Development is child's play

The first two years of a baby's life are considered by many child development specialists to be two of the most important years in a person's existence. Conscientious, caring parents know this, of course. Those same parents know that it's important to do everything possible to help nurture this crucial stage of development. That even extends to the choice of their babies' toys. Many parents now expect toys will do more than simply feel soft, look pretty or be entertaining.

Today's toy market is awash in products that make all sorts of claims about aiding child development. The problem is that many of those manufacturers offer no real rationale or support for those claims. Without some guidance, the average consumer may be lured into spending money for a toy that does not benefit a child, at least from a developmental point of view.

"Most toy companies design toys to meet marketing needs, but very few design (toys) with the child's developmental need in mind," says psychologist Yael Katz, Ph.D.

Katz loves talking about toys, in part, because she spends a good portion of her time helping one company, Tiny Love, design its developmental toys for children.

"Part of my job is to look at precisely which developmental aspects each toy should address," says Katz, "and then make suggestions for the product design which will help the toy achieve that. We look at the importance of each product, what age it is relevant for and what impact the product will have at different ages of the baby."

While it might be helpful to have someone with Katz's expertise along when you're purchasing toys for your shelves, you can do some investigation of your own. Most reputable companies will offer printed and electronic (online) access to information about the research that has gone into their products. If you can't find anything to back a company's claims about its toys, you can bet that they're using hype—rather than hard-earned data—to sell them.

The best of the soft developmental toy manufacturing companies know how important it is that the products they develop are both developmentally sound and age-appropriate—and they go to great lengths to ensure that. They employ a host of developmental psychologists, infant development professionals, quality assurance experts and musicologists to make sure that they've thought of everything for a child's learning and sensory needs. After that, the researchers do exhaustive tests of each toy with their most important audience—the babies themselves.

Child development experts participate in every stage of the product-designing process, studying and discussing each design decision to ensure it delivers exactly what a child needs at a specific age.

For more purchasing guidance, again, you will want to look to the experts for advice. Developmental psychologists such as Dr. Howard Gardner, of Harvard University, have found that several different types of intelligence should be cultivated during the first years of life to contribute to a child's later capabilities—and, yes, there are toys and products that can help nurture them. These include musical, spatial, linguistic, kinesthetic, logical-mathematical and emotional intelligence—so-called EQ. By choosing the right toys for a child, parents will nurture his or her sensory and emotional growth, and address these different types of intelligence during a baby's initial stage development.

"Every five years represents a generation in infant years," Katz says. In other words, a 6-month-old baby today is capable of doing a lot more than a 6-month-old baby five years ago.

The developmental process for any toy a child plays with should begin with the premise that babies are intelligent and creative individuals with impulsive and unique reactions.