Picking out toys for young children is no simple task. There are so many choices that it can easily be overwhelming. It's important to consider options that are appropriate for the child's age. It's also important to know the individual child's likes and dislikes.

Toy Textures:

Children thrive on all sorts of stimulation. Colors, sounds and even textures can keep them occupied for hours, as well as keep them thinking and growing mentally. However, it's important to choose soft-textured toys for young children. Always avoid any toy that has sharp pieces or any scratch parts that could irritate a child's skin.

Noisy Toys:

Small children can easily become afraid of loud toys. Some sound is a good thing to help stimulate children. However, it's important that the sounds be fun and friendly, not loud and scary. If the child that you are buying for is not your child, you should also keep in mind that there are other people in the child's house. Parents may not be appreciative of loud, repetitive toys and pets may also be afraid of them. If you're going to get a child a toy that makes noise, you should be sure that the noise is pleasant for children. You should also check to see that the toy has an on/off switch or some sort of volume control.

Little Pieces:

Many people are aware that small children like to chew on things, especially when they are teething. Therefore, it's important not to buy them small toys that they could easily swallow. However, you should also be aware that larger toys can contain smaller pieces. Things like glass teddy bear eyes, for instance, do have the potential to possibly become loose. Be aware of that when choosing toys for little ones.

Easy Cleaning:

Parents of young children tend to be fairly aware of germs. Young children, after all, tend to be fairly quick to catch colds and whatever else is going around.

Let's face it; both kids and their toys are going to get dirty. It's a fact of life. A child may spit up on their favorite toy, get food on it, drop it in the mud, or do who knows what to it. Maybe the child decided to take their favorite toy to daycare only for parents to discover that half the daycare kids were out with the flu. In cases such as those, parents will want to keep a toy as clean and disinfected as possible.

Due to all of those reasons, it's important to consider what materials a toy is made of before you but it for a small child.