Only 2 percent of toys in the 1975 Sears catalog were marketed explicitly to boys or girls. Even the small fraction of gender-specific toys—Barbie, for example—were mostly outfitted in primary ...

Immersive toys that foster this kind of pretend play also help nurture their motor, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, adds Gayle Kligman, M.Ed., the executive chairman of Family of Kidz.