Kids can play with them when they're toddlers and will continue to find new ways to use them through their elementary years. One day children will make them into a ball ramp, and the next they can build towers and roll a ball against them to test the sturdiness of their architecture. She also encourages parents to expand any construction set a child seems to like, whether it's Legos or Lincoln Logs. The more pieces children have, the bigger and better things they can build. Parents and grandparents can get a toy that's a sure hit by concentrating on a child's interests.
Art supplies are a good bet for a child who's artistic.
But a really enticing toy that doesn't play to a child's strengths can encourage the child to develop a new skill, she said. If parents are looking for toys that encourage creative play, they need to remember the emphasis should be on the process rather than the product. Moldable clay such as Play-Doh can be shaped into anything from an ant to a zebra, not just whatever's shown on the product package. She likes toys that help a child discover the way the physical world works. Think magnets, magnifying glasses and sets of cups and funnels during supervised bathtub play, she said.