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Educational
Toys & Games
Some Articles about Educational Toys and how to choose them Have you ever found difficulties in finding toys for your children? Do you know the important aspects of appropriate toys for them? What you will see below are some helpful advice to help you find the best for your little ones. Children learn through toys and play about colors, shapes, sounds, and numbers. It helps them develop their eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity, helping them later on to compare their experience and use their imagination to talk. It is difficult to judge a toy for its effectiveness in teaching children and some toys that look helpful in their boxes lose their potential when they are taken out. Nevertheless, learning how to recognize the play value of a toy is a skill that can be acquired over time. One thing to understand is that the child should be given a toy geared towards his or her age group, as it is not sensible to think that advanced toys would help the child’s learning to grow faster. - Toys should not promote a single thought or concept; instead, they should promote creativity and thinking skills. Toys based on a single concept, such as a math toy normally is not played with and it is better to roll the dice and let the child add the numbers towards a certain goal as it is fun as well as educational. - Toys should cater to individual developmental skills such as miniature replicas of household products for toddlers to gain an understanding of how things function. - Toys that can be played in a number of ways serve as great educational tools. For example, blocks will never disappear simply because they provide the toddler understandings of gravity by helping them build and knock down towers, while enhancing creativity in older children who build castles out of them to create their own worlds. - Toys should be checked for durability and safety before being bought. Durability is extremely important so that the toy is played with and remains helpful in developmental skills. - Children tend to clamor for the latest toys that might not serve any educational purpose, like trend figures that can be played only in their specific roles and cannot be expanded towards thinking that is more creative. Instead of breaking your child’s heart by not buying them their favorite action figure, it is better to buy them a jigsaw of the figure or playing cards, games, and books too. - A toy is good if it is fun for the child to play with. Buying toys that can be played in a number of ways would be a wise decision to invest in as they would be played with for a long period of time and would give the maximum learning experience to the child.
- Suitable Design: For the correct age group with the best concept, colors, and materials, with concise and crystal clear instructions. - Quality: The quality of workmanship and relation of materials used with colors and shapes define it. - Durability: It is of the utmost importance as children can break even the best of the toys. - Safety: Protection is vital for the children from toys with splintered edges, flammability, and the use of toxic materials. - Educational: By providing instructions so that the parents can explain the use of the toy to the child in simple terms. - Creative: To help the child develop their imagination, you must be able to use the toy in alternate ways by creating new games, and play with it. - Cost: It should be another factor that should be considered since similar toys may have a major cost difference. - Play Value: So that the toys are long lasting and the child enjoys playing with it for as long as possible, each time giving the child newer developmental skills and encouraging the child to play again and again with newer insights into the way things work. - Quality vs. Quantity: Too many toys could overwhelm the child and hamper the child’s creative development, as the child may not be able to concentrate on a single toy for long enough, hence rendering the toys useless. The whole purpose of giving the child a toy is to develop the creative thinking and skills and not give the idea that more toys mean more happiness. Following
the above guidelines would ensure the promotion of the purpose of learning
through play by helping your child’s developmental skills to improve
with time no matter what age your child is. Adwina Jackson: Adwina Jackson has a deep concern on parenting. Get her inspirational guides about Educational Toys at http://insparenting.com/guides/educational-toys/ Also, grasp her other motivational parenting tips at http://insparenting.com , a worth-to-visit daily updated blog.
Children learn about the world through toys. Different toys fulfill different developmental and educational purposes, and understanding this variety and the needs of your child will help you in selecting the most appropriate toys for your child. Here are some significant needs of children that can be fulfilled by the right kind of toys: • Creative development: Lewis Carroll’s Alice captured the essence of childhood with her eager phrase: “Let’s pretend...” Watch how many things your child can do with an empty cardboard box. Other examples: Clay, paint, dolls, crayons, play dough. • Intellectual development: Just pulling a simple wagon, your child is learning about the relationship between force and velocity. Other examples are books, miniature ovens, bicycles and science kits. • Physical development: Through toys and games, children develop their strength, motor skills, hand-eye coordination and muscle control. Toys for this are balls, bikes, blocks, shovels, and all outdoor games. • Sensory development: Children learn about textures, smells, colors and sounds through toys. The toys for this are musical instruments, clay, blocks, puzzles. • Social development: Through toys, children learn about each other and about friendship. They learn how to get along with others, and the mechanics of personal relationships. What happens when your child builds a sandcastle together with a friend? What happens when your child refuses to share a toy? Board games, dolls and puzzles are some toys that can help your child’s social development. • Personality development: Games and toys build confidence and self-esteem in children, and help them learn about themselves through their likes and dislikes. Solving a puzzle, building a house with blocks, riding a bike -- all these exercises help your child feel a sense of accomplishment and self-worth.
Using Toys With time, your child will learn how to take responsibility for her choices, actions, and belongings. The following are some guidelines with which you can help your child become responsible without compromising on her safety: • Talk to your child about proper care and storage of toys. Fix a place of storage and do not allow toys to be left on the floor or outside the house. • If there is more than one child, separate their toys to make sure that the younger ones may not play with toys appropriate for older children. Explain this, and related safety hazards, to the older children. • Participate in your child’s play and set good examples of safe play. After playtime, show them how to put the toys away safely, and slowly allow your child to take responsibility for the toys. • Teach your child to recognize unsafe toys and safety hazards. Check their toys (especially electric ones) regularly for damage, and urge them to let you know if a toy breaks or seems unsafe. Appropriate and Allowable Toys for Children In this chapter, we will discuss the skills and needs of children at different ages, and accordingly choose safe and appropriate toys for each age group. • 3 to 4 years During this time, children use their imagination to imitate adult activity, and participate actively in physical games. Their knowledge of safety hazards and self-defense also increases. Appropriate toys: Puppets, farm and community play sets like tea sets, climbing structures, miniature ovens, toy telephones, simple board games, tricycles, boxes, dolls and stuffed animals, water play toys, puzzles, balls, simple musical instruments etc. • 4 to 6 years At this age, children learn about social skills and cooperation by participating in preschool group games. Their physical coordination develops, and the foundation of printing and writing is also laid at this time. Appropriate
toys: Transportation vehicles of all types like • 6 to 9 years Children learn about getting along with others, and about the adult world of sports, games, and careers. At this stage, children develop their intellectual and social interests and make strong friendships, likes and dislikes. Appropriate toys: Board games, marbles, jacks, puppets, doll equipment and accessories, craft kits, construction toys, complex puzzles, jump ropes, art material of all kinds, roller and ice skates etc. • 9 to 12 years Preteens become active in team play and learn how to handle detailed projects in arts and science. They learn to prioritize their interests and give more time to select hobbies. They also begin to operate video games and computers. Appropriate toys: Skates, skateboards, science kits, craft kids, tested and approved electric toys, electric trains (UL approved), construction sets, science kits, craft kits, costumes, larger bicycles prop boxes, puppets, fashion and career dolls, doll house and furniture, musical instruments, books of specific interest, work bench with real tools etc. It
is important to remember that children are different and have individual
characteristics and interests. Only you can know your child’s
specific interests and abilities at the different stages of their development,
by supervising and participating in their play. Adwina Jackson: Adwina Jackson has a deep concern on parenting. Get her inspirational guides about Educational Toys at http://insparenting.com/guides/educational-toys/ Also, grasp her other motivational parenting tips at http://insparenting.com , a worth-to-visit daily updated blog.
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