Quality, Educational Toys

Often the question is asked, what is an educational toy? I have seen a large number of toys on the market, and even purchased some, that claim to be educational. I bring them home to my child who plays with it for a few minutes and then discards it to play with his train set or his building blocks. What is an educational toy? It is an object that provides fun, laughter and enjoyment, all while teaching much needed skills and abilities. Yes, a train set can offer all of these things! This holiday season, do not get caught in the trap of purchasing, sometimes very expensive, "learning toys" only to have them pushed aside by your child for the really cool doll house or train set. Realize that the toy does not need to sing the alphabet to be a learning toy. Most importantly, do not purchase the toy as a replacement of your own involvement in your child's development!
I recently read an article that stated high quality, educational toys can take the place of a parent; that while traditional toys are great, they require a tremendous amount of parents' time and that can take away from work and other areas the parent needs to focus. I could not believe my eyes! Do we as parents truly believe that a toy was designed to take our place? I understand that many families have both parents working, that there are a number of single parent families and so on. But, the idea that electronic toys can replace parent interaction is just absurd. I see this growing problem in the classroom, children cannot focus for long periods of time, they require technology to be stimulated to learn, and they have delays in learning. I feel that many of these problems could be avoided if time in front of the television and the electronic games were limited and research supports this view. Children need time to be creative, to stimulate portions of their mind that lay silent while watching TV and playing electronic games. I believe the intent of electronic toys should be to foster learning with parental reinforcement, and that children should have an equal opportunity to experience the joys of playing with toys that spark imagination and creativity.

Child Development Ages Birth to One

By The Tiny Toy Shop
During this stage of a baby's life, a tremendous amount of brain development is occurring. Their cognitive development, that is, the development of language, thinking and reasoning, and memory, is rapidly developing. Talking to your baby, and singing will help your baby begin to recognize the sound of your voice. Keep in mind that language development encompasses more than just the development of words and sounds; listening and processing an understanding for the names of people and objects are also critical parts of language development. Below are some activities that you can do to encourage language development:

• Talk and sing to your baby
• Read to your baby - this does help with cognitive development and its fun!
• Play music - there is research that shows classical music is not only soothing, but encourages interest in math and improves concentration
• At the earlier stages, these tasks should be done in very short intervals. As your baby grows and develops you can increase the length of time spent on these activities. Take cues from your baby.

Some great books to read to your baby are listed below:

• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Maybe, My Baby by Marilyn Janovitz
• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam Mcbratney
• The Very Hungry Catepillar by Eric Carle
• Baby Bear, Baby Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle
• Time For Bed by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer
• Moo, Baa, La, La, La by Sandra Boynton
• Touch and Feel books are great for baby too!

Is Your Child On the Right Track?

by The Tiny Toy Shop

Many parents wonder what their children are learning at school and are they learning the "right material". Many parents and educators will look at the indicators set fourth by their state. Another great resource to check out is http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum. This resource provides curriculum standards across North America. Whether your child is attends public schools, private schools, charter schools, or receives an alternative education; this can be a great place to compare your child's education with that of the nation and continent.