When working with children, it's inevitable that - at some stage - we would use toys and games.
If you've ever watched a child play, you might have notice they "act out" adult actions such as pretend cooking, playing house, or imitating Mom's phone calls!
This is really important work for kids as they learn how to develop their physical, mental, emotional, and social skills for later in life. From trains to dolls, playhouses to astronaut costumes, there's a toy for every real (and imagined) scenario that a child may later encounter. But dang, toys can be expensive!
Sure, you can try charity/op shops and the discount sections in larger toy shops, but what if you're tired of buying toys (and keeping them!)?
Toy Libraries are clever and useful initiatives set up to support families. They are usually run by volunteers and aim to promote education and play by providing toys for loan and wholesale toy sales.
In the Gold Coast and surrounds, we are lucky to have several toy libraries (Coomera, Nerang, Byron Shire) and Special Needs Toy Library run by Gold Coast Libraries. The latter requires a referral (letter) from a speech pathologist or other professional.
If you wanted other tips and tricks about accessing toys and games, be sure to add yourself to Mermaid Speech's mailing list on the homepage.