Have you ever paid attention to the toys you bought for your children? Do you know how the toys might affect behavior or development? According to research, a child’s mind is just like a fire that needs a little spark to light it up and educational toys are the right sort of trigger that can lead to learning and understanding for a child. These toys can accelerate children’s language development, cognitive development, motor development, and social development. In the process of playing with toys, children learn a lot. Sounds sneaky, but it works. So what are educational toys? Do they work? Let’s take a glance at these in detail!
What are educational toys?Educational toys are objects designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning and give children the opportunity to learn and grow. Children benefit from them in terms of their intellectual, social, and athletic development. Examples of educational toys include
building blocks,
animal figurines, or
puzzle toys. Unlike in school, learning becomes fun with educational toys, even without realizing that they are learning.
What can educational toys do for children?
During the formative developmental years of children, children are easily weary of learning. Sitting down and doing flashcards or memorization exercises are often not very interesting for children and can stifle their desire to learn. Therefore, it is important to help children develop a joy for learning. Educational toys are designed for enjoyment but also to incorporate learning into play. Through playing with these toys, children can not only have the enjoyment of playing, but also develop essential life skills at the same time, and they often don’t even realize they’re expanding their knowledge.
- Enhance Sensory-motor Development
Educational toys are linked to facilitating a child’s sensory-motor skills. Building blocks, colorful and vibrant light, and sounds are among the most commonly used educational toys to develop sensory-motor skills. When playing with building blocks, children must engage in refined use of the muscles in their hands and finger, which helps enhance their fine motor skills. When playing with colorful and vibrant light and sound, children can enhance their sense of sight. These developments are essential in their life.
- Encourage Creativity and Imagination
Children are born with an incredible sense of curiosity. In their efforts to understand their surroundings, children are curious to explore through the objects around them. Educational toys such as blocks or shapes can not only foster learning and growth but also give children the ability to think creatively. These toys encourage children to use their imagination and apply creativity to create scenarios or solve problems whilst playing. You will see your children using their creative skills and making something beautiful out of it. With fun educational toys for children, there are safe experiences for imaginative play, creative design and building, experimentation, and exploration.
- Promote Problem-solving Skills
One of the main advantages of educational toys is the capacity to challenge the mind of a child. Toys such as puzzles or blocks encourage children to think as they follow the steps to solve a particular problem. They learn that if this piece doesn’t fit there, they have to turn it or put it somewhere else, and if the block keeps falling down, maybe a different shape or size should be used. Different puzzles vary in complexity. The more complex a puzzle is, the more energy and attention are required from the child. And games, like the shut the box game, can help children solve math problems. When they learn how to use these toys to solve puzzles and provide mathematical solutions, they can deal with real-life issues more efficiently. As they think of different ways to solve problems, their minds grow and over time, they will develop problem-solving skills.
- Develop Emotional and Social Development
Another benefit of educational toys that is often overlooked is what they provide to children when being used in a group. If each child has their own iPad, they will never learn how to share, and certainly not how to play together. Most existing educational toys for children require them to play and interact with other children or adults, rather than meet each other on a digital screen. When playing with other children, they will encounter social and emotional cues such as anger, laughter, and crying. In this way, they can understand and adapt to different emotional situations. As they react to these emotions, playing also develops their emotional intelligence. Sharing, waiting, and leadership skills are all important attributes of social development.
Children have a minimal concentration span. They quickly lose interest in things and people, especially if it is something they do not enjoy doing. Without the right tools, they are likely to lose a lot in school and other activities. Educational toys make something that might be considered unpleasant such as math or language learning into an activity that children enjoy. That's where educational toys come in. They make learning fun and manageable, and increase a child's interest in learning. With these toys, children can master new skills while enjoying the play.
Types Of Educational Toys
Dolls are toys that look like a human and toys are toys that teach. A doll is simply a human-like statue that basically has a head, torso, feet, and facial features to mimic a person.
Children love playing with dolls because they teach children role play. Using dolls as puppets to attract children and they enjoy watching such puppets talk, dance, and walk around. Dolls are much appreciated by little girls. The doll can be played by little girls who act like a mother and treat the doll as their own child. They hold it, rock it, and sometimes feed it. By acting out everyday life through dolls, children learn key things about relationships, different points of view, and their place in the world.
Who knew that a soft teddy bear could be an educational toy? Yes, stuffed toys are considered to be great educational toys. They are usually designed in the shape of animals, birds, bears and come with other additional features such as sounds, accessories, etc. They are cute and soft. Children love to hug them and sometimes they use them as pillows and without which they cannot sleep. Some children take their stuffed toys with them wherever they go because they feel safe with them. They treat the toys as their best friends. Stuffed animals can be used to practice your child's identification skills. Children will learn the names and sounds of the animals. They promote feelings of love, compassion and foster recognition.
One of the most difficult and intriguing, yet educational toys, puzzles have been around for such a long time for many reasons. They are fun, educative, and promote reasoning and logical thinking in children. Because puzzles take time to complete, they often teach children patience, recognition, and memory building. Puzzles can often be used as a family activity because completing them with your child is both rewarding and educational for them as they learn how to take instructions.
Such toys are designed with the purpose of making kids complete a certain task or activity. Doing such outdoor or indoor tasks can help children do physical exercise and strengthen their bodies. Rocking toys, throw the ball, Pull-along, Ride-on toys are all activity toys aimed at strengthening child body core
We know how important educational toys are to the development of children. That's why ealingtoys is committed to adding different ways to educate our children and providing parents with excellent toys that facilitate learning. Our toys enhance the education of children around the world. To help inspire your child’s love of learning, shop
ealingtoys today.
