With the Christmas buying rush on, be sure to steer away from toys with a mere one-right-answer playing platform, stress the experts. According to Temple developmental psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, "play itself has become a four-letter word and a dying commodity, but there are still a lot of good toys out there." Children are natural discoverers. “What you don't want are passive toys that command what your child does in their play," said Hirsh-Pasek, co-director of the Temple University Infant Lab.