If you're doing some last-minute holiday shopping for a child in your life, you might find yourself lost in the never-ending toy aisle.

A pediatrician shares their advice on choosing the perfect toy for a child’s age, skill level and developmental needs.

In 1996, it was the Tickle Me Elmo, and in 2004, Nintendo DS was at the top of most kid's wish lists.

But, buying shouldn't begin and end with what's popular, according to Dr. Aleeya Healey.

"Some of the things that aren’t asked but really should be talked about is, is this toy safe for my child to play with?” said Healey. “Is it a good toy for the household? Is it going to help them developmentally gain some new skills or are they sort of past that age for this toy?"

Healey is a developmental behavioral pediatrician at Albany Medical Center.

For young kids, Healey says it's all about imagination and creativity.

"Play-Doh and crayons, markers, arts and crafts supplies are oldies but goodies,” said Healey. “This is going to help with some of their hand strength and their dexterity and those relate to things like tying shoes, doing up buttons, and writing later on. So, those are really good skills to work on at an early age that really don't get enough attention these days."

Memory games starting at around three years old can help with focus.

Rather than buying by age, Healey suggests buying based on where the child is at developmentally.

She says looking for toys that foster social skills like paying attention, taking turns, being patient and compromising can be found in board and card games.

"Expect the child to be upset when they lose the first few times,” said Healey. “It's being able to help them through and be like ‘it's okay to be disappointed, but next time maybe you'll win and that's what makes playing so fun, is you never know who's going to win.’ If you won every time, that would be so boring."

For those who have too many toys already, look for experiences.

"Those are going to be the gifts that stick out in kids minds as they get older,” said Healey. “Really, it's not just a gift for the child. It's a gift for yourself to have that unfiltered, open time with your child that you're not thinking about work or cleaning up the mess that they're making."

Imagination play is one that doesn't have an age range at all and you don't have to buy anything to do it.

So, if you find your child playing with the box their toy was in on Christmas morning, Healey suggests encouraging it.

"That is the best kind of play because it's very open-ended,” said Healey. “The child is using their imagination. They're working cooperatively or even on their own and that's really what pushes the boundaries developmentally and helps them advance their skills."