Fun And Learning: Choosing The Right Toys For Your Kids

December 3rd, 2009
Bead Sequencing Toy

Bead Sequencing Toy

In this baby genius era, parents believed that with proper foundations of physical, emotional, and cognitive development, parents can hone children’s great potential. One of the best methods in improving the potential of a child is to introduce them toys that can be both fun and educational.

Choosing the right toys for your kids can be overwhelming, there literally thousands of different toys from thousands of manufacturers vying for your hard-earn dollars. Most of them are all claiming to be fun and educational. According to experts there is no such thing as “right” or “wrong” toy. Any type of toy can actually stimulate learning. Choosing the “right” kind of toy for your child actually depends on what side of your child’s development you want to focus on.

Physical development

From birth to preschool is the most exciting time in a child’s life. It is the stage where the child learns what his body can do. This is the period of beginning exploration and discovery. At this stage some toys are better than the others in helping your child become more confident in his new found mobility and freedom.

Push and pull toys are ideal for the development of your child’s gross motor skills. Soft balls that make popping sound or toys that have a cause and effect when they are being played, like when a child pulls a rolling duckie, the wings will flap and make sound some sound, is good for the development of your child’s gross motor skills.

On the other hand, the fine motor skills are something that starts to be developed at a later stage of toddlerhood. However, there are toys that can help the young toddlers to get a good start in developing their fine motor skills. The traditional building blocks or stacking boxes which are simple to play are good in honing the fine motor skills. Extremely chunky peg puzzles are good too, as long as mom and dad are willing to help and do not expect their child to “get it” right away.


Cognitive Development

Recognizing shapes, colors, basic counting, and simple problem solving are essential in young child’s growth process. Always remember that each child learn at his own pace, there are times when they excel in one or more areas, but are a bit slower in others. Typically everything catches up to one another in time and there is no need to panic if your toddler is not learning everything all at once.

Child’s mental development varies greatly and as a parent it is your job to make sure that your child is in the right track in developing his cognitive skills. It is very helpful to provide your toddler with educational toys from an early age. It will give him distinctive edge when he enters pre-school or kindergarten later on.

Beads Sequencing Rack which can only be stacked largest to smallest or by colors are one of the earliest toys to help teach a child logic and proper sequence. It will also develop his confidence when he gets the sequence right. If you play with your child and help him to learn his colors from the rings you add yet another dimension to the toy.

Playing It Safe: The Age-By-Age Guide To Toy Safety

November 29th, 2009

As parents we take pains in making our kids healthy and safe, we watch they eat, give them proper medical attention and where they go. But when we leave them alone to play with their toys, how sure are we that they are truly safe?

In the U.K., the statistics shows that an average of 40,000 accidents each year is caused by unsafe toys. In 2005, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System reported that 20 children under 15 years old died in incidents associated with unsafe toys, and an estimated 202,300 children under 15 were treated in U.S. hospital emergency room for injuries and incidents involving toys.

There are ways to choose toys that are safe but are still fun and at the same time educational for kids to play. Here are age-by-age guide to toy safety:

For 0 to 12 Months
Safe toys for babies in the first 12 months are toys made of soft washable materials. It should not have small parts that can be removed, and should not be paint-coated.

Recommended Toys: Baby items play set that allows them to practice their grasping reflexes and feel the different textures. Toys that make soft jingling sounds fascinate infants as do colorful and boldly patterned toys. Mini gyms and play mats are also recommended as the babies begin to explore.

Read the rest of this entry »


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