Educational Toys - How Do Parents Choose The Best Toys
For Their Child
By Royce Armstrong
The choices are mind numbing. Walk into any toy store or the toy section of
any department store and there are shelves and tiers of toys labeled
‘educational toys’. There are books, games, dolls and the list just goes on
and on. It includes everything from an infant’s building blocks to Leapfrog
interactive games. The sheer variety is overwhelming. How does a parent or a
grandparent choose the best educational toys for the children in their
lives? Will the child like it? Will it hold up under the abuse of play? Will
it accomplish the purposes for which it was purchased? And finally, is it a
good value for the money?
The first rule that parents and grandparents should keep in mind is to buy
educational toys that are age appropriate. The temptation is nearly
overwhelming to buy children, especially infants, toys that reflect the
interests of the giver. For example, how many times have you seen fathers
who were sports enthusiasts give a child a piece of sports equipment that
was way beyond the youngster’s ability to use. Footballs, fishing rods and
bows and arrows given to infants and toddlers are a complete waste of money.
Parents, proudly convinced they are raising a child prodigy, create a
frustrated youngster when they push the child into playing with toys outside
the manufacturer’s suggested age range. Real safety hazards are presented
when children are encouraged to play with toys beyond their ability to
understand or handle safely.
The second rule of buying educational toys is to keep in touch with the
child’s interests. Children grow and develop at rapid rates, both mentally
and physically. Continually changing interests are a natural part of this
development as the child explores new ideas and concepts. It is important
for parents, and grandparents, to spend time playing with the child for a
whole host of reasons. One of those reasons is that it helps the adult keep
in touch with the child’s current interests. Play is how children learn and
educational toys are tools of that play. It does little good to buy a small
girl jigsaw puzzles and Teletubbies when what really interests her are word
games and chemistry sets.
Educational Toys Should Serve A Purpose And Stimulate The Child
Choose educational toys that stimulate the child. How often have we
purchased children a toy and watched them shove the toy aside and play with
the box in which it was packaged? Educational toys are of two basic types.
They are those that develop physical skills and those that develop cognitive
skills. Legos, for example, are great educational toys for older pre-school
and elementary school aged children. Legos invite children to become
creative as they assemble these interlocking blocks into an unlimited myriad
of shapes and designs. The activity of assembling the Legos also helps
develop fine motor skills.
Beware toys that are so highly developed that the game does all of the play.
Some video games fall into this category. The child does not have to think
or even be especially adept or coordinated physically to play the game.
These games may be an interesting diversion for the youngster, but they
contribute very little to either the youngster’s creative or physical
development.
When selecting educational toys, choose quality over quantity. We have
discussed children’s continually evolving interests. Even so, we all too
often overwhelm our children at gift-giving occasions such as birthdays,
Christmas and Hanukkah. Youngsters go from toy to toy and cannot decide with
which to play. If this only happens a couple of times a year the child will
eventually sort them out and play with all of them. The problem is that many
children are continually given new toys, not only at special occasions but
also throughout the year.
Some children are given so many toys that they remain overwhelmed. They do
not learn to appreciate the things that they are given. They can also
develop a distorted sense of values. They begin to equate parental and
grandparental love with the quantity of things they are given. Their
expectations of what they will be given escalate into unrealistic levels.
This is a disastrous characteristic if it is carried into adulthood.
Children overwhelmed by the number of toys they are given receive little
benefit from the educational toys. They cannot concentrate on any one toy
long enough to let their creativity blossom. Too many toys can be damaging
to a youngster.
Parents and grandparents should also concentrate on toys with build-in
quality. As we have already discussed, the toy should be designed to
stimulate the child’s physical skills or creative abilities. The toy should
also be safe and durable for the age group of children for which it was
designed. The toy should be designed to hold up well under the abuse of
play. It should not be constructed of potentially toxic materials such as
lead-based paint. It should also be constructed in a manner where small
pieces that can be swallowed will not readily be broken off and in a way
that there are minimal risks of injury from sharp edges or corners.
While there are many small manufacturers of excellent toys, when in doubt
choose toys made by top-rated companies with time tested brand names.
Examples include Fisher Price, Disney games and Milton Bradley to name just
a few.
Parents and grandparents can help their youngsters safely develop into
happy, healthy and well-rounded young adults with some conscientious
attention to the educational toys they choose. Just keep in mind the child’s
level of development and current interest and choose toys that are
appropriate for that age and interest. Make sure the toy will stimulate the
child either physically or creatively. You want to stretch the child’s
abilities, but not so much that the youngster becomes frustrated or so
little that the child either becomes bored with the toy or lazy physically
or mentally. Finally, if given the choice, select one or two quality toys
rather than a room full of cheap toys.
About the author: Royce Armstrong is a successful freelance writer with a
business and banking background who believes consumers should get the best
value for their money when shopping for educational toys including: science
toys, mind puzzles and other unique toys.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
