A universally accepted fact is that, the purpose of toys is to keep the toddlers and little children busy. Sure, they are to be played with too, but that's that. Newborn parents stock the nurseries with more than sufficient toys even before the babies' arrival. Animal toys, brightly coloured toys, hard or soft toys, big and small toys, toys perfect for a girl or a boy or both, crowd the room as they patiently wait to serve their purpose. However, is that the only intention of kids' toys and games? Or, is there a greater aspiration? Experts, who work towards child development, believe there is.
Just as storybooks teach kids to be imaginative and creative, toys also foster growth and learning. The early age toys are especially important for the development of the infants and the toddlers. They help acquire language skills, physical a.k.a motor skills, cognitive thinking, emotional development and social skills. Hence, next time you spend too much money on just any toy, probably because it's in trend currently, think about your child's development. Here are few things you should understand about why toys and playtime are crucial for your child. Surely then, you shall have no dilemmas about choosing the right toys for your kids.
Developing Your Child's Language Skills: The children learn to communicate at a very early age, all thanks to the efforts of everyone making baby sounds at them. Therefore, musical toys, recordings of children's songs, musical storybooks and rhymes make great choices for them as they help understand sounds better and develop language skill.
Learning Fine Motor Skills: Toys, which require the kids to flex their muscles in order to hold, push, or move the toy from one place to another, etc. actually cultivate motor or physical skills in a child. A toddler's rattle is a great example of such a toy since the baby eventually learns to hold and shake it with all its might. Good activity toys and games in bright colours and attractive images appeal to the kids quite well.
Analyzing the Cause and Effect (Cognitive Thinking): Another thing (of many others) a rattle teaches the babies, for instance, is what is known as the wonder of cause and effect. There are a great number of toys and games, which foster cognitive thinking in children. All kinds of puzzles, whether it's, 'fit the pieces', pin the donkey's tail, or why two plus two makes four, really help strengthen cause and effect. Any toy or game, which encourages kids to put things in the right perspective, especially those, which form association with colours, shapes, sizes and numbers are great for the slightly older children. Also, include building block, stacking rings and number games to your list of toys.
Develop Social Skills with Toys: Probably the most important skills, which needs to be developed in kids is how to behave themselves, both inside and outside the home. The kids need to learn the importance of sharing, friendship, love for one another, love for their surroundings, respect elders and many other values. Parents may or may not be able teach their kids all that, but toys often do. Not only this can be done by role-playing with toys, but also there are toys, especially made to inculcate this skill in the kids.
It is not necessarily that good toys have to be expensive. These days, a variety of age appropriate educational toys for kids is available online at pocket friendly prices. Find a toy, which best suits your child's needs and give him or her the childhood they deserve.