Educational Toys for Kids and Their Importance

The best way to kick-start a kid’s developmental growth process is through toys. Not only do they help broaden a kid’s growth process, but they also teach kids precious lessons that are vital for their growth process. Kids simply feel at ease amidst toys which are more than fun value for them. Toys engage a kid’s senses, spark their imagination, and ignite in them a creative inquisitiveness to use, innovate and learn.

There are many kinds of toys. But there are few better ones than educational toys that can guide kids at each stage of their brain development. An educational toy nurtures a kid’s curiosity, fuels their creativity, makes them think out of the box, and above all, encourages them to be a problem-solver.

Now, what exactly are educational toys?

They are objects of play aimed at stimulating a kid’s curiosity about them and goad them to develop skills to use them the best way possible. Basically they teach a kid a particular skill or set of skills about a plaything object, contributing to their intellectual or motor development.

According to child development specialists, the first three years of a kid’s life are extremely important for laying the foundation for their intellectual and mental growth throughout their lives. According to a Montessori specialist, Judy Malterre, “Kids are endlessly curious and can be overwhelmed by the many numbers of toys. But it is the simplicity of the toys that engage and drives them the most. Among them, educational toys are the best for they are carefully designed to encourage kids to master a particular task. At the right age, they tend to get very absorbed in them, trying to make out how they work.”

WHY EDUCATIONAL TOYS ARE IMPORTANT FOR KIDS?

All kinds of toys are basically important and have their own intrinsic value. However, educational toys, because of their very nature, are uniquely placed to inculcate in kids, a host of skills so vital for their growth process.

Some of such skills include:

• PHYSICAL SKILLS: Kids get to strengthen their physique, like arm and leg muscles which encourages them to learn on own, to sit up or crawl or walk.
• SOCIAL SKILLS: Kids develop basic communication skills and skills like sharing or working in groups, taking turns or developing basic sportsmanship skills.
• PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: Kids learn to reason and think creatively in an interesting way. Toys like puzzles, brainteasers, building toys, etc, all inculcate in kids, excellent problem-solving skills.
• CREATIVE SKILLS: Kids learn to be creative and develop perception, and intuition. Puzzles, brainteasers, etc, are good examples of such toys.
• COGNITIVE SKILLS: Kids learn to connect to their thought processes and develop thought capabilities in a free and unrestrained manner. Puzzles and number games are good examples that help kids develop their cognitive skills.
• MOTOR SKILLS: Kids learn to develop motor skills in alignment with their cognitive skills growth.

Apart from the above, kids also get to develop:

• Hand-eye coordination;
• Colour and shape-recognition;
• Spatial awareness; &
• Pattern recreation.

There are many educational toys in the market, with different types for different age-groups.

• For infants, there are toys with electronic features like flashing lights and sounds. Then there toys like stuffed animals, dolls, etc, and toys with varied textures that help them learn and explore their meaning and value.
• For toddlers, there are toys like blocks with numbers or letters on them that help them learn counting or sorting, or just recognize them. Then there are simple games that teach them to take turns and learn all about rules. Further, there are toys like kitchen playsets, food items, tea sets, etc, all of which help them develop social and communication skills in addition to how to nurture them. Simple puzzles allow kids to develop basic motor and problem-solving skills.

Playing with educational toys is the most natural form of learning for kids. That is why investing in the right educational toys is important. When it comes to that, investing in educational toys from ALPAKS, a leading Hyderabad based kid’s toy brand and children toymaker, is value-for-money.

ALPAKS has been in the market for 21 years and still going strong. During this period, ALPAKS developed hundreds of interactive toys for children – from clay to educational toys to innovative furniture and more. Each ALPAKS toy is designed to help kids and children’s innovative minds and fuel their curiosity to try out and experiment with them.

Made under strict quality control, every ALPAKS toys from Magic-Mould to other educational toys, are today widely used in schools and nursery centers across Hyderabad. They have been highly successful in teaching and guiding young kids on the importance of environment and the need for developing healthy environmental-friendly habits.

FINAL POINT

The beauty of educational toys is that they respond to a kid’s imagination and coax them to try them out in their own ways. This allows learning in different ways every time, bonding with the toys and having fun.

There is no end to what educational toys can do. At specific stages at every age, they enhance kid’s developmental process. More vitally, they have the potential to teach at every stage, something, and stimulating the learning process experience.  This will make the kids want to go back to them and keep playing and learning.