by Perry Cox

Created on: February 01, 2007   Last Updated: May 22, 2012

Choosing what to buy your child can be such a minefield. Do you go for something educational or something exciting? Do you follow the suggested age ranges or decide for yourself? As a father of four aged two to thirteen I have a fair bit of experience of negotiating this undoubted minefield.

The first and probably most important thing to consider is the age of your child. This will be a primary factor in your selection of games. No point buying a two year old a chemistry set for a child doing their GCSE's! This is not to say you should not be looking for something that stretches your child. Although it is obviously important to pay attention to the age ranges on a product for safety reasons I think a degree of common sense is in order. Naturally if the packaging claims a toy has small parts or sharp edges do not give it to your toddler to eat or take out an eye. Do challenge your child though by perhaps buying the next age range up, particularly with creative toys. Just because a product claims your child will not be able to use it does not mean they will not manage. One of my daughters favourite toys at two years old included an etch a sketch which is considered a 3+ toy. On the creative front I tend to find the more colourful and messier the better. Classics like play dough and plasticine never seem to go out of fashion with children of all ages and of course there are several recipes to make play dough online. For those parents who like their house clean and tidy (for shame) there are clean alternatives out there nowadays such as aquadraw.

Despite my flexible approach to age ratings and warnings they are there for a reason and when it comes to children's toys there are particular ones I would consider necessary before even thinking of purchasing a product. The lion mark I would consider a pre-requisite before even thinking of buying a toy in the UK. This British safety standard ensures there are no pointy bits, loose bits or other things that may be considered dangerous. As someone who does a lot of his shopping in charity shops, bargain stores and the like were toys are often from various countries around the world I consider this my guarantee that the toy I buy will be relatively safe. CE is also a good one to look for as it is my assurance that this toy meets all the legal requirements for production.

One thing I try not to consider when selecting a toy for my children is the suitability gender wise of the toy. A child can become so limited in their selections

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