Toys are fundamental parts of your child’s early development. Engaging and playing with toys can spark creativity and imagination, which leads to better development of cognitive and social skills. For toddlers, toys are not only entertaining, they can also help them understand the world around them. Toddler toys focus on fine motor skills and sensory exploration. Their bright colours, interesting textures and sounds can stimulate a child’s senses, while building blocks like LEGO, LEGO DUPLO or MAGNA-TILES can challenge their problem-solving skills.

When shopping for children’s toys, consider their educational value and whether or not they match your child’s interests and developmental level. Toys should be age-appropriate, safe and durable for regular use. For younger children, look for toys that support interaction and physical play. Older children can benefit from more complex toys, like STEM toys that introduce children to science, technology, engineering and math concepts through fun science toys, tech toys, engineering toys and math toys.

When organizing kids toys, the easiest way is to use clear storage containers to create designated storage areas for different types of toys (blocks, dolls, art supplies, etc.). Use clear labels, preferably with pictures to help kids learn how to clean up after themselves. You can also use baskets that are more accessible for kids to use. If you’re looking to reduce the amount of clutter in your home, you can also consider a toy rotation where you store most of the toys in a closet or garage and swap them out with other toys to keep play fresh and reduce mess.

Pretend play toys are objects that help support imaginative role-playing scenarios and activities for children. They enable children to act out real-life experiences, such as cooking, doctor visits, or going to the supermarket. Toys like play kitchens, dress-up clothes and play tools help build cognitive, social and fine motor skills by encouraging children to reenact daily scenarios or use their imagination to create fantasy worlds.