As a parent you would definitely wish to give your child the best toy to help in his development. But, parents often get confused and end up investing big bucks on something unworthy.
Here are few tips for choosing educational toys for your child.
- Choose toys that initiate thinking in the child: Simple items such as crayons, pen and paper often stimulate the thinking ability in the child. With the pen or pencil in hand they start thinking of what to draw or write. This automatically results in development of cognitive functioning of the brain.
- Toys should make your child creative: Toys like building blocks, manipulative toys will make your child think creatively to create new shapes. These educational toys not only improve creativity but also improve psychomotor skills such as holding properly with fingers and strengthen the muscles of fingers, arms and the hand.
- Let the child select his or her toy: The toy you select should be as per the age and interest of the child. If you give the child what you love then he may not enjoy with it. Thus, you will not observe the expected development in the child. For example, few children love to hear music. If the toy you give to such children makes a pleasant music then he will definitely love to play with it.
- Don’t push the child: Never force the child to act beyond his stage of development. We often find various toys in the market boosting to fasten the development of the child. Never get such toys to the child. They will only slow down the development process as the child will not be doing what has to be done at his stage of development
- Pick up simple educational toys: Toys should not only be educative but should also be simple to use. If the toy is very complicated to play then the child may not show interest to play with the toy.
- Toys should develop social skills: Choose toys that promote social skills such as co-operation in the child. Toys should encourage the child to play with other kids. A child learns a lot while playing with other kids.
All these educational toys can be expensive. Hence, make a wise choice within your budget limit. In addition to concentrating on the educational value of the toy check about the safety terms. Few toys are highly valuable but they are not safe to allow the child play alone. Lastly, the toy you choose should support the child’s learning process safely.
I love these tips! We just tried out finger paints for the first time this week and my son loved them! I try to let him get down on the toy aisle and choose what he wants – it is always different than what I would have chosen but it keeps him engaged. I have also found that pots and pans and simple household items are fabulous toys and really get him thinking and being creative!
Great tips! My friend is expecting her first child and I will definitely pass this on to her. There's so much to know, so it's great to have helpful articles from real moms! 🙂
We used to count and stack cheerios too… 🙂 cheap and fun
These are great tips. It's all about capturing the child's interest. I've given my kids toys I thought they would love only to find they wouldn't play with it. I learned quickly to let them choose the toy.
Educational toys are a must! I like the idea of letting your kids pick the toys!
Great tips on playing and early development.