Teaching Toys for Kids

Teaching Toys for Kids

                In today’s world there are so many toy options for our children.  The dilemma for kids today is not a lack of toys; rather that there are so many toys they have no room to exercise their minds.   Too many toys or toys that are too vivid with bright lights, loud sounds, moving on their own, or that do most of the playing without effort from the child, prevent a child’s opportunity to explore and develop their minds and bodies.

                Children learn more about how the world works regarding natural consequences such as gravity, shapes, colors, etc. by playing with simple toys rather than complex learning aids.  The good thing about this is that most simple toys are already lying around the house.  They are cheap, everyday household items that teach a child while they play.

                Many items that aid children include rocks, flowers, dirt piles, sand boxes, trees and/or tree  swings, blankets, old grown up shoes and clothes, sticks, old utensils, bottles, buttons, and the list can go on and on.   On more than one Christmas morning I have seen toddlers having more fun with the boxes, ribbons, and bows than whatever was in the box.  Below I have listed three effective toys that children gain a lot by playing with and a few of the ways they are helpful.

Blocks

Even for babies playing with blocks is beneficial.  Babies are learning about touch, taste, and sound as they hold, pound, and mouth blocks.  These activities aid in the development of sensory organs. 

It also helps with fine and gross motor skills, which exercises muscle control as they are learning to grasp as babies, and later to stack when they are toddlers, and yet later, to create and adapt.    Along with those skills, blocks help develop muscles and bones in the hand that will later be used for tying shoes and holding a pencil.  Blocks are also beneficial with eye-hand coordination. 

Blocks can also assist in language.  Get down on the floor and play with your child using blocks.  This will give you great opportunities to use new words, talk about colors, numbers and objects, and help your child begin to understand how to respond in conversations.

Their cognition also develops as they begin to build more complex structures with blocks such as trains followed by bridges.  They will use their imagination to create objects that they perceive around them and use blocks to help with solving problems.  Blocks aid in cognitive development and help children with understanding math throughout their school career.  Using blocks will help them in simple tasks such as adding and subtracting to more complex tasks such as fractions.  Although, you would not expect your toddler to learn fractions with blocks, their brains begin to understand the same concepts which mathematical concepts are built upon.  With blocks children learn the idea of gravity as they have fun stacking them up then watching and hearing them crash down.  They also begin to exercise problems solving skills by playing with blocks as they learn balancing, stability, and how to fill in a whole or create something.

If you are planning to by blocks, letters and colors are something to keep in mind.

Balls

                Playing with a ball provides a baby exposure to textures, weight, taste, and color as they explore using their hands, eyes, and mouth.  Having sensory exposure helps to develop nerves and muscles that will have a better balance because they had that experience.

As with blocks, balls will help with the development of fine and gross motor skills.  They will learn the skills of catching the ball as well as rolling and later throwing; skills which work muscle groups that aid in later more mature motor activities.

Balls are a very good toy to help a child understand communication.  Since communication is a two-way, turn taking skill, balls are great pre language activities to teach this concept.  By playing with a ball with your child, you can teach them the concept of turn taking with the “your turn, my turn” repetition which occurs just like in communication.  You can also use word bombardment when playing with balls, describing the ball, how it feels, what it is doing, how your child likes it, etc.

Many activities can be done using a ball that aids in cognitive development as well.  A ball can be used to introduce many concepts such as ‘in’ and ‘out,’ ‘high’ and ‘low,’ ‘fast’ and ‘slow,’ etc.  Balls create an incentive for hand and eye coordination and problem solving.  When it rolls under the couch, they will begin to learn object permanence, means and ends, and cause and effect concepts.

Balls that have a lot of color, unusual textures, or are squishy or plush can also help children with exploring their senses such as sight and feel.  

Boxes and Paper

                Boxes and paper are great tools for toddlers to play with.  For infants they may be less effective because babies frequently will put things into their mouths and boxes and paper will dissolve.  But for toddlers, boxes and paper are great toys. 

                Writing, coloring, cutting and folding are all skills that will develop fine motor muscles in the hands and fingers.  And regarding boxes, lifting, carrying and moving boxes of varying sizes will help children with gross motor, balance, and understanding of weight, size, and shapes.

                During play with boxes and/or paper, children learn how to work together to make something out of the boxes and use imagination to create forts, houses, castles, etc.  They learn coloring and scribbling which are pre writing skills.  They may draw a picture or write a letter for someone special and use language to explain what they drew or what the letter they scribbled says.

                With paper and/or boxes they will learn to create things and to solve problems.  A child might use a box to build a house and other household items to enlarge it such as a blanket over the box and a chair.  They become quite creative in turning simple things into great play toys.  Cutting paper following curving lines is a crossing midline activity that helps with brain organization and exercises both sides of the brain to work together.

                There are three simple objects that are easy to find and/or cheap to buy that are of great value for children’s development.  You will find that a child with fewer toys will expand their imagination and learn a lot through what is naturally around them.  If you feel you want more around for your child, consider some of the following ideas.  When choosing a store bought toy:

1.       Select Toys Without Batteries.  Keep in mind that the more a toy does, the less your child will do.  Toys that do most of the playing rob your child of creativity and imagination.

2.       Select Toys That Encourage Active Play Rather Than Passive Entertainment.  Ask not “What does the toy do for the child?”  Rather, ask “What does the child do with the toy?”

3.       Choose Toys That Have a Variety of Uses.  Consider the different skills that can be developed with the toys you spend money on.  Toys that can easily be handled are good.  Think about how this toy will help your child learn naturally through exploration and problem solving.

4.       Safe and Tough.  If you are spending money on a toy, make sure it will last for as long as the value you placed on it.  Don’t expect more out of a toy just because you spent a lot of money.

5.       Make Sure Your Child Will Be Interested In It.

6.       Consider the Materials.  Depending on age, some materials are more appropriate.  Toddlers would not do so well with glass, for example, and plastic is not generally durable.

7.       Ask Yourself if This Toy Will Spark Imagination.  Some toys have so much to them that they subdue creativity.

8.       YOU Are Your Child’s Best Toy.  When considering a toy for your child, think about how interesting it is for you.  Your child will benefit from your interaction with them during play, at least part of the time, so think of yourself when you select a toy.  Would you play with it?