A Time To Play: Why It Matters

ALLPICS BABY PLAYING A Time To Play: Why It Matters

A Time to Play: Why It Matters

Parents often buy their playthings for their toddlers without recognizing the educational value that can be found in toys that are designed specifically for this age group. Aside from providing hours of entertainment, toys made for toddlers can foster a lifetime of learning and make use of this early educational window in young children’s lives. With that, it can be just as important for parents to give some forethought to the educational value in their children’s toys as they choose and buy playthings for their youngsters.

When they consider what toys to buy for their toddlers, parents should realize the benefits that can be enjoyed by investing in the best playthings for this age group.

Toddlers Toys and Eye Hand Coordination

Toddler hood is a time when little ones practice and begin to perfect their motor skills. Perhaps the most crucial skill that tends to be developed during these formative includes eye hand coordination. Now able to control their hand and finger movements, toddlers begin to make the association between what they see and what they can grasp, move, and otherwise control with their hands and fingers.

When parents want to foster hand eye coordination in their toddlers, they are encouraged to invest in toys that allow their young ones to practice this skill. Toys like building blocks, stackable cups, and toys that have control buttons all are perfect for building eye hand coordination in this age group.

Associative Play and Toddler Toys

Toddler hood is also a time when toddlers learn about the world around them. During these formative years, they learn important skills that help them tune in to their senses and use their senses to gauge the world around them. While most adults take sensory skills for granted, it is vital that toddlers learn seemingly mundane facts like what a cow says or what sound a police car makes. Toddlers can sense and gauge the world around them through associative play.

Toys that make animal noises, car sounds, mimic the weather, have textured surfaces, contain scents, and other sensory stimulation can help little ones in this age group develop important skills that will help them grow and learn about their surroundings.

Toddlers Toys and Preschool Readiness

Toddlers are on the cusp of being ready to go to school. Before parents know it, it will be time to send their little ones off to preschool or kindergarten. Choosing the right toys can be important if parents want their toddlers to learn their ABCs and the basics of counting before they enter the first year of school. Storybooks, videos, and toys that count or recite the alphabet can all be great resources for providing both entertainment and early education basics. As they play with these toys, toddlers will learn to count to 10, or possibly higher. They may also memorize the entire alphabet before they are ready to go to preschool.

Toys for toddlers can provide benefits that go well beyond entertainment. Parents who want to provide their toddlers with the best educational opportunities during these early years may be advised to consider the educational value behind their children’s playthings as they shop for and choose toys for their young ones.

With four children, writer Melanie Fleury knows the value of play. She finds that choosing toys from brands she trusts, like those found at http://www.target.com/bp/baby+einstein, is a great way to find quality toys that her kids will get extended use from.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spigoo/452808372/

Tags: baby, Playtime

Relevant Articles

Toys For Adults That Have A Need For More Playtime

Think back to when you were a kid. What were some of your favorite toys? Maybe it was a pogo stick! Perhaps it was something as simple as a couple of old pots and pans you could bang your frustrations out on. How did those toys make you feel? Maybe your memories of playing on your pogo stick make you think about long, hot summer days that went on forever! It was difficult to come back home for supper when you were having so much fun.

Fast forward to today and you will find many adults who have forgotten how to have fun. The world has gotten so bogged down with work and family responsibilities that people have forgotten how to let themselves relax. It’s as if taking a few moments of everyday to laugh or just be in the present moment will cause you to miss an important deadline. Playtime, even for adults, is an important part of good health. One of the benefits of play for adults is to relieve stress. It can literally add more years to your lives. Here are some tips that can help you to find more playtime activities that will bring out the kid in you.

Play-doh

Remember that strange molding clay in bright colors you could play with for hours at a time? Play-doh is a great toy for adults who need to take a quick fifteen minute break to regain their sanity. You can buy it at virtually any children’s toy store, or even some dollar stores. You can buy one can, or indulge and buy several in different colors. Allow your mind to relax and mold the clay into the first thing that comes to your mind. Don’t judge what you make in the end as this destroys the purpose of play. Allow your creativity to take over and go wherever your imagination allows you to go.

Slot Cars

If you loved fast race cars as a child, then slot cars will be right up your alley. Slot cars are basically miniature vehicles that are often modeled after real cars. The cars are connected to an electric track with several slots that allow them to move using remote controls. It can be great fun for people who like to collect miniature cars and enjoy the thrill of racing them. One popular brand of slot cars popular among adults are Ninco slot cars. With the variety of slot cars to pick from, whether you prefer an Indy car or a vintage camouflage car, you’re sure to find a slot car that suits your personal taste.

Crayons and colored pencils

Coloring is great fun for people who love to play with color. You can buy yourself a sketch pad at a drug or stationery store along with a set of crayons and/or colored pencils. Draw whatever comes to your mind, or try and draw a scene that inspires you on the street. Perhaps a bouquet of flowers, a plate of beautiful food, or children playing in the park will inspire your drawing. Again, the finished result doesn’t have to be perfect. It simply needs to allow your mind to relax itself enough so that you can think freely.

So as you can see, playing with toys is not only for kids anymore. Adults can bring plenty of hours of fun back into their lives if they are willing to take a chance and rediscover that part of themselves again.

Mike is an advice counselor who has always helped relieve the stress that adults go through every day by giving them some extra remedies to do so.

image source

Tags: Adults, for, More, Need, Playtime, toys