4. Not yet chinuch aged. Children who are not yet chinuch aged, i.e., who do not understand the concept that there are things that may not be done on Shabbos, based on their intelligence and understanding, do not need to be stopped, as they have not yet reached the age of chinuch. This is until about five years old. Still, if they understand how to obey instructions, one can begin explaining to them that we are not allowed to do this on Shabbos, so that they will become careful about it over time.
5. Chinuch aged. Chinuch aged children, who understand the concept that we keep Shabbos and there are things we may not do – e.g., starting at five – should be stopped from playing with toys that are definitely assur on Shabbos, such as electronic toys, e.t.c. One certainly may not give the child the toy to play with.
6. However, if there is a machlokes between accepted poskim whether a certain toy is assur or mutar, then it depends: If the child plays with it on his own, there is no need to stop him, as there are poskim to rely on and one does not need to burden a child with chumros (ארחות חיים סי' תס''ז סקי''ט ). If the father follows the opinion that something is assur, he should at least not give that toy to his child to start playing with.
7. A child who has the intellect to understand the form of a melacha and how some action with a toy relates to a particular melacha, e.g., from nine years old and up, should be stopped from playing with any toy that involves a potential melacha.
