Toys, the advantages and the advantages

A children’s toy is an object that is specifically designed for children to play with. Toys are usually intended to be educational, entertaining, or both, and they can take many different forms, such as dolls, action figures, games, puzzles, and more. Children’s toys are often designed to be safe and durable, and they are usually made of materials that are non-toxic and easy to clean. Some common types of children’s toys include dolls, stuffed animals, building blocks, colouring books, and board games.

Educational toys

Educational toys are no different from any other toy, all toys are educational objects, whether it’s a piece of wood or an integrated robot. Each toy has its own characteristics that benefit the child. The value is hidden in the child’s imagination. “The apple didn’t study gravity, but Neuton’s brain did”.

“ A toy is a miniature model object that imitates real things”.

Toys have always existed throughout history and have been made from a variety of materials such as wood, bone, clay, wax and cloth.

The first discovery of a toy was in Egypt in a child’s tomb dating back to 4000 BC. It was a glass of marble. Archaeologists have also found toys in many places around the world, such as Rome and Greece.

Why are children obsessed with toys?

Toys are a great tool that offers children the opportunity to create a virtual world. Where they can write their own stories and draw dramatic scenes. They usually get inspiration from what is happening around them, TV shows or books. Girls instinctively prefer social and themes that imitate their mothers or older relatives. Their favourite toys are dolls, beauty accessories or kitchen utensils, while boys seek action and adventure like the traditional game of good and evil or spinning a wheel. Both genders together can also create overarching themes by imitating everyday family life.

Children find joy and entertainment in toys. You can play alone for hours without worrying. Children will find joy and entertainment in toys, allowing them to play for several hours without getting tired.

Play is the highest form of research

Albert Einstein

Shapes of toys and educational toys with examples

• Social: Dolls; tea sets; cooking sets.
• Mechanical: Vehicles; construction machinery
• Building: Plastic or wooden blocks
• technique : assembly; Completion; Spring; Rubber
• Physical: wheels or bicycles
• Strategy: board games
• Electronic: Motorized, video games
• Educational : lenses; magnets; body organs; index cards

“In this blog, I will focus on educational toys.”

History of Educational Toys

Toys with educational purposes (educational toys) date back to the 18th century. The first educational toy was a set of blocks with letters and numbers on them, Locke’s Blocks. Shortly thereafter, in the 1766s, an English cartographer ( John Spilsbury ) invented the first jigsaw puzzle or “disassembled map” as a teaching tool.

Friedrich Wilhelm August Frödel

In the 19th century, Germany was known for its craftsmanship. So of course it was the best place where toys were made. A German educator (Friedrich Wilhelm August Frödel) presented a set of solid geometric shapes and called them “gifts”. And also objects made of foldable paper, which he called “professions”. His aim was to stimulate children’s five senses.

Many others followed the path of inventing toys for educational purposes over time. The main purpose was stimulation. Educational learning toys also help stimulate motor and sensory development. It also promotes babies’ ability to build their brain and body coordination.

Early game

As babies begin to move their eyes and head, they become accustomed to their surroundings. This environment is where they will start researching and experimenting. Moving and touching everything, or staring at the plant in the living room, or watching the cat move around it, that’s the starting point.

The task of the environment is not to mould a child but to allow him to develop freely.

Group game

Children need other children just as adults need interaction. For us, having a cup of coffee with a colleague is an opportunity to learn and exchange viewpoints. Children also learn from friends. Playing together teaches them to negotiate their place in the crowd. It challenges them to know their boundaries and to have compassion for other children as they watch, act and react.

Learning together

They also learn to share and respect each other’s space. Sometimes I even notice that they observe and imitate other children’s behaviours. But ultimately, it’s a great way to learn.

Emotional development

A child develops emotionally when it plays with the family, it strengthens the bond with its parents or siblings. That’s why we value parent-child quality time. It creates a safe emotional space for a child to freely receive and express their feelings.

Solo game

Although children need partners to interact with. At the same time, playing alone is also an important form of play, because:

• It develops independence skills and self-esteem
• Expands their imagination
• Help them develop their personality
• stress relief

Advantages of toys/educational toys

Toys make a huge contribution to social, physical and cognitive development. Because they help children build their own personalities and improve their critical thinking skills.

Children should play more than many children do these days. Because if you play enough when you’re little, you carry around treasures that you can later draw on for the rest of your life. Then you know what it means to have a warm, secret world inside you that gives you strength when life gets difficult. Whatever happens, whatever you experience, you have this world inside you to hold on to. Astrid Lindgren

Development of skills

Sun and sandbox or wilderness are the perfect backdrop for physical development. I see it as a laboratory where children experiment and research. Mix sand with water or dig a hole, and look for something interesting.

Children observe and absorb so much that they sometimes feel overwhelmed. As a mother of four children, I experience this every day.