It can be a daunting task even for Santa himself - picking out a toy as a gift for a child. Elaine Himadi, MD, from the Center for Disabilities and Development at University of Iowa Children's Hospital has some suggestions:

How should shoppers begin the process of choosing just the right toy for a child?

I realize that it can be quite overwhelming, however, I'm here to simplify the task for all the parents out there who are looking for just the right toy for their child. It's important to realize that your presence and your gift of time are probably the most important thing that you can give your child. Interacting with your child is important.

That doesn't mean that you don't give your child anything to put under the Christmas tree, but what you can do is tailor it to your individual child. For instance, if you have a child who is interested in sewing or cooking, you can give them a set of pot holders, or a chef's hat, or a book of recipes, and then spend the ensuing weeks or months teaching your child how to cook or sew or knit.

On the other hand, what are some the biggest mistakes that we should attempt to avoid?

Children, I think, perceive toys as tokens of caring and love. And parents feel as though the bigger, more expensive, latest rage is the way to go.

I think it is important to get back to the simple sorts of toys. I know my kids, when they were four, loved the cardboard box, that the big toy that I bought that I thought they would love, came in. And they spent hours and days playing with this cardboard box, drawing on it, cutting out doors and windows, sleeping in it, eating in it, they loved it. And I think that teaches a very important lesson, that some of these very simple toys, interactive toys, are the best.

What are the guidelines for choosing an age-appropriate gift for a child?

It's important to look at developmental level when you're choosing toys for children. For instance, most toys are now labeled, 0-3, 3-6, that sort of thing, so it's important to look at the labels. Obviously toys that have very small parts or things that can be dislodged and then swallowed by children would not be appropriate for those under age 3.

What are some good choices among educational toys?

I like to fall back on Howard Gardner, who has done a lot of research on multiple intelligences and he has discovered, not just one sort of intelligence, but at least eight kinds of different intelligences. It's nice to look at that list and sort of see what you'd like to encourage in your child or just an intelligence that they're already very strong in and encouraging that, as well.

So he has linguistic intelligence, logical math, and musical intelligence. Also the children who have bodily or kinesthetic intelligence, so enjoy sports; spatial intelligence; interpersonal intelligence; intrapersonal intelligence, people who really enjoy looking within themselves; and his latest is the naturalist intelligence. So if you look at all these, you can kind of come up with toys that would kind of fit the bill for each one.

Under linguistic, you could certainly give the child a book of crossword puzzles or books, obviously. Logical, you can give them Sudoku math puzzles, which are the latest rage these days, and they have ones that are simpler for children of certain ages. Musical intelligence, musical instruments or give them the gift of lessons, which would carry through the season. For those children who enjoy bodily kinesthetic sorts of activities, simple gifts would be jump ropes, balls, Frisbees, again, encouraging interaction with your child through the toy.

You work with children affected by disabilities. What is your advice for choosing a gift for a child with a disability?

Obviously it's the same that I just gave for children without disabilities. I think you have to be sensitive to the needs of that individual child. Children who have low vision, for instance, may benefit from toys that make noise as well as light up so that they can follow the action of the toy, that sort of thing is important. But, again, you need to focus in on what the individual child likes to do, and what sorts of strengths that you want to encourage in the child. Interaction, I think, is the key. Any toy that you can interact with a child is a great asset in my book.

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