EXPERT PERSPECTIVE · EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR
His First Word Was "Light." An Early Childhood Director on the One Toy She Tells Every Grandparent About
Monday, 28 September. 2026
Dear Grandparents,
I run a childcare centre, so I get asked about toys a lot. The question I hear most from grandparents is, "What can I get them that they'll actually play with?"
I only ever give one answer. It's the toy my own son has come back to since he was a year old. He's almost three now.
1st
Word he ever said: "light"
0
Sounds. No songs, no beeping, nothing to switch off
8
Real switches, a key and a cable
3yrs
And it's still out on our living room floor
WHY I RECOMMEND THIS
I've Watched a Lot of Toys Get Forgotten
I've spent 10 years in early childhood classrooms, first as a teacher and now as a director. Every January the Christmas toys arrive. By February, most of them have quietly disappeared.
The talking ones get switched off. The ones with a hundred pieces get lost. The fancy ones get admired once and put on a shelf.
What toddlers go back to is almost funny in how simple it is. The light switch on the wall. The keys in your purse. The remote in your hand. The real thing.
"Toddlers don't want toys that do things for them. They want to be the one who makes it happen."
OUR STORY.
The Toy I Didn't Expect to Last
When my son was one, his favourite thing in the house was the hall light. I'd lift him up, he'd flip it on and off, and look at me like he'd just invented electricity. My arms gave out long before he did.
So we got him the Little Engineer's Busy Board. Eight real switches, a real key, a real cable, and every one turns on a light. He was hooked from the first click.
Two years later, it's never been put away. He even has a routine now. The key always goes first, and he won't walk away until every light is on.
And Yes, His First Word Was "Light."
Not "mama." Not "dada." "Light." He said it pointing at his board, and then at every lamp in the house for a month.
I'm an educator, so I'll be honest: a toy didn't teach him to talk. But lights were what he loved most, and this was where he got to make them come on himself. I'll be telling that story at his wedding.
Same board, two years apart
Most toys don't make it to February. This one made it through two Christmases, and he still picks it first.
Why I Tell Every Grandparent About It
The parents will thank you. It doesn't sing, beep or talk. The only sound is the little click of a switch.
It's the thing they're always reaching for. Every toddler wants to flip the real switches. This is the one place nobody says "not that."
It becomes theirs. It isn't one of fifty toys in the bin. It's their board, the one they sit down with on their own.
They'll want to show you. Whether you live down the street or a flight away, this is the gift they carry over to show Grandma.
“I gave this to my grandson for Christmas and he didn't want to open anything else after it. His dad had to set it up again on Boxing Day so he could show me every light over FaceTime.
”
“For two years my son wouldn't get in the car without his bunny. Now it's the bunny and this board. He flips the switches the whole way to daycare, and there's no noise to distract me while I drive.
”
“My son wanted every light switch in the house. Now he has his own. It's the first toy he hasn't figured out is a toy.
”
Why I Recommend It, in Short
- It's the real thing. Real switches, a key and a cable, just like the ones they reach for.
- It's quiet. Lights only, with no songs and no beeping.
- It lasts. Two years on, it's still the one he picks.
- It's easy to love. A gift the parents are happy to see arrive.
The one toy an early childhood director recommends to every grandparent who asks. Order for Christmas.
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