How Important Are Toys For Child's Development?

Many parents tend to neglect positive impact of toys on their children. Some of us believe that toys are nothing more than items that are meant to keep kids occupied. We pay them no regard in terms of their actual value and impact on brain. Instead, we tend to buy toys which are “the best” or in other words; the most expensive thinking that price equal value. However, toys are much trickier than you would actually think as this article from Guardian suggests. There is no real reason why you would pay for expensive toys if they serve no purpose. In most cases, by simply surrounding your child with various patterns and colors, your child will likely to progress. It is important to know what toys are ideal and for what age range. Some toys are extremely expensive without doing anything for child’s mental and physical development. So instead of going to a shop and purchasing toys at random better read this article and learn more about the most beneficial toys!

Toys for newborns (0 to 3 months)

Great things about newborns and afterwards small babies is that they don’t need too much to be entertained. In fact, when it comes to toys, they are not that dependent on them although most people may think otherwise. Still, if you’re thinking of buying some toys, I recommend you to read this article from babycenter.com, it’s very useful! Kids are color blind until the third month so you won’t have to do much in that regard. However, the toys have to be stimulating. One of the main exercises would be placing a child in the center of the room (you can use activity mat for this although it’s not necessary) and surrounding it with various items. Have in mind that during this period, you don’t even need toys. Still, you should find some items in different shapes and patterns so you could force child to reach out, develop its muscles and basic functions. At one point you might introduce grabbing toys. These toys are very important for movement and some of them, such as rattles, also help develop their hearing.

Toys for small babies (from 3 to 6 months)

From 3rd month on out you should start developing other senses such as sight. You should start buying toys that are colorful and if possible create sounds. Another good thing you can do is buy toys which help develop baby’s understanding of shapes and sizes. Stackable cups and even some basic cubes can help with that.

Toys from 6 to 12 months

If everything went good so far, your baby should’ve develop basic senses and motoric functions. Now you need to work on its creativity and you need to teach it about the surrounding world. Picture books are great way to stimulate them and keep them intrigued. Brain needs to work overtime as any simulation can be beneficial.

Toys from 12 months onwards

Most kids start walking when they reach 12 months. You might consider purchasing a car or some other object that will allow child to move around and stimulate exploration. It’s important for child to get some autonomy as it will serve it well later on in life. By this time, child will also change its preferences regarding toys. Simple things such as plain cubes will become dull so you will likely have to provide more complex products such as cars or reborn babies. The latter are actually not that hard to find, one of the most popular stores is Reborn-dolls-for-sale.com. At the point in time, baby should start learning how to take care of its belonging and start being introduced to its first responsibilities (primarily cleaning behind itself).

Now you know what works and what doesn’t! Just be careful when purchasing toys as most expensive doesn’t always translate into most beneficial!