Toy guide focuses on child’s developments

New York — As any parent knows, each child is different, and that means each child has a different taste in toys. The toy that entertains one child for hours gets a bored glance from another.

This can be especially true for a child with disabilities because of variations in motor and learning skills.

Toys “R” Us each year develops the “Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids,” which is available free at all of the retailer’s stores and online.

The company worked with the nonprofit National Lekotek Center in choosing the best play things to promote development. All of the toys in the guide are assigned symbols that indicate the skills they help enhance, such as auditory, language, creativity, fine motor or self-esteem.

The guide’s cover features a photo of the late actor John Ritter and a 5-year-old girl, Megan Anne Schiedler, a ballet enthusiast and child model who has Down Syndrome.

According to a statement from Toys “R” Us, Ritter was a strong and passionate supporter of causes dedicated to improving the lives of children with disabilities.

Mott’s offers quick recipe for apples

New York — Apples are one of the great joys of the season, but after one too many trips to the orchard or farm stand, you might be faced with too much of a good thing.

Putting apples — and applesauce, and apple crisp — in children’s lunch boxes each day is one way to reduce the stash, although children might get bored if they are asked to repeatedly eat the same snack.

In fact, Mott’s, the maker of apple sauce and apple juice, recently conducted a poll that found 71 percent of parents pack fruit as part of their children’s lunch — and 20 percent of these moms and dads think the snacks are going to waste.

To introduce some variety into the lunch-box routine, Mott’s offers this quick recipe for “Apple Pie in a Glass”:

1/2 cup lowfat milk

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Shake all ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid, or stir in glass until well blended.