• Select Educational Toys for Your Child

• Choose Toys for Kids With Special Needs

• Find Educational Toys on eBay

• Buy Educational Toys With Confidence

Select Educational Toys for Your Child

Select Educational Toys for Your Child

Match educational toys to your child’s age and stage of development. Several of these age-appropriate toys are available from Fisher-Price, LeapFrog, Playskool, VTech, Discovery Toys, Montessori, and other favorite brands.

Remember: Safety first! Read all the information about safe use and appropriate age levels before allowing your child to play with any toy.

Baby toys (0-12 months)

During a baby’s first few months, encourage early stages of perception with mobiles, music boxes, crib mirrors, stuffed animals, and other toys in a variety of textures and sounds. A play mat or activity gym with bright graphics and interesting features will keep little ones engaged until they start crawling. The models from Gymini and Baby Einstein are perennial baby shower favorites.

Once babies can sit up and begin to use their hands, they’ll be able to learn from building blocks, baby books, and stacking toys. The LittleTouch™ LeapPad® Learning System brings storybooks to life and introduces infants to the ABCs, numbers, colors, and other early development skills.

Toys for toddlers (12 months to 2 years)

Give toddlers ample opportunities to explore art and music with crayons, Play-Doh, and musical toys that encourage dancing. Puzzles with big pieces invite investigation, and LEGO Duplos or other construction toys provide valuable hands-on experience with basic math concepts and help kids fine-tune motor skills. Give your child a head start learning another language with bilingual toys such as the English- and Spanish-speaking Bilingual Elmo™ plush doll from Fisher-Price.

Toys for preschool and kindergarten students (3 to 5 years)

Bolster early school learning with educational toys and electronic games that help kids work on their numbers and letters. The V.Smile TV Learning System with educational video games makes lessons exciting, and the V.Smile Pocket™ version keeps kids learning even when they’re on the go. Or get started with the Leapster L-Max™ Learning Game System, which can be adapted to fit your child’s skill level. Choose from a library of interactive, action-packed games based on popular stories that cover pre-K through fourth-grade subject areas.

For an easy way to get kids acquainted with science and nature, try pretend-play props such as kid-sized cameras, toy telephones, magnets, and toy binoculars. Melissa & Doug offers a wide assortment of educational floor puzzles, so kids can learn about the alphabet, the solar system, and more while developing problem-solving skills. Climbing gyms, playhouses, and dollhouses are other age-appropriate ways to promote early social skills.

Toys for grade school students (6 to 12 years)

Select more complex toys to reinforce the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic. The innovative FLY™ Pentop Computer puts a calculator, translator, music player, and more at your child’s fingertips. Or consider upgrading to the LeapPad® Plus Writing Learning System, which adds a writing mode to the original platform. A teaching toy cash register, spelling games, and other electronic quizzing games are great ways to incorporate math and verbal skills into playtime.

Help kids discover the fun side of science with activity kits that also fine-tune motor skills such as model airplanes, jewelry kits, chemistry sets, and Erector sets. Or encourage them to explore with telescopes, microscopes, and magnifying glasses. Talking globes and map games can create fun opportunities to study geography.

Choose Toys for Kids With Special Needs

Choose Toys for Kids With Special Needs

Select toys for children with special needs based on their play stages, rather than ages. All children reach specific stages of learning that are reflected in how they play with their toys: exploration (examination of the toy through touch, sight, and sound), discovery (realization of the toy’s uses), and interaction (creative, imaginative use of the toy).

Although some toys are designed or modified for special-needs children, specialized toys are not always necessary. Many toys have multiple uses and special-needs children learn through the process of playing. Consult with your pediatrician or education specialist about your child's specific needs and keep a few features in mind when selecting toys.

• Look for high-pitched, visually interesting, volume-controlled toys for the hearing-impaired child. The Brilliant Basics™ Activity Table from Fisher-Price is a highly visual toy with musical elements, which lets kids get creative with stacking and building exercises.

• Search for magnified, tactile, mirrored toys with high-contrast areas for the sight-impaired child. Also, consider realistic pretend-play toys such as the Little People® Beeps the Bus™ from Fisher-Price.

• Find simply-designed lifelike toys for the learning-impaired child. Ordinary toys with lots of labels and easy-to-understand illustrations, such as the oversized Big Brain Book Interactive Encyclopedia from Oregon Scientific, may also be useful.

• Get audible, interactive toys for speech-impaired children. The Pretend & Play Teaching Telephone by Learning Resources or Tuff Stuff® Tape Recorder by Fisher-Price may be helpful learning aids, depending on the amount of assistance required.

Find Educational Toys on eBay

Find Educational Toys on eBay

Once you know what type of educational toys you want, go to the Toys & Hobbies portal, click Educational, and start searching for items on eBay.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Alphabet, Geography-History, Mathematics, Reading-Writing, and more. As you dig deeper into the site you'll also be able to narrow down your choice by brand.

• Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find wooden alphabet blocks, type "alphabet blocks" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

eBay Toy Finder can also help you find hot and award-winning toys appropriate for kids of any age.

Buy Educational Toys With Confidence

Buy Educational Toys With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,000.

• eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.