With the educational toy and games industry for kids becoming bigger by the day, the world is becoming one big adventure for children. These toys and games are designed by people who spend lot of time and efforts researching the educational needs of children. We have also listed several excellent educational toys for kids (toddlers as well as grown up kids).
Practical Way to Keep Kids Busy and Learn
While there are several advantages of toys for kids, for many parents, toys are a means to keep them occupied so that they can go about doing the other chores in the house.
These learning games and toys, in a way, are best to keep your toddlers occupied in a positive way. Though most of these games and toys are safe to use, it is always advisable to have some parent involvement, especially for the younger kids.
In most families, kids get considerable screen time, and parents in general, are uncomfortable when they see their kids spend considerable amount of time playing video games. Such parents should consider getting educational toys and games that are designed to provide learning in a more fun-filled manner.
Kids are more curious and receptive to new things when they are growing, so educational toys can help enhance their knowledge.
Learning games and educational toys for kids nowadays are designed not just for fun, but also to impart learning, such as reading, vocabulary, memory training, speed mathematics, and more.
Read: How learning games can help kids
General awareness, understanding, and memory are usually targeted, and various techniques are employed to help your child improve in one or all of these. This is why electronic toys nowadays come with several features, as if it were a mini computer.
Education Toys for Cognitive Development
Cognitive development in kids refers to their ability to acquire knowledge, solve problems and acquire skills in order to help better understand the world around them.
Cognitive skills include skills such as attention, audio and visual processing, logic & reasoning, as well as memory. Every child requires optimum use of these skills in order to read, learn, think, learn, and solve problems.
While most parents buy toys to keep the kids busy, the fact is that toys play an important part in Cognitive Development of children.
There are several toys and learning aids that aid in cognitive development in children.
Coloring books, stationery supplies, toys, building blocks, play dough, play mats, matching cards, magnifying glasses, chess games, brick games, geometry blocks and elastics, are some of the toy and supplies that parents should consider buying in order to support their child’s cognitive development.
Toys can help kids learn curriculum of the future
Toys and games are helping kids understand concepts of the future, such as robotics, entrepreneurship, finance management, critical thinking, problem-solving, economics, and technology.
Nowadays, children as young as eight are dabbling in entrepreneurship, teens are tackling design and marketing, groups of kids are taking up robotics.
Robotics and mechatronic design classes help students hone motor skills.
Kids are learning about entrepreneurship from a very young age. Most schools hold small marketplaces where children get the opportunity to sell food and beverages, and in the process learn about marketing, product design and team-building.
More kids are more than willing to learn about startup culture and business. Young children are at the age where they can grasp things faster. It is the right time to start inculcating skills such as team-building and problem-solving.
STEM Education
Robotics is becoming increasingly becoming popular with students. More children are learn to make simple machines, furniture, and creating moving objects like a vacuum cleaner. Students start with making beams and cartwheels and move to making prototypes for robot arms and vacuum cleaners.
Automobile design is another popular concept that children are taking a liking to as schools talk about the need to curb pollution from vehicles. More kids are coming up with ideas for conserving fuel, making futuristic designs.
Entrepreneurship
Several experts feel it is important to introduce children to entrepreneurship at an early life. Teaching entrepreneurship early ensures children learn critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills. In addition, they develop the ability to identify problems around them and think through logical and relevant solutions to these problems.
Entrepreneurship also expose children to ‘failure’ which make them comfortable with ‘risk’ and ‘failure’ which unfortunately are still taboo in several countries. These ‘life skills’ are very important whether they eventually choose to be an entrepreneur or take up a corporate job.
Model United Nations
Many schools are also taking the Model United Nations more seriously. Research has become an important part of the process, which is now very student-driven. Topics are narrowed down to specific issues concerning specific countries, such as the connection between agriculture and gross domestic product or a country’s relationship with some other country. Students are aiming to learn about international affairs in-depth through MUN.
Toys Have to Provide Learning Nowadays
Toys and games nowadays provide educational value as well, in addition to providing loads of fun, and parents don’t mind paying for such toys, so long as it helps the child to learn important concepts as well.
It is quite common to find educational toys and games that focuses on music, arts, foreign languages, computing and much more.
Because of the educational value offered by such toys, there is an overwhelming interest shown by parents for such educational toys and games.
You will find several varieties of educational games and toys in the market. Most of these toys can also be played with the entire family.
Here are some popular educational toys:
Easel
For the artist within your toddler. Using the easel will give your toddler a good workout for their artistic part, and he/she will be less likely to draw on the walls and cloths.
Blocks/Legos
A very popular toy, but you need to be around when your child is using this; there are several small parts and you don’t want your little one to put anything in the mouth.
Puzzles
Another great educational toy; you can go in for wooden or the cardboard ones.
Shape Sorters
It helps hand/eye coordination & problem solving skills
Musical toys
These are obviously my favorite ones; doesn’t give overnight results but there are several long term benefits of using these — you can choose a piano, guitar, or any other instrument.
Closing Thoughts
Companies nowadays are investing a lot of their efforts in coming up with better and innovative toys; toys that focus on learning actually can incorporate anything – even things like sticks and rocks if they add to the learning.
Obviously these companies project their products as something that will turn your children into a genius, so you need to take those claims with a pinch of salt.
Also, because some of these toys can be expensive, you should weigh its pros and cons, because soon there will be some other toy in the market that your child would love to own.
So, make a list of the educational toys that offer excellent learning opportunities for your child, and pick up those that offer better educational value at a reasonable price.
On our website, we have listed and reviewed several educational and learning toys that you may buy for your kids.
Funtoyworld is a family-managed website with me (Ben), and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing toys. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical suggestions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.
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