Three is a magical age for a child. At this age, your child begins to make the transition from “toddler” to “preschool age” – a big jump when it comes to physical and mental development. As such, selecting toys for a three-year-old that help with her development while also keeping her safe and adequately entertained can be tricky. By following these few simple tips, you should have no problem choosing a toy that will keep both you and your three-year-old happy.



Tip #1: Get Him Moving

Toys that encourage your three-year-old to get up and move around are always a good buy. Three-year-olds love to explore and to be active. In addition, movement helps to develop your child's gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are those that involve large muscles, such as the legs, arms, feet, and torso. Running and jumping utilize gross motor skills. Fine motor skills, on the other hand, are those that involve smaller muscles such as those found in the toes, fingers, and wrists.

Toys such as balls are ideal for throwing, rolling, and catching – all of which help develop your child's gross motor skills. Catching also helps your child work on his hand/eye coordination. Fine motor skills are also exercised with balls when your child grasps the ball tightly with his fingers. Balls come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, so you are certain to find at least one that your child will love.

Tip #2: Let Her Explore Her Artistic Talents

By the time your child reaches the age of three, she is ready to begin exploring her artistic talents. This includes finger painting, drawing with chunky crayons, and cutting with blunt tipped scissors. Of course, each of these activities can be quite messy. Therefore, it is important for you to keep a close eye on your three-year-old as she explores this whole new world.

Giving your child a chance to explore arts and crafts helps to further develop her fine motor skills, as cutting and drawing requires attaining great control of the smaller muscles. In addition, dabbling in art helps to open the door to the world of science as she discovers the effects of mixing various colors and cutting different types of paper.

Tip #3: Encourage Him to Use His Imagination

Children have amazing imaginations that should be developed and encouraged. Through imaginative play, your child can begin to make sense of the world around him. From pretending to be “daddy,” to being a construction worker or a doctor, your child makes sense of the role he plays in the world and how to interact with it when engaging in imaginative play.

You can encourage imaginative play by purchasing play outfits for your child. From capes to pirate gear, from cowboy hats to crowns, the sky is the limit.

By following these few simple tips, your child will be thrilled with the play opportunities around her. In addition, you will be helping her take those important steps toward becoming the success you had always dreamed she would be.