The holiday period provides every grandparents an opportunity to express their love for their grandchildren. It is a gift giving period and grandparents express their love for their grand kids by providing them all sorts of gifts. However sometimes grandparents do get it wrong and end up not giving the appropriate gift based on their grandchild's age or things that interest them.
There are several ways to choose the right gift and one of them includes determining what the child can learn from the gift such as an educational gift, or If the gift fits the developmental needs of the child especially very young kids. Or whether it's just a novelty toy that will only serve as a limited play object. Below we have put together a guide to help grandparents in providing gifts that their grandchildren will appreciate and use.
Infants
Infants are babies from birth to twelve months old. The infant period is a special period for both the mother and the baby because both are experiencing changes. The mother is getting her body back and the baby starts to get used to his or her new environment. The baby is now getting used to his or her senses of smell, sight, sound and touch and the toys available to them should be geared towards these senses. Actually that is why toys for infants are mostly brightly colored, make a lot of noise and are textured. Picking a toy for this age group is not easy, but keep in mind that it must be a toy without any small pieces or sharp edges to prevent choking especially. The best toys in this category include big rattles, soft toy animals and brightly colored cubes that make some sort of noise.
Toddlers / preschoolers
The toddler and the preschool baby are now a little more advanced. They have an idea of what is going on around them. They are open to exploration and will check out any new toy given to them. This is also a good age to introduce talking or singing toys. That is a toy that will sing or talk with the press of a button. For example toys that can recite the alphabet or sing nursery rhyme will be a hit with this age group. The toy at this stage should not only be entertaining but educational too. Good examples are Diego Toys which will help your toddler or preschooler learn the names of animals, the different sounds they make and where they live.
For preschoolers especially, they love toys that stimulate their imagination, play acting! There are plenty of toys out there that can stimulate the imagination and offer hours of fun for the kid. Again Diego toys provide a good avenue for children to play act, such as Diego rescue toys where they can imagine rescuing animals in danger with Diego.
Children 5-7 years
Children at this age group can now handle more complex toys and ideally the popular toys among their peers will get them very excited. They are beginning to develop individual interest and personalities and start having preferences when it comes to toys. They also now have the dexterity to handle remote controlled toys and not become frustrated while using the controls. They also love video games and other age appropriate hand held games. At this age you can also continue to use games as a learning resource. They can play games where they can follow instructions, practice listening and reading.
Children 8-11 year5
Children at this age can now make decisions and have an idea of the implications of the decisions they make. They can now handle board games like monopoly, clue, and cranium; and have fun while playing them. Games like these help them improve their social and judgment skills, and also with character building. At this age group kids can play with adults and the whole family, including grandpa and grandma can all participate in the fun.
Tweens and Teens
This is another tricky age group to buy gifts for. Your ears really have to be on the ground to figure out what your tween or teen would like. The kids at this age group are now being influenced a lot by their peers and most basic gadgets now come into play. Things like mp3's such as iPod shuffle or iPods are huge with this age range. Instant cameras from Fuji and Polaroid are also a good hit. Imagine yourself in the hay days of the Polaroid. I'm sure it was a lot of fun for you too. Cell phones could be a good idea, but you might want to check with the parents before embarking on that gift.
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