Play fosters intellectual, social and physical development. Adults are encouraged to view toys as learning tools with different types of toys as builders of various life skills including creativity, self-esteem and cooperation. Another bonus: a toy that is fun as well as educational will engage children for more than one holiday season. The following are general guidelines to keep in mind when choosing toys for the child, or children, on your holiday list: 1. Allow children to identify their own strengths with self-discovery toys. Toys kids play with by themselves, such as dolls, science activity kits and magic sets, help teach them important lessons about responsibility, values and respect for others. 2. Increase confidence and build pride while children are young with self-esteem toys like art projects, model-building and construction toys. 3. Support open-ended play that allows free expression and lets kids use their imaginations. Bring out the creativity in kids with theater/puppet shows, cooking sets and pretend play projects such as tea parties. 4. Help children learn how to think independently with toys that promote concentration, competition and deductive reasoning. Thinking and logic toys include detective puzzles, ant farms, construction sets and memory games. 5. Build social skills and family togetherness with family interaction toys. Recommended games include dress up, board games, sports activities and battery-controlled car and boat races. 6. Encourage cooperation with friends and peers with relationship toys. Team communication skills are improved with sports, contests of skills, and toys such as medical and chemistry kits. 7. Let kids run, crawl, climb, throw and kick with toys like climbing structures and ride-on toys that use large muscle groups. Gross motor activities help kids develop balance and exercise gross motor skills. 8. Improve hand-eye coordination with fine motor activities that require hand movements such as grasping and pinching. Smart choices include stacking games, puzzles, writing and coloring books/activities. 9. Strengthen language skills and stimulate listening, speaking and imitation sounds with speech and hearing toys. Musical toys, play telephones, phonics-based sets and voice-command games are suggested. 10. Teach kids, especially infants and toddlers, about their environment through textures, tastes, smells and sight with sensory activities. Clay, activity quilts, blocks and shape games are all good choices.

Did you ever buy a toy that falls apart easily? The well-engineered toy is a gem amongst the toybox. Finding durable toys that can last for generations takes a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of research and a little bit of luck.  Before your holiday toy shopping begins, plan ahead.

You'll find some of the most basic toys are  going from the plain design, ex: dolls, heavy solid trucks, slinky's  (which contain no electronics) to interactive designs which contain electronic components such as infrared technology, micro-processors, sensors, optics, LED's  etc. These devices are delicate and prone to shock. They must be encased in a firm, well-designed outer shell which will protect the toy.

It's better to splurge on quality, a toy is only useful when it is used

Here are a few "toy tips" to take to the toy store:

-For audible toys, speakers should be large enough to provide intelligible output.

-Tilt switches indicate if a toy is laying down or standing up (think a robot toy that walks).  Many are made with mercury. Be aware that in the event of breakage, mercury could be exposed and possibly ingested by the child and this could be fatal.

-Video screens should be color not black and white for better resolution.

-Many battery compartments require a manual use of a small jewelers screwdriver  (#0 or #1) to open the battery compartment for battery insertion and replacement.  Be sure to have one of those on hand- you will need it often. If you don't replace batteries, they can corrode. If a battery-operated toy is not in constant use, it's best to keep the batteries out and put them in as needed. Batteries also contain mercury so if one leaks and is ingested by the child, this can be very dangerous.

Avoid toys made with magnets if there is any possibility a child may put them in their mouth, regardless of age. Two or more magnets ingested inside the digestive track is fatal.

And...remember to play with your kids with all your new finds!