Your baby has grown and developed in an exciting little person who is ready to explore the world. While children who are two or three years old are not ready to take on complex tasks, choosing the right toys for them can help them develop the skills that will prepare them. Parents need to keep in mind that this is a time of rapid change and an increasing need for independence for their child and they will want to choose toys that will allow those skills to further develop. So whether you are the parent of a two to three year old or someone looking for a great gift, here are some ideas for the best gift toys for ages two to three-
Arts and crafts- Children who are in this age group will look on arts and crafts with a high degree of enthusiasm. They are eager to be creative and doing arts and crafts can help them further develop better coordination and motor skills and help them gain better visual perception. You can provide them with the opportunity to do arts and crafts through the use of paints and brushes (watercolors work best for this age group), markers, crayons and colored pencils. Many art kits are put together with a variety of art materials in a handy carrying case so that any youngster wanting to do art can carry all of their materials with them. Parents are cautioned however when selecting all art materials to make sure that they are non-toxic since this age group still has a tendency to put things in their mouths.
Books- Children this age are highly entertained by books. Today's children's books have beautiful illustrations with well written stories to hold the shortest of attention spans. However if you wish to up the "wow factor" on your book gift, there are many books that feature pop up pages, lights and sounds attached to the book and some even have tactile pages allowing little hands to caress the tiger or feel the softness of a baby blanket on the pages of the book. Children this age will be entranced with the special effects that are possible in today's books. Interactive books can be highly entertaining for kids ages two and three and get them ready to move on to pre reading books.
Hop on or ride-on toys- While some three year olds may be ready to ride a tricycle, most kids in this age group will do better with a hop-on or ride-on toy. Since two to three year olds tend to be highly active and looking for ways to develop gross motor skills, a hop-on ball can be a great gift. In addition, this type of toy helps them develop better coordination as they work to balance themselves while hopping. Ride-on toys tend to work well also as kids will have to learn how to push themselves while steering (and working on visual perception by not running into things). Best of all, these types of toys help prepare them for riding a tricycle and bike in the coming years.
Take apart toys- While most two to three years will be somewhat interested in building, there seems to be universal love in this age group for taking toys apart. Now there are several toys that are meant to do just that-come apart. These toys are designed to come apart in easy to remove pieces that help satisfy a two to three-year old's curiosity and creativity. Parents can find these toys in various shapes: airplanes, cars, trains and even telephones. You can simply choose the style of toy that will delight your two or three-year old the most.
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