A holiday gift guide -- Tip Sheet Thursday
Today's Tip Sheet is a link to a holiday guide from a group that knows its stuff when it comes to toys. The Parents' Choice Foundation, a national nonprofit group based in Timonium, has been evaluating toys for more than 30 years. You can find its picks for 2008 here. The guide has a pretty neat search tool, too -- you can call up toys based on interests (for the budding poet, a kid who loves animals, a science buff), age, and your budget.
One toy Parents' Choice has approved through the years: versions of the Ugly Doll at left.
By the way, I was looking back at a story I did on Parents' Choice several years ago and found some tips the founder, Diana Huss Green, laid out in 1983. I thought you might find them interesting...
A good toy:
* Has staying power and engages.
* Builds attention spans.
* Stimulates questions and presents problems for solving.
* Can be played with in many ways. Challenges a child to do, think or feel.
* Is attractive, well-made, fun and safe.
* Fits both your tastes and pocketbook and your child's talents, interests, abilities and size.
Baltimoresun.com's 
