Children learn through play, and educational toys encourage the development of essential skills such as creativity, lateral thinking and problem solving. Like it or not, the toys we choose for our children can influence their development. As a child grows, it is important to provide him with educational toys that will allow him to learn while playing. Different types of toys require children to use different skill sets and use different learning areas of the brain, so variety is important here too.
Almost any toy can offer developmental moments, but some toys, usually called developmental or educational, teach specifically, more effectively developing certain skills. The beauty of educational toys has a double benefit: both children and parents love them. They're still toys at their core, so they don't feel like homework or a burden, but they conveniently, almost secretly, provide learning benefits.
Finding the best educational toys for children and understanding why they are educational is a very interesting task.
Benefits of educational toys
Innovative and Creative Thinking: By playing educational toys and games, children can develop perception, intuition and thinking while engaging in creative activities.
- Also in Myshop
- And to Maytoys
Cognitive skills: Educational toys can help children tap into their thinking processes and further develop their ability to think freely. Common toys that help improve cognitive skills include puzzles and jigsaw puzzles.
Motor Skills: With the right educational toys and games, children develop their motor skills in conjunction with their cognitive skills.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics
, and STEM toys are educational toys designed with an educational focus in one (or more) of these four main areas.
Interaction: By giving children well-guided play experiences, we develop appropriate social interaction (dictated by social values, principles and feelings), language skills and emotional development (i.e. handling certain situations, such as losing, helps them learn to accept challenges, overcome them and acquire mental strength).
Educational toys provide a solid foundation for learning and education, thereby giving the child a good start in life. Of course, different educational toys are best suited for certain age groups, and this is indicated on the packaging and in the description. Most STEM toys are suitable for children aged six years and older, although some can be used with children as young as three years old.
The educational toy Bright Starts “Logic Ball” is made in the form of a bright multi-colored ball with various educational elements: a rotating frog, four relief rings, a funny multi-colored caterpillar, a rotating safety mirror, a small ball with rattling elements inside.
The Djeco wooden play set “Animals” introduces basic colors, teaches you to distinguish shapes, shapes and colors, trains logical thinking and fine motor skills of your fingers.
Multicubes from Zhiraffika are 8 exciting games! Each cube has textured images of numbers from 1 to 10, and stickers with large letters “A”, “B” and “C” are also glued to the cubes.
Find the egg! An excellent sorting game from the TOMY brand will help develop the most important skills in your child. There are 6 eggs in a small suitcase. Each of them contains colorful chicks. You can remove the shell to find the chicks. By pressing on the chick's head and stroking them, the baby helps the chick dive back into the shell with a funny sound.
Baby Einstein musical toy
Baby Einstein is a fairly popular toy company that aims to delight, entertain and educate our little ones. This musical toy is no exception. We can say that this is perhaps one of the best musical toys for the youngest users. The gadget toy from Baby Einstein can be an ideal choice for curious babies from 3 months to 36.
The toy is made using BPA - a harmless material that will not affect your child's health in any way.
Switching the toy phone is as easy as taking it out of the box. To your surprise, and to your little one's amazement, the gadget toy has a caterpillar-shaped handle attached to the left side, which is so fun and exciting to grab with your little, gentle hands!
What makes a toy educational?
To be considered educational, a toy must meet certain criteria. It should stimulate learning or provide educational value, such as helping the child develop a particular skill or learn about a particular subject. In general, educational toys are designed to improve intellectual, social, emotional, and/or physical development. Many of them are designed to achieve developmental targets within the appropriate age groups. Most importantly, educational toys encourage children to play
.
Play increases the size of the prefrontal cortex, which means the brain is more effective at planning, problem solving, regulating and identifying emotions—all the things it requires to live a successful life.
Play itself is so important that it is recognized by the United Nations as a child's right.
. The importance of play for children was not thoroughly researched or even really considered until the second half of the 20th century, but we can summarize the research that was carried out in large quantities later.
How to choose an educational toy
Basic questions to ask yourself when choosing an educational toy for a child:
- What areas of science will this toy allow your child to connect to?
- What new skills will my child develop while playing with this toy?
- Are there different ways to play and engage with this toy, or is it one-sided?
- Will the toy grow with the child and will it be in demand for many years?
- Can you play with her alone or cooperatively?
Tested for myself. Toys from 0 to 1 year.
Our toys for the first year:
1. Mobile Tiny Love Forest serenades. By the will of the pediatrician, he was hung up in bed in the third month. They filmed it on the fifth day, when my son learned to stand on his knees. The first thing he did was to tear the heavy arc out of its fastening and collapse with it with a hooligan squeal. The thing is beautiful, but it’s impossible to fall asleep listening to it; when the mobile is turned on, turtles crawl around in it with a roar.
2. Fisher Price music farm mobile. We immediately fell in love with this toy. As soon as he learned to roll over, he began to reach out with his hands and try to pull the toy to make funny melodies play. The kids were delighted with the mobile for about two weeks. Then I got tired of it.
3. Mobile Fisher Price Funny Animals. We hung this mobile in a developmental mat. He still loves to drum his hands on loud toys.
4. Infantino pendant. Also one of my favorite twist pendants. They grabbed her everywhere - to the high chair, to the car seat, to the bed, to the rug. Everywhere still arouses interest.
5. Wooden toy pendant. We had a hare. Here's something similar. The first toy we broke. They loved and embraced us so much.
6. Educational mat Tiny love Zoo. We've been using it for almost a year now, and have been enjoying spending time there for about two months.
7. Bebeton playpen. A rug moved into him when his son started crawling. The arcs from the rug turned out to be excellent shock absorbers when the child began to stand up and fall back.
8. Chicco chaise longue. We left one toy in it at the request of the pediatrician. We used it from 1.5 to 5 months, until it started to shrink and began to fall out. Played great there while mom cooked.
9. Canpol rattle. The first toy I picked up. And he quickly threw it away.
10. Fun TOLO rings. I've been bothering them for a long time. A new life began for the teething rings.
11. Rattle “Mushroom” Stellar. Loves to chase her around the room. Great product, we use it every day.
12. Rattle “Carousel” Stellar. I didn’t immediately get into it, but around the eighth month I started studying it. Loves to ride and hold in his hands.
13. Canpol rattle. I was happy at first, when I was just starting to grab with my hands, but then I lost interest.
14. Tiny love caterpillar rattle. I didn’t really understand why she did it. The adults liked it, though.
15. Game “Musical Party” Tiny love. He squeals with joy when toys jump out, and persistently pushes them in by all available means, including turning the center upside down. Happy with the purchase.
16. Pyramid of Vulli. I fell for the giraffe advertisement and the fact that this pyramid has rubber rings. In general, rubber rings are its only advantage. The head can’t hold up, they quickly lost all interest in it, the base sways, you keep pushing it all the time instead of removing the rings, it just knocks over the pyramid and that’s it. But I really like gnawing on rings.
17. Mothercare cups. One of the favorite pastimes of all children who have such molds is to destroy the pyramid built by their parents. Maybe with his hands, and his head, and everything that comes to hand, he can break the architectural masterpieces of his parents.
18. Dog Fred “Catch me” Tiny love. Also one of my favorite games. At first he tormented his ears, then he understood the principle, and now, when he’s bored, he pesters the dog and chases it, squealing.
19. Tumbler "Dog" Stellar. Periodically attracts attention, but not for long.
20. Teethers Avent/ Nuby/ Infantino. In general, there are many teethers, but these are my favorites.
21. Books Bright stars / Mothercare. In the first one I liked the mirror - I look in it and laugh. In the second, he gnaws on an elephant's tail. Nothing else impressed me.
WHILE WE'RE TESTING:
22. Development center Chicco Modo. She rushes to him first. Most of all I appreciated the piano and construction blocks (gnawing, teething). In general, it’s a good thing, it’s a pleasure to master.
23. Clementino steering wheel. This is one of the most exciting games for a 10 month old baby. Everything blinks, buzzes, rattles, talks, rattles, in general, every game we play after feeding is always at the helm. After a year - one of my favorite toys
24. Musical ride “Noah’s Ark” Kiddieland. For now he’s just chewing on the figurines and turning this boat over. Most of all I like the wheels and the cow)))
25. Simba phone car. Rings loudly and rolls on the floor. The buttons are easy to press and attract attention, but not like parents' phones and TV remotes.
26. Sorter “Find the egg” Tomy. Loves to tug on them. Not for its intended purpose, however, I really like the box itself and won’t let go of the eggs. They saved me when the child stopped letting me go even for a minute - you can captivate me for a few minutes.
27. Kis Kids Training Boot. I had my doubts about whether it would be suitable for a 10-month-old baby, but he very quickly mastered how to untie the laces and move the zipper. I didn’t understand the button yet, but I also started tugging at the Velcro, with hints.
28. Bathroom toys “Octopuses” Tomy. My husband really likes them and entertains my son in the bathroom with them. Convenient, did not regret the purchase
29. ELC walker. We bought it at 9 months, when our son was already walking in a crib. It moves quickly over carpet and parquet, so you can’t leave your baby with this thing without supervision. While he uses the developmental unit more, he rarely moves the gurney itself, always on the safe side, and moves away from the child too quickly.
30. Djeco “Chicken” hammer. While he hasn’t really mastered the hammer yet, he prefers to play with the balls in his hands and hit them with his palm, he’s delighted with this.
31. Ball with horns “Rainbow”. Loves to jump on it. Well, they did a belly massage, and they did a massage with him in general. We bought 45 cm, but it is better to take 55, more suitable for ages over 6 months.
31. Fisher Price cubes. He twirls them with great pleasure. Especially the first cube with balls.
Why are STEM toys so popular?
In the future, there will be more jobs that require science, technology, engineering and/or math skills, and thus exposing children to these concepts at an early age can give them a head start over their peers in the future. STEM learning is becoming so popular that earlier this year, Amazon in the US went so far as to launch a subscription program that delivers educational toys to children every month.
The benefits any STEM toy provides will vary depending on the subject it teaches, but in general, STEM toys are not much different than regular educational toys. All of them improve thinking, enhance innovative understanding, help children develop hand-eye coordination and better develop spatial skills.
However, this doesn't mean these toys aren't creative, artistic, so don't get hung up on the labels. As long as your kids are having fun and learning while playing, that's all that really matters.
.
Large Owl rattle made of materials with different textures (velor, plush, cotton). A teether is attached to one of the legs with Velcro. Wings of a large owl with Velcro. They cover the safety mirror. The little Squeaker Owl is very convenient for small hands to grasp; it can be hidden in the pocket of a large owl.
Amusement park - a fascinating and educational construction kit, we assemble large models of attractions. The set includes one gear motor that powers four large models: a Ferris wheel, London Eye, carousel and booster. Discovering Stem Series.
Rory's Story Cubes is a unique pocket game that allows you to create thousands of interesting stories and develop social interactions! 9 dice, 54 images and 10 million combinations.
An original science kit with which you can build a real robot! The robot can use its magnetized arm to grasp metal objects. The kit includes a wide range of interchangeable parts to customize the robot to your liking.
What toys should there be for babies?
At any stage of development, a child should play only with high-quality and safe toys. Toys should be appropriate for the child’s age and evoke positive emotions and impressions.
Through play, the baby will explore the world, gain new knowledge, skills and experience, and therefore develop diversified.
In order for a toy to develop a child, it must meet all the developmental tasks that a child needs at this age. Toys for little ones should develop mental processes, but at the same time not cause fear and fatigue.
Buy baby toys made of plastic, rubber or hard wood, bright, of different colors and shapes so that they attract the baby.
When choosing toys for their toddler, parents should carefully look at:
- the size of the toy so that it fits in the baby’s hand;
- the smell should not be strong;
- material, it should not deteriorate when washed;
- strength, should not break when hitting the floor;
- water rodents, they should not leak.
Read: Table of height and weight of girls and their physiological development
Toys for infants should be made from natural materials so that the material from which it is made does not cause allergies in the child. Musical toys should have a pleasant and soothing sound. The color scheme in toys for children under one year old is bright, but not saturated. It is important that the child is comfortable to play.
