The Benefits of Educational Toys for Children
Educational toys are designed to both teach and entertain children in an engaging, easy-to-follow format. Though meant for playing, educational toys profoundly impact a child’s developing brain. These toys aim to stimulate a child’s senses, educate them about certain subjects, and teach them new skills. As a child goes through a variety of different types of educational toys, they should gain a functional understanding of how and why things work.
As an important part of child development, all educational toys must teach the child something. Sometimes this happens unknowingly, like in the case of puzzles. With puzzles, the child improves their hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and cognitive development. The education children receive from these toys is priceless, and, as a parent, they present a unique bonding experience between you and your child. You will be able to see your child learning, adapting, and ultimately understanding in real-time. With so much for your child to learn, it is no wonder why so much scientific research has gone into creating child development toys to develop simple but meaningful toys.
Developing Creativity & Imagination
Educational toys for toddlers and older children such as building blocks foster imagination and creativity. With these toys, children explore the different ways to create a cohesive whole out of a seemingly random assortment of pieces. This is a great way to satiate a child’s natural curiosity in an informative way. Toys like musical instruments and arts and crafts develop a creative identity within a child that champions their imagination, individuality, and expression. Creativity-based toys also give children a safe environment to experiment, build, and otherwise be creative without coming into contact with unsafe items that may be lying around the house. With these toys, parents can safely monitor and play with their children, encouraging them along the way.
As technology is being introduced to children at earlier ages and becoming the dominant form of learning and entertainment, imagination and creativity in children are decreasing. This is why it is so important that children engage offline and play with toys that teach them these necessary skills. Creative child development toys subtly enforce the use of the imagination and thinking outside the box to expand a child’s creativity.
Improving IQ
Educational toys are specifically designed to improve children's fine motor skills, literacy, memorisation, and coordination. As children learn these skills, their IQs naturally increase. There are language and literacy toys available to teach children language, help them learn how to spell, and more. And these toys are designed to be fun and engaging, so children actually enjoy learning.
Mathematics is an important component in a child’s learning; without basic maths, a child will struggle in both primary school and adult life. My Happy Helper’s Counting and Maths set will help your child learn to count forwards and backwards, develop their number sense, and understand basic ideas in mathematics. These educational toys allow children to enjoy playing while simultaneously developing skills that will benefit them later in life.
Building Social & Emotional Skills
Believe it or not, educational toys can also harness a child’s social and emotional skill set. A lot of toys encourage group play and require children to share, wait their turn, lead, follow, and work together. Because most toys require interaction between your child and someone else (siblings, other children, adults, etc.), children will experience social cues whilst playing. This teaches children first-hand how to adapt and react to certain emotional cues when interacting with others. So, while the child is learning from the educational toy itself, they are also learning from human interaction and advancing their social development. My Happy Helpers’ Open Ended Play cataloguehas numerous toys that offer an opportunity to develop social and emotional skills.
Strengthening Motor Skills
Motor skills allow us to hold things, press things, grasp things and use a pincer grip. Without motor skill development, we would not be able to write, type, or use cutlery.
Children naturally develop motor skills as they age and play, but educational toys can also smooth out the acquisition process. Fine motor skills toys such as puzzles and building blocks develop hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. Children can greatly improve their motor skills by using their hands to pick up, drop, and place objects that they see in the position they choose.
Enhanced Problem Solving
We’ve mentioned it before, but educational toys also present an exceptional opportunity to enhance a child’s problem-solving skills. Educational toys present challenges that engage the child and make them think critically. In addition to motor function, puzzles are great ways to get your child thinking. There are varying levels of complication in puzzles and by starting with simpler ones and progressively moving on to more complex puzzles, a child can learn and grow at their own pace while devoting more time and attention as the puzzles get more difficult.
Other toys require mathematical solutions, which will not only help them with their maths and problem-solving but also improve their concentration and allow them to solve real-life problems. Because children have a naturally short attention span, it may be difficult at first for them to sit and engage when confronted with a problem. By playing with problem-solving toys, they can become interested in learning, enjoy playing, and acquire new skills. This will translate well into the classroom and into the adult world.
Shop Our Range Of Educational Products Today
Our young geniuses in training can benefit greatly from educational toys. Not only can a parent and child bond from playing with these toys together, but as a parent, you can see exactly where your child is in their development. This will help you understand what your child may be struggling with so that you can take the necessary steps to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge to be successful in school. When you shop My Happy Helpers’ Educational Toys range, you are investing in your child’s future. Look through the products we have to offer and find the toys best suited to your child’s development.
