Top 5 Open-Ended Toy Recommendations from Child Development Experts

Alexandrea Cuellar and Carson Barnes, both Certified Child Life Specialists, see every day how powerful open-ended play can be for a child’s social and emotional development.

As child development experts, they support kids and families as they navigate the stress of hospital stays. To help kids cope, find comfort and express emotions, Alexandrea and Carson hand out toys that spark hours of play.

Carson puts it this way: “Open-ended play is kind of unlimited. It’s kind of where the kid wants to take things.”

What toys help inspire open-ended play for kids? Hear Alexandrea and Carson's favorite toy recommendations to help kids play.

1. Building Blocks

Younger children often gravitate towards building blocks, stacking and creating different structures.

2. Kitchen Playroom

Toddlers who like pretend play often enjoy the kitchen toy sets. According to Carson, the kitchen playroom is a fan favorite for kids in the hospital.

3. Cars

Toy cars are one of the best toys for imaginative and pretend play.

4. Baby Dolls

Kids can use baby dolls to play with family or medical play, a form of open-ended play.

Carson and Alexandrea sometimes use toys like a baby doll, stuffed animal or a LEGO® MRI Scanner from Starlight to help a child process and prepare a child for medical tests or procedures. Kids can role-play and freely explore.

Carson explains why this type of open-ended play is important for kids in the hospital:

“With a baby doll, for example, it can turn into medical play of what they have experienced in the hospital and what’s happened to them along their stay, such as a lab draw. It gives kids a chance to process, explore their emotions of how they felt during it, and reflect on their experience.”

Image: Henry uses a stuffed animal during medical play to prepare for a procedure.

1. LEGO sets

Toys that allow kids to explore multiple possibilities encourage them to use their creativity.

Free building LEGO models are a great option to unlock a child’s imagination while keeping their hands busy.

In collaboration with the LEGO Group®, Starlight Children’s Foundation delivers LEGO sets to hospitals across the country for free through its Starlight Toy Delivery program. Alexandra and Carson especially love the sets they get through the program because of how they let kids who have long hospital stays play for hours.

Image: Jameson smiling with a LEGO build he created at the hospital.

2. Magnet Tiles

Magnet tiles are another hands-on building toy that lets kids explore and decide what they want to create.

3. Play-Doh

Play-Doh is another great way for kids to use their imagination to think and have multiple options. It offers different tactile opportunities to mold and shape, along with textures and colors that help kids explore.

In collaboration with Hasbro, Starlight Children’s Foundation delivers Play-Doh to hospitals across the country for free through its Starlight Toy Delivery program. The Play-Doh sets come with extra tools which provides more value than if child life specialists bought them online separately.

Image: A pediatric patient playing with Play-Doh delivered to the hospital through Starlight.

Exploration and creativity help kids continue to grow, even in difficult circumstances like hospitalization.

That’s why Starlight exists. We provide hospitals programs that promote kids’ imagination, fun and play.

If you’re exploring open-ended play, you already believe every child deserves the chance to imagine, explore and just be a kid.

Your support can help make sure kids have those same moments of happiness and comfort, even during difficult days

Today, be a compassionate supporter and help kids imagine and explore.