Toys are a vital element of youth and, it's a fact, children love playing with them! Children learn through play and toys can assist in refining cognitive and motor skills, improving physical and mental health, and even boosting social-emotional development. Parents, nannies, and teachers often use toys as tools for learning or entertainment and while every toy is designed to provide entertainment and foster creativity in children, some toys are specifically designed to provide a learning experience.
There are many types of toys. Educational toys, for example, are designed to teach a specific set of skills, while open-ended toys, are multipurpose and may be used to engage children in a variety of activities with or without an educational purpose.
With so many options on the market, selecting high-quality toys can be overwhelming. Choosing toys that are functional, instructional, challenging, and multipurpose is an excellent way to expose children to constructive entertainment and learning. With this quick guide, we will show you how to pick the best educational toys that will help your children engage in meaningful playtime.
Less is best!
Focus on quality, not quantity! A series of studies have found that access to too many toys can decrease the quality of playtime in children. Fewer toys allow a child to focus and interact creatively, resulting in healthier play and improved cognitive development. Too many toys can shorten children’s attention span, overstimulate or overwhelm them.
Keep the playroom stocked with toys that appeal to the child’s interest and abilities to stimulate curiosity and draw their attention.
Maintain a Toy Rotation Schedule
Have too many toys on display in your play areas? Consider toy rotation! Display toys are more appealing to the child at that time and include a few toys that are outside of the child's comfort zone to challenge them. Then, store the rest out of reach. When a child loses interest in a toy, put it away and replace it with another one from storage.
Maintain a consistent toy rotation schedule every two to three weeks to keep children interested and engaged! Remain flexible to alter the time frame per the child's needs.
Toys Should Match your Child’s Interests or Abilities
A toy must capture the attention of the child before it can contribute to their cognitive, physical, and social development. To ensure success, pick toys that are age and developmentally appropriate as well as reflective of your child’s interests or skill set. The ideal toy should be challenging enough to keep the child interested and focused, but not so demanding that it frustrates or prevents them from playing. Include their favorite characters, colors, shapes, themes, and even textures.
Be creative! If a child is fascinated by space, consider purchasing reusable stickers so the child can build a spaceship out of magnetic tiles and use the stickers for the nose cone or flight deck, or create a universe from a box with planets and stars.
Don't force a toy on a child! If the goal is to get the child out of their comfort zone or try new things, introduce or display the toy during a rotation and observe the child’s reaction. Work to find toys that have something in common with the toys they already enjoy and love.
Prioritize Open-Ended Toys
Open-ended toys are intended to develop and stimulate children’s imagination and creativity. They allow children to engage in playtime without following any guidelines. These toys can serve multiple purposes meaning that there is no right or wrong way to play with them. Parents, nannies, teachers, and caregivers can utilize them as tools for structured educational play, and children can experiment, test, or create during independent play. In a sense, these toys grow with your child as they are not intended for any specific purpose or skill. A few examples of open-ended toys are:
Lego bricks. Look for the sets that have a variety of pieces and colors and not the ones that need to follow a building guide. If the child is under 3 years old, Lego Duplo bricks or mega blocks are great options.
Play-doh or modeling clay along with cutting, rolling, and shaping tools. For little ones, you can make edible playdough.
Wooden building blocks. Select sets that offer multiple shapes and sizes to encourage children to build, design, engineer, problem-solve, etc.
Magnetic tiles or magnetic blocks. Choose the ones that offer the most shapes, colors, and sizes.
Toy animals, vehicles, persons. Search for realistic toys that can help the children identify real-life objects, animals, people, or other real items.
Dolls, stuffed animals, or puppets. Those can be used to create a story or play.
Sandbox or kinetic sand. Great options to let the imagination fly, pair it with plastic cookie cutters.
Playhouses, play kitchens, play food, and utensils offer opportunities for pretend play.
Train tables with removable train tracks. Though train tables have a purpose, choosing the removable train tracks can help children create roads.
Easel with painting or coloring materials.
Dollhouses or toys related to everyday interactions such as pet stores, grocery stores, fire stations, etc.
Toy musical instruments.
Costumes and accessories to dress up and pretend play.
Balance bikes, ride-on toys, or pushcarts.
Include Toys that Target Specific Skills
Jigsaw puzzles, for example, provide opportunities for children to practice hand-eye coordination, shape and color recognition, and fine motor skills. They serve a single purpose and cannot be manipulated differently. These toys can be used for practice, repetition, and guided learning to ensure comprehension and mastery of abilities or concepts. Shape, color or pattern sorters, word spelling or counting toys, activity cubes, or interactive books are great examples.
The toys under this category also encourage the development of social skills like cooperation and tolerance. Children learn to take turns, share and compromise as well as collaborate, teamwork and problem-solving. Board games, robotic sets, scientific or experiment kits, or targeted subscriptions boxes are just a few additional examples. Did you know our STEM Nanny program includes a STEM Kit with fun projects and experiments? Find out more about our program and kits here.
Look for Toys that Stimulate Discovery and Exploration of the Real World
Children enjoy exploring and comprehending the world around them, their curious minds make them wonder how things happen or work.
Realistic toys such as animals, people, vehicles, plants, or buildings, as well as play kitchens, dollhouses, and dress-up clothes and accessories, encourage pretend-play and help children relate real-life objects and recreate or imitate their experiences.
Toy microscopes, binoculars, telescopes, magnifying glasses, sensory play toys, science kits or experiments, and DIY sets are excellent choices to spark curiosity and assist with exploration and discovery.
Bottom line... Children learn while they play!
Educational toys should capture and keep children’s attention. Knowing your child is key when searching for toys or activities. No matter your selection, make sure they foster critical thinking, mastery of abilities, or challenge children to learn new concepts. An educational toy ensures fun and quality playtime, preparing the child for a bright and successful future.
We can help you!
Our Nanny Program offers a unique style of educational nannying. Our educational nannies engage children in educational playtime and are capable of adapting simple toys to create a learning experience. With the support of our STEM kits, they expose children to projects and experiments to learn about the world. Learn more about our program here! Are you a nanny who enjoys creating meaningful learning experiences for your nanny kids? Apply here!
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