The wrong toy could harm your child

PARENTING

Having children is fun and every parent usually looks forward to buying that beautiful, interesting toy for his or her child but little do they know that they need to be conscious on which toy to buy.

Lillian Namusobya, a mother of one got to know this recently when she bought a doll for her daughter not knowing that the doll had some choking hazards.

After noticing change in her child's behavior, she checked on all her child's toys only to notice that there was a warning notice cautioning parents to give the doll to children of a specific age because it had some choking hazards.

 Different ages use different types of toys

She had to remove it from the toys her six  months old baby was playing with. However experts note that parents ought to be careful with the toys they give to their children.

Lydia Nyesigomwe, the director parenting Uganda notes that parents should know which toys are appropriate for each stage that their children are in and therefore look out for such toys.

Nyesigomwe notes that usually from 0 - 3 months, children see things and try to reach them especially coloured ones so parents should look out for such toys but still be mindful  of the colours."Some peel off and could be dangerous to the little one," she notes.

She adds that from three months, they start rolling over and some even start teething so having toys that they can hold helps them. Since they start teething and  tend to put these toys in their mouths,extra care is necessary so they do not choke on the toys.

Nyesigomwe insists that parents ought to enrich themselves with books on child development so as to be guided on the right toys for each stage of child development.

She  says  toys do not only help a child to grow and play, they also help them learn and respond to things like sound among others.

Harriet Byakagaba, a director of a nursery school notes that while toys are important, choosing the right one is very necessary to avoid the discomfort that comes from choosing the  wrong one.

Byakagaba notes that while at the toy store parents should seek guidance from the seller on which toys to purchase for a particular age.  This helps one avoid getting the wrong one and even when you have liked a particular one, keep it until your child is at the right stage of using it.

She advises parents to engage in playing with their children to make it fun for them to play with toys.