Toddlers have a great time exploring with toys; it’s not a plain play time but its a way of learning and developing. Developing and practising the skills that are essential for growth can only be done with toys at this age! The toys also help the parents to understand the unique interests of the kid.
The playschool curriculum is widely based on such toys and apparatus work but the right toy for the right age is very important. Therefore, buying the perfect toys for toddlers is important to engage their interest and help her/ him in overall development. Here are few types of toys for toddlers that will enhance social, emotional, language, physical and thinking skills.
Multipurpose Toys
Try to buy toys that can be utilised in a variety of ways. The prime activities toddlers enjoy are taking apart, joining together, pulling out and pulling in, adding on and building. Thus, try to buy toys that are “open-ended” and the child can get involved in more than one type of activity with it. Some popular choices in this category are plastic interlocking blocks, sand and water play toys, nesting cups, wooden blocks with alphabets or images, making a road, zoo or bridge with separate pieces. These toys help them developing the problem solving skills, and logical thinking skills.
Growing Toys
The toys you buy for toddlers should be dynamic and growing with them. For instance, you would often see that your kid likes a toy for hardly 2 days and then never touches it again. Look for toys that will be fun for all ages and also develop various skills. Small plastic animals, the smaller kids will have fun in making house for them and getting indulged in daily activities while the older kids will use them as the characters of the stories they will be hearing. Other options are dollhouses, dump trucks, trains, stuffed toys etc.
Exploring and Problem Solving Toys
The more new things you give to your toddlers, the more development is assured. Give more and more exploration and problem-solving toys that will help them to figure out new things on their own or may be a little guidance. This greatly helps in increasing the logical thinking skills and become efficient problem-solvers.
These toys also aid in building the spatial relations skills in kids, i.e understanding how to gather and fit things together, they build hand-eye coordination, and develops the fine motor skills. The small hands and fingers have muscles which are not yet ready to do all kinds of work and writing – these toys helps greatly to develop those acts. You can choose puzzles, blocks, shape sorters, art materials like clay, play dough, crayons etc.
Toys Encouraging Imagination
Sparking a child’s imagination at this age is very important; when he/she is already 3 yrs old buy toys where the child will be able to play roles like being a king, a soldier, a doctor etc. At this age kids develop the ability of pretend playing that in turn helps in language building and extended literacy skills.
Sequential stories and placing the images in logical order is also important. Thus, the choices would be action figures, toy food and plastic plates, cutlery sets, dress up kits, art kits, doctor sets etc.
There are abundance of toys in the market that efficiently develops a child’s growth and abilities; select the right one keeping in mind the gender, age, interests and learning opportunities in mind. Expensive toys does not mean they are the best, simple pebbles, plastic ware, cardboard boxes and chart papers can also team up to create great toys for toddlers that make them smart and active.
