Little do some parents know that when you are buying toys for your children you are stimulating some important life skills through play. According to Peter Gorski, M.D., FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Early Childhood, good toys "encourage children to think about spatial relationships, means and ends relationships, how to use tools, how to become effective and efficient, how to collaborate, how to take turns, and how to learn rules."

Better yet, "good toys" are low tech, and stimulate development. When children play with non-mechanical, natural toys (i.e. wooden blocks, fabric strips, and old-fashioned dolls), they have better communication skills. Judith Wagner, Ph.D. a professor of child development, states while using simple toys, a child's communication enriches, they enact a wider range of role playing, their conversations are more interactive, and they use broader vocabulary. Choose toys that are developmentally appropriate; ones that are challenging but not frustrating to your youngster.

Contrary to current beliefs computers do not aid child development. The AAP recommends children under 2 years old have NO TV viewing. Dr. Gorski states children 3-4 years old get 20 minutes max with parental guidance. Computers promote isolation and decreased physical activity -- two combinations you do not want to reinforce early.

A quick guide to age appropriateness in the early ages:

(from Tovah Klein, Ph.D., and Mary Gettesman, R.N., Ph.D.)

1. Birth to 4 months -- you are the best toy. "Parents are the all-sufficient jungle gym and entertainment center."
2. 4-6 months -- introduce a "cuddly" item that will remind them of you and help with transition times." Careful though of choking and suffocation hazards (i.e. small parts that can fall off, don't let them sleep with it until they are older).
3. 8-12 months -- ideal gift, a box, they can open it up, put their toys inside it, while they work on object permanence.
4. 1-2 years -- cause and effect toys, like push/pull toys, Jack in the box, hammer toys. They learn a sense of control and mastery.
5. 2 to 3 years old -- toys they can explore and discover on their own. They should be able to manipulate and master on their own. They will learn competence and pleasure with the task.
6. Books at any age. Make it a joint effort. Encourage your child to point and name objects, ask questions about the story.

Frankly, in our modern-day toys we are losing imagination. Don't get me wrong they are very imaginative toys, but that is the problem, they leave nothing to the imagination of a child. The trucks drive on their own, make siren sounds, and the drivers are scripted. The dolls cry, eat, and even grow. The games have all the clothes, voices, and scenery a child could want. Or do they? Do our children really want all this detail? Or is it us?

When our children's toys have this level of detail, they don't bother us for props. We provide the necessary batteries, and they go away. My biggest pet peeve in this regard are hand held games. I've watched kids play literally for hours, glued to these games. They don't make eye contact, few words come from their mouths, and fewer are used by us parents. They push a few buttons and out strategize the cyber enemy. They may learn how to out maneuver a pocket monster, but can they imagine an elaborate castle, defeat the dread dragon, and save the kingdom all in one afternoon? Can they look up at an adult and describe in detail what everything is in their mind's eye? Do they have the patience to construct the props needed to fulfill the fantasy?

Your answer may be so what. So what if they don't imagine like our generation of kids. What does it matter? Here is why it matters.

1. If you don't hone imagination skills as a child, how can you carry on a conversation with the "unseen God" in prayer as an adult?
2. If you don't pretend to solve the unsolvable as a child, how can you have the courage to take on real life Goliath's as an adult?
3. If you don't battle with the unseen as a child, how will you battle the unseen spiritual battles as an adult?
4. If things are more important than people as a child, how will your family be more important to you later?
5. If your entire imagination is delivered at a button push as a child, how will you find the patience to construct your masterpiece as an adult? A masterpiece being a family, a life's work, or maybe God's calling.

So this Christmas season, give your child the gift that keeps on giving (no not money), IMAGINATION. It will take a little to give a little, but you may be giving a lot -- the potential to see GOD later. Oh what a gift.