Appropriate Toys by Age

​Toys are speech therapists’ bag of tricks. Parents often wonder why children don’t comply with them as much as children comply with the therapist. Speech therapists use strategies, toys and play to teach children new skills, achieve speech language goals, increase motivation and increase participation. We also want to stress the importance of play in language development. Play is the “work of children.” Through play children explore their environment, discover and build their interests and acquire various skills (motor, speech, language, social skills).

A child’s play skills is co-related to receptive language skills as play shows the child’s understanding and interpretation of the world. It is important for the child to have access to correct toys to ensure cognitive and motor development. During our visits in the community we often see children having access to toys that are not appropriate for their age. When there are inappropriate toys for the child’s age, children are not interested in play with those toys resulting in lack of play development and learning.

The article and table below provide parents a summary on what toys are appropriate for the child according to age.

Which Toy for Which Child – A Consumers Guide for Selecting Suitable Toys