Saturday, 06 December 2008
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QOTD: Educational Toys for Children?
Guest post submitted by Momaroo reader
My sister has three kids under the age of 5. With the holidays coming, I'd like to get them some toys are that are educational and helpful to their development. Are educational toys really worth the hype?
I've heard of Baby Einstein and Leapfrog and wondered if any of you recommend these toys for young children. Are there any other educational toys or products you can recommend?
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Comments (11)
Many of these toys are great, but they are meant to be enjoyed by children and parents TOGETHER....so as long as you or your sister plays with the toys with the kids, they'll be great gifts!
We like Leapfrog toys over Baby Einstein and they're better priced, too.
V-tech, Melissa and Doug Toys (wooden and made in the US), fisher price, little tikes, and playskool all have stuff for older toddlers too. If you shop at Toys R Us, there are brands called Imaginarium and Edu Science (I think Melissa and Doug might be exclusive to TRU too, but I can't remember for sure). There are tons of disney character branded learning toys now too.
Melissa and Doug makes a lot of really great puzzles for children. Instead of electronics, find things that are imagination play. Doctor kits, dress up clothes and props, felt story boards. There's also ant farms, frog and bug habitats. Books are good education toys too. :winly:
I like TornadoChaser's comment! I am a huge fan of imagination play.
There's a fantastic book called "Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds", by Susan Gregory Thomas that makes a strong point for avoiding all toys that are marketed as educational, especially videos and TV shows.
Even if you don't agree with her viewpoint, please read it. It is a thoroughly researched and easy-to-read book that makes a strong argument for babies spending quality time with actual people (parents, babysitters, etc) instead of electronic gadgets and the like.
http://www.amazon.com/Buy-Baby-Consumer-Culture-Manipulates/dp/0618463518
@TornadoChaser - definitely agree. i got M a puzzle rack that comes with 4 puzzles, and has room for 10.
i'd go with stuff that quality childcare centers would have...art stuff, pretend/dramatic play items, books...
the electronic stuff uses way too much batteries anyway, so you're going to be buying them a gift that they'll eventually have to pay for. some of it is good, but sometimes kids just find joy in scribbles on a scrap of paper. i heard the stick just got the best toy award this year?? the cardboard box is in there too.
look under the question: What toys are in the National Toy Hall of Fame? http://www.strongmuseum.org/NTHoF/about.html
hope this is somewhat helpful.
@TornadoChaser - Definately a great choice!
I love Melissa and Doug - simple toys, easy to use and many involve children is such higher level thinking skills
My son has a choo choo train 3D puzzle which he loves - it really requires him to think as he tries to put it together over and over again.
Melissa and Doug items are GREAT - you can get them on Amazon.com, too.
books. bottom line. everything else isn't worth it. for older kids though, i really recommend a DS to anyone who reads this. And a special rom chip that lets you get all of the DS games out there for free. DS games are highly educational.
i have to be honest while i do think educational toys can be fun too, i think there is WAY too much emphasis on educational toys. There is nothing wrong with a kid just being a kid and PLAYING with a toy. Encouraging the use of their imagination is, i think, the greatest gift you can give a child...Books, building blocks, dress up clothes, dolls and action figures...all these *teach* children things too...
Dont under estimate the power of building blocks or dolls that dont do anything! Learning to build a tower (and then knocking it over, of course!) or learning to dress a doll are important learning things as well.
Books are also great. Puzzles are also educational.
Educational toys dont have to be computerized/electronic. Kids are still learning the things we take for granted!