Why Children (and Adults) Need Toys
Children can benefit from toys through out all stages of their development and while they are quite often happy to play with items from their surroundings at home or in the park, they will need the gentle guidance into learning that only toys can provide.
Younger children like infants and toddlers are busy acquiring the skills that we as adults take for granted. They need to learn about their world and their bodies by playing with toys that will offer a variety of weight, texture, colours and shapes. They need toys that will make sounds and react to their use.
While mum and dad spend time doing things like singing and playing and talking to an infant and a toddler, they can’t teach them about colours, shapes and sounds without the aid of toys. Toys like shape sorters, puzzles and blocks are wonderful example of how a toy can teach a child about colours, shapes, texture and weight. They will encourage a child to learn fine motor skills, cognitive and problem solving skills. Toys like sand pits and water tables are another great way for children to discover the world around them, by experimenting with water and sand and how it moves and feels when poured out of containers and spinning wheels. Balls are also excellent toys for teaching a child gross motor skills such as throwing and catching.
Adults need to play with their child and help them to know what to do with these toys and, by their gentle guidance and instruction, a child can get the most out of the toys and out of their learning experience.
Older Children need to learn about concepts such as sharing and negotiation, problem solving and responsibility and these concepts can be taught by playing with certain toys that are known to encourage these behaviours and skills.
Older kids like to play outdoors on equipment, in pools and sandpits and also with bats, rackets and balls. These kinds of activities teach kids how to better use their bodies in terms of gross motor skills and develop their hand-eye coordination. Ball games and outdoor games also teach a child how to play with other children fairly and with adult guidance they can also learn about being a good sport and graceful winner and loser.
Puzzles and board games are another great way that adults can teach children about patience, the process of elimination, strategy and sharing. Board games are a wonderful way to encourage family time and learning to enjoy the company of your family while learning about important lessons.
Toys like gaming consoles and the more expensive toys are a way that an adult can teach a child about responsibility in terms of looking after their belongings and also about moderate and balanced usage of these toys. Things like chemistry sets and science games are a sneaky way to introduce information about the world and to encourage an active interest in academic pursuits. Older children also like to be creative and toys like paints, wood working sets, models, jewellery making and sketch pads etc will help adults to pass on to their children a love of the arts and encourage self expression, an important contributor to a healthy self esteem.
So whatever age your child is, toys are a must have for any family. Toys will educate and engage children in ways that adults either can’t or don’t have the time or energy to. Toys give adults guidance about what and how to teach certain skills and concepts to their growing children. Children benefit from toys by learning about their world and also learning how to interact successfully with other children. To make sure you’re getting the right toys for your child all it takes is a little research and with the help of technology you can not only read about toys online you can also buy toys online.