem solving, which kids can learn during puzzle play. To further promote early critical thinking skills, ask your child same/different questions (e.g. How is this corner piece similar to this one, how is it different?). If your kiddo is even younger, try matching and sorting by colors as a first step to completing a puzzle.

4. Promotes “Self-Talk” - in those late toddler and early preschool years, “self-talk” can be a great way for children to advance and build confidence with conversation skills and sentence development. Encourage your child to talk through the logic of completing a puzzle.

5. Promotes Conversation - on the first go-around, likely your child will need some assistance with starting and finishing a puzzle. Use this opportunity to facilitate asking for help, or where questions (e.g. Where does this one go? and you respond using spatial concepts from #1). Puzzles can also be used as story starters, so start creating something new every time.

Pointing is one of the most important pre-verbal gestures and a crucial communication milestone that emerges within that first year of life.

Studies show that a child’s use of gesture and pointing at 14 months is the best predictor of later vocabulary size.

That’s right... a larger vocabulary for children who use pointing to communicate.

How do you get your child to point? Model the behavior! Point to pictures in books, specific parts on toys (for example, the wheel of a car), or use bubbles during play or bath-time.

It is a human specific gesture (not even a chimpanzee, our animal counterpart,can point!), which allows sharing of information about a visual item with another person. It sets up a three-way relationship between a subject who points, a partner and an object. And that’s communication!

There are two types of pointing: Protoimperative pointing represents desire for an object (for example, pointing to a cookie as a request), and Protodeclarative pointing indicates the desire to share an experience with another person (for example, a child  pointing to a dog in the park to direct a parent). Both show a form of communicative intent that requires an exchange between two people. How advanced for your little one?!

This simple gesture is central to developing joint attention (or the ability to share experiences), one of the first goals of communication, and building cognition.

If by 12-15 months, your child has not begun pointing, consult with your pediatrician to address other issues related to language or communication delays.