With a world full of advanced gadgetry, as well as increased technology literacy, you can come to expect the marriage of toys and education. There are many ways that educational toys have become a big part of our society today, anywhere from interactive programs to stimulating educational baby toys. What wonders technology can do for the development of children!
Though not everyone sees education and interactivity as a good thing, studies show that educational toys for infants act as stimuli for their growing brain. If you give a child who is in his first six years of life a wide array of toys with a variety of difficulties, the brain begins to create new neurological pathways for thoughts to be carried out faster. This means that essentially your child develops problem-solving, visual, as well as special recognition abilities from early on. Some of the best educational toys also improve reading skills, hand eye coordination, math skills as well as fine motor skills. Think of these toys as a brain gym for kids except it is much more fun and engaging, not to mention emotionally rewarding.
It is best to start cultivating your child’s natural talents while they are still young, as infants they are open to a wider array of skill sets which if not developed could be lost. Some children even develop new skills from toys which stimulate their brains or require certain ways of approaching a problem.
But what exactly embodies a toy made to develop the minds of a younger generation? Also, what exactly makes a toy the ideal educational toy? One of the most important things would be selecting a toy that is age appropriate. No matter how much you try you can’t force a one year old to learn the 12 multiplication tables, now can you?
Color is essential, they create a stimulating and exciting atmosphere for the child preferably nice bright colors as they attract the eye more than dull washed out colors. Try getting a toy that is mentally stimulating, this can be anywhere from a set of alphabet blocks to a mat of numbers and shapes. The key is getting big, bold and bright things as this draws in the child’s attention.
Though all of the above would be meaningless if you as the parent do not interact with your child. Toys holding an educational value are meant to be used with the parent to support and encourage the child. Often a child does better with encouragement and support, just remember the difference between support and playing the game for them as this defeats the purpose of their toys if you play the game for them. No matter how busy you are, try to spend at least five to ten minutes with your child to help them get started. In fact, for even further encouragement it might be ideal to bring them to an educational toy store near you to see what kind of unique educational toys that they may be interested in for themselves.