Archive for February, 2011

Generally, most babies show a willingness to learn. Moreover, they are born with an enjoyment of hearing tones of all types. Before long they will be capable of recognizing the differences in sounds of their assorted rattles. They will get excited and their legs will move along with their interactive toys. Their hands will appear to be poised, as if they were reaching out to clutch their playthings.

Parents should recognize this infant type dance movement their child seems to be doing. They should develop their infant’s brain with musical tones, sounds and rhythm from birth. In due time the child will reveal their ability to favourably react and reveal a love of music.

As the child ages, his or her interactive toys should be adjusted to match their maturity. A toddler, who is capable of sitting without falling, should be able to sit at a miniature toy piano. They will instinctively pound on the keyboard with their fists and laugh at the sounds. Many will merely use a finger or two on each of the keys. Assist them to listen to the various pitches they create when they touch a particular key. Show them that a piano has high sounds and deep sounds, depending on which side of the keyboard their little fingers touch.

Other instructional engaging toys that help a child to develop an eagerness to play a musical instrument are the hand held drums. Allow them to hear the various sounds that tom-toms make. Have them hit bongo drums lightly with their little fingers at a count of three. Indicate the distinctive sounds that each of the drums make. Allow them to strike them softly or bang on them with their clenched fist.

Buy a harmonica and play it along with your child. Keep time with the beat of the drums. Dance together keeping time to the music. Play an Indian type game and hop around the room. Purchase musical learning toys that you can play along with your child.

If you own a regulation size piano, or a keyboard, introduce it to your youngster early in life. Have them sit next to you as you play. Teach him or her about the fingering, tones, scales and the various sounds that occur the piano is played. Tell them how they can easily make each of the notes get louder or softer as they play.

Permit the child the freedom to roam. If he plays with one finger, to compare the sounds, do not stop them. Furthermore, do not yell or tell them in a harsh voice that they are banging.

As soon as he or she appears to be satisfied with the tones, show the way it is played by using the proper fingering. A middle C is in the centre. Indicate it to them and play the key. Move your hand to the right and show them yet another C key. Explain that every C key repeatedly contains one black key plus three whites.

Satisfy a child’s intellect with learning toys. Teach him about sounds, tones and musical beats. Let them join in as you play. Indicate to them just how much you enjoy music yourself. Then permit him to discover his own musical uniqueness.

There is a lot of question as to why boys and girls choose the toys they do. Although there have been strides towards equality, the expectation of society is that boys are loud, dirty and stronger than girls. The toys that are geared towards boys (guns and cars) encourage that behaviour. Girls are supposed to be nurturing and passive and the toys geared towards girls (dolls and tea sets) encourage that behaviour.

It is interesting to look at where the division between the genders and toy selection happens. When a baby is born, already there are choices to be made based on gender; a little girl is in pink and a little boy is in blue. You can purchase teething rings and rattles based on colour. You can buy a plush doll in pink or a plush truck in blue. For infants, however, you can also find many gender neutral toys, with jungle or arctic themes.

By the toddler age, there are less gender neutral toys. You can buy a simple brown rocking horse, but you can also find a pink or blue rocking horse. You find toys based on television shows geared to either gender. Bob the Builder for boys and Dora the Explorer for girls. I have a daughter in this age group. While I try not to buy her toys based on her gender, I find myself gravitating to the Barbie aisle. Left to her own devices, she chooses playground balls and colouring crayons.

By the time the child is school aged, there are definite gender differences when it comes to toys. When perusing the aisles of any big box retailer, the toys are divided between what a boy would want to play with and what a girl would want to play with. For example, when walking down the aisles in the toy section at Wal-Mart, you will find action figures, guns, balls and trucks. The signs advertising the various toys are dark and masculine. In the “girls” section, however, the signs are pink and feminine. There are frilly dress up clothes, plush animals, soft toys and dolls. Why are there so many differences?

Some sources (such as Parenting Science) suggest that it starts in the womb and the amount of testosterone a foetus is exposed to. The more testosterone, the more aggressive or “rough and tumble” play. The same article also looked at the toys a boy chooses. He is more likely to choose a masculine toy, say a truck or a gun, then a gender-neutral toy (markers) or a feminine toy such as a doll. Girls, on the other hand, do not choose feminine toys over any other type.

As a parent, you ask yourself whether or not to be gender neutral with toy selection and whether you are buying into the stereotypes put on gender by society. Even if you buy gender neutral toys, your child is going to want to make their own choices based on the adds on Nickelodeon, the toys their friends play with and how much noise the toy makes. Should my daughter want a truck, I would be fine with that choice.

One of your options is a Tinkertoy Construction Set. Developed in the early 1900s (1914 to be exact) by a man named Charles Pajeau, it did not achieve the level of success he desired at first. In fact, nobody seemed to be interested until Christmas of that same year. By incorporating the toys into a window Christmas display it was able to achieve recognition, and thus the Tinkertoy flew up in popularity. Considering its remarkably simple design, that is an accomplishment to be proud of. The test of time has not been cruel to this toy for children, as several generations have been able to enjoy it, and there are limitless creative ideas that can be explored. From Ferris wheels to animals to inventions, dissatisfaction is not on the list.

If Tinkertoys don’t sound like a fun time, it can’t hurt to go with LEGO as an alternative. The LEGO brand was born in the country of Denmark in the 1930s under the care of Ole Kirk Christiansen. The name LEGO comes from the Danish phrase “leg godt,” which translates to mean “play well” in English, and it lives up to that in many ways. LEGO can instill the love of building and creating in a young child’s mind, including adults, with its bright colors and possible outcomes. There are special sets to create specific things, such as a castle or pirate ship, but there are plenty of “blank slate” sets as well. They can be used and taken anywhere for the ultimate in entertainment for toys and games.

As far as games for children go, one can’t really go wrong with Twister. Twister is a wonderful game to bring into being a crazy, active atmosphere. This is a feeling you can’t get with your typical video game, no matter how much you move around. If the child can’t actively stretch and participate that well, they may be inspired to get into better shape so next time they’ll do better. This game of twisting and turning was developed in the 1960s, but it was thanks to Johnny Carson that it ever took off. To this day it is played by family and friends all over.

So when it comes to entrapment in the home on a wet, dismal day, selecting the right toys and games can have a great impact for kids and adults alike. Interacting and setting the mind afire with fun and ideas can never be a bad thing, especially when the world still seems so fresh and new to children. Memories are important, and even when you least expect it, they can be born.

While it is a recent concern that kids are spending too much time in front of the television or computer, it is up to the parents to promote outdoor play. For added fun, there are a wide range of outdoor toys that can be purchased that will make any child want to play outside all the time!

One of the most popular types of garden toys are play sets that feature slides, swings and sandboxes. These play sets are made from sturdy wood materials and have options for expansions. Swing sets were once common amongst public areas, but now families can have the same jungle gym fun right in the convenience of their own garden.

Best of all, many reputable companies sell do-it-yourself kits that allow families to work together to build their own swing set. Customize yours by choosing the colours of choice, adding monkey bars or changing the type of slide.

Trampolines are another example of outdoor toys that are sure to offer plenty of fun and exercise for kids. Trampolines are always a hit and kids love the non-stop fun of jumping around right in their own yard. Trampolines were once believed to be unsafe for small children, but many of their recent advances and safety features greatly improve the use of trampolines.

Trampolines are enclosed with a safety net that protects kids from falling off. They are built to be sturdier and bounce kids back to where they took off from, preventing kids from colliding into one another. Of course, it is always recommended that only one child jumps on a trampoline at a time.

Of course, parents cannot forget the fun that sand brings to outdoor play. Sand pits make great garden toys and can be purchased separately or made to go underneath the jungle gym. Kids love the texture of soft, warm sand and have hours of fun building sandcastles and collecting sand in buckets.

In order to keep the sand clean and soft, many companies sell sand pit covers that can be used to cover the sand when not being used. These covers also protect the sand pit from bugs, animals and rainy weather conditions.

Perhaps one of the greatest garden toys for both boys and girls is a playhouse. Playhouses were once thought to be best for young girls wanting to role play, but the unique and innovative designs have led kids of all ages to find use for playhouses. Playhouses are made from a durable wooden material and can be built to look like a miniature house or a rugged fort. Complete the look by adding flowers, chairs and a mailbox.

One of the best ways to complete your outdoor toys is by adding an outdoor pool. While outdoor pools were once for people who had a large budget, the many styles and price ranges allow for just about anyone to have a pool in their garden. Having your own pool means that you don’t have to rush off to the seaside on a warm and sunny day!

All parents wish to make the right choices and, in doing so, to give their children the advantages available. As such, parents attempt to evaluate the legitimacy of these promises and put their consumer dollars to work in the most efficient ways possible.

What Happened to Blocks?
Unlike when many parents were children, today’s kids’ toys integrate electronics in ways never before imagined to the fledgling toy buyer. Even those toys that are not filled with their own circuitry are often accompanied by DVDs to enhance the play experience. Add to this that parents want to choose toys and activities that will be engaging, but that will not completely disrupt the sanity of the adults, the propensity of toys to make noise is often a whole separate challenge.

The good news is that flashing lights, motion, and interactive challenges all act to provide positive stimulation to developing minds. The repetition that electronic toys can provide helps to reinforce major concepts like colours to young children and alleviates the need for parents to spend quite as much time repeating themselves. Current research suggests that repetition is one of the most powerful learning methodologies available, making simple electronic games amongst the best for teaching many basic concepts.

Does Every Child Need to Be a Nuclear Physicist?
With names that use words like Einstein, genius, and advanced, an increasing number of products suggest that they can help your child to fall into the gifted category. These kids’ toys tout their own ability to give children a head start over kids who are deprived of these modern miracles of play technology. The nasty by product of this push is that many parents are left feeling that if their children are not advanced, they are falling behind. Words like “normal” become pejorative and something to be avoided. The companies that make kids’ toys have discovered that parents will universally open their wallets in order to protect their children’s future place in the world.

Parents of the World Unite
In response to this growing phenomenon, more and more parents have banded to together to form consumer advocate groups with several purposes. Some are as basic and straightforward as providing parents with a forum to review toys and share their experiences – what worked, how their children reacted, and which toys seem of little interest. Others are more ambitious, looking for clinical research to support or refute many of the claims made by these companies. In this latter group, some perform their own studies, while others form coalitions with public universities or industry leaders. These groups have determined that no corporation ever got bad press trying to protect kids. These parents realized that the same fears and motivations that led them to purchase the toys could be used to get them tested.

Overall, the landscape for kids’ toys has become significantly more complex over recent decades. The pace of technology is present in this billion-dollar industry, just as it is throughout society. The best thing a parent can do is to remain vigilant and make conscientious choices.

Playing with toys is fun, but it also stretches children’s imaginations, and develops brain synapses and neural pathways.

It’s also a way of imitating adult behaviour, and thus learning adult skills and actions. Little girls have played with dolls for eons. They copy the nurturing behaviours of their mothers, and when they become mothers themselves, the cuddling and rocking seems to be instinctive. Little boys in past civilizations learned to track and hunt their prey by copying their fathers. Games played with sticks and toy arrows taught them to hone their marksmanship, and slip silently through woods and grasslands.

Toys back in time
Simple wooden or rag dolls have been found in archaeological sites from many different civilizations from Egypt to Pompeii to American Indians. Kites have been known in China for thousands of years, and in India, archaeologists have unearthed clay figures on wheels. The yo-yo, considered to be a modern toy by most people, is believed to have originated in China also. The first written mention of a yo-yo is found in Greek material dating from 500 BC.

Boys and girls have probably always enjoyed drawing, although drawing at one time was most likely limited to drawing with a stick in the dust of the ground, or the nearest mud puddle. Children of both sexes have always had fun playing games with coloured stones and pebbles that were the forerunners of games such as jacks. These games enhanced eye-hand coordination and quick reflexes—skills much needed by more primitive peoples when instant action could mean the difference between life and death.

Learning life skills
Children today still play with toys which can help them learn life skills, such as dolls, car toys and trucks. Crayons, markers, and pencils have replaced the stick and the dirt, and finger paints have replaced the mud puddle. Well, maybe not entirely. Kids today have more toys than ever before in history.

The big toy explosion started back in the early part of the twentieth century, when manufacturers were able to make toys quickly and cheaply for the mass market. Die-cast metal cars and trucks were popular for boys, while Raggedy Ann dolls and Madame Alexander toys appealed to girls. Crayola produced boxes of brightly-coloured crayons for kids to drool over, and teddy bears were everywhere.

As the century progressed, board games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, and Clue were invented and marketed. With the advent of technology like radio and TV, marketing aimed directly at children was set in motion. The toy market just kept on booming. Today’s kids have more toys, both old-fashioned toys like dolls and blocks, and technologically advanced toys like Leap Pad. Every department or discount store has toy departments, there are mail order catalogues, and online toy stores galore, and stores like Toys R Us are big business.

All these toys, so many choices of playthings but are kids any happier today than they were three thousand years ago?

A child’s musical affinity is something that numerous institutions have studied the effect that music has on learning, including the University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Irvine. Because of this, it’s no surprise that companies that cater to children are offering an increase in musical toys that focus in this area. The findings support that learning toys focusing on music actually benefit children of all ages.

What We Know
The studies that have been done on music and learning raise several interesting points. First, hearing is one of the first senses that becomes fully active after a baby is born. Not only is the hearing centre optimized, but children are developing brain paths at an exponential rate. These are focusing on essential areas of cognitive ability, including speech, spatial relations, emotions and more. When you stop and think about it, music really taps into a variety of these areas in a comprehensive way. In addition, physical characteristics are known to be influenced by early exposure to music, especially when learning an instrument. Fingers that are regularly active playing music have more nerve activity.

While giving your child access to interactive toys may not seem like something that would have an effect on society as a whole, you might be surprised to find that researchers disagree. In fact, according to a German scientist, Dr. Gunther Bastian, music has a positive socializing effect. This music lover believes that exposing more children to positive musical influences has the ability to reduce violence and create healthier social connections.

Making the Connection

As parents, it’s not hard to look at the facts and realize that music is good for your kids. However, not everyone is musically talented themselves. In addition, it’s not always recommended to begin regimented music lessons when a child is still quite young. While the brain may be able to handle the routine, it may be too much pressure for children before they are school-aged. However, like most things, there is no reason not to play with music, getting much of the same results. Musical toys should be a part of every preschool toy chest. Playing with music is fun for kids. In addition, the approach of using learning toys takes much of the pressure off parents during these younger years. There are many interactive toys that feature tone and rhythm, as well as those that actually allow a young child to create their own musical combinations.

Playing with music does not have to be expensive. In fact, a creative parent can provide the cognitive benefit and foster musical talent in almost any situation. Sounds surrounds us, so the best approach is to always be aware and help bring that awareness to your child. Have you ever seen a commercial where the creators compose a symphony with street sounds? Take a small recording device with you and capture the sounds that get your child’s attention. Let them assist you in arranging the noises in a musical way. This same project can be done with rhythm quite easily. Coupling this with musical toys will optimize her brain for musical expression, fostering early awareness and increasing intelligence and cognitive growth for years to come.

The first few years of a child’s life are the most important developmentally. The toys that a child plays with during this time can have a direct impact on his or her learning capacity as he or she gets older.

Toys Impact Learning from Infancy
There are toys that can help with a child’s development when the child is as young as two weeks old. Infant’s eyes are not fully developed when they are first born. They can’t discern separate objects very distinctly. The addition of a black and white mobile over a baby’s bed or a stuffed toy that has a high level of colour contrast can help an infant learn to follow objects with their eyes, which can lead to better comprehension of the world around them. High contrast toys also help an infant learn to focus on one item for short periods of time.

Early Learning Toys Enhance Spatial Understanding
Toddlers can gain quite a lot from playing with blocks and other spatial manipulation toys. The best toys for spatial recognition are the ones that require children to put differently shaped objects through the right holes. The child has to recognize the shape, and then find the corresponding hole to poke the object through. Spatial understanding is a fundamental skill that will aid in the child’s ability to learn as he or she gets older.

Developing Hand-Eye Coordination
Small cobbler benches and workshops with oversized plastic tools can help a child develop better hand-eye coordination. The toy requires that the child find the right tool and then apply it properly to turn screws, hammer large nails, and perform other tasks that require fine motor skills. Any toy that allows the child to see something and then react to it with some form of action helps the child learn how to better control physical functions. Older children will benefit from games that require a more detailed sense of dexterity, like mazes or puzzle books.

Reading Aids for Young Children
The right books can seem like a toy rather than a strict learning aid. Some books have electronic elements that read portions of the text for the child or play a sound that correlates with certain sections of the story. These interactive books help children become more comfortable with reading as a fun activity. They also provide ways for children to associate the sound with certain pages of the book, which can lead to a better understanding of how the words on the page relate tell the story.

Learning Social Skills Through Play

One of the most important learning tools that toys provide is socialization. Children who play with various toys have to learn how to share and how to be nice to others while they play. Even if a child is playing with parents instead of other children, social skills are an integral part of the playing. Some toys, like play kitchens, teach children about the daily tasks that everyone has to deal with as an adult. Fun games in childhood prepare children for the real life of adulthood.

In nature, baby animals of all species demonstrate playful behaviours. Wolf cubs wrestle and tackle their siblings as a sort of dry run that teaches them to protect themselves, their food, and their family members. Adolescent monkeys cavort and throw fruit at each other as they develop the social bonds that will cement the clan together for years to come. In these and countless other instances, play serves a vital purpose in the development of young animals, teaching and reinforcing social skills and giving them the opportunity to perfect the techniques that will enable them to survive on their own. In many respects, human children are no different. Because play is a vital part of their development and fills a key role in their future success as adults, it is important that we help them to select educational toys that will facilitate this process. In our over-mechanized, fast-paced world, the need for toys that truly encourage growth and development cannot be overstated.

Educational or interactive toys enable kids to become integral participants in play. Instead of doing all the work for them as many currently available options do, these learning toys may furnish a structure, but allow children plenty of room to use their boundless imaginations and creativity. Contrast, for instance, a video game that takes a player through a scientific process with an actual chemistry kit that allows a budding scientist to perform genuine experiments of his or her own. Without a doubt, more learning will occur in the case of the latter, with its hands-on, trial and error approach.

Recent attention has also been focused on the upsurge of childhood obesity brought on not only by unhealthy diets, but also because of the increased emphasis on activities in which kids only participate passively. Exercising their fingers on game consoles certainly does not lead to physical fitness. Consumer-savvy companies, sensing the trend toward interactive options that encourage more active participation, are now coming up with ingenious choices that marry the glamour of electronics with good old-fashioned motion. One prominent toy company, for instance, offers an exercise bike for pre-schoolers which connects to the television. When the child pedals, he or she can play games which are then shown on the screen. Stop pedalling and the game is over—certainly a motivator that will keep junior pedalling long after he might otherwise have stopped. Makers of children’s DVD’s have also jumped on the bandwagon by producing interactive offerings. No longer does an aspiring dancer need to be content with merely watching the performers on a DVD. These days, he or she can learn techniques step by step, taught by the experts themselves. It might not be a replacement for private lessons, but no one could call this passive play.

Educational and interactive toys have a hidden benefit as well: they foster what might be called immersion parenting. In other words, care-givers can elect to become part of the fun themselves, not just bystanders looking in on games or activities. Whether families use interactive toys to practice a ballet move or to concoct a chemical compound, these educational choices enable families to truly play and learn together. As adults, it’s all too easy for us to assume we know everything or that we have seen it all. There is nothing like immersion in the games of children to show even the most jaded and cynical grown-up that life is still filled with untapped resources and limitless exploration.

There has been growing concern in the regarding childhood obesity, particularly in westernized countries where fast foods have become so prominent. From 1980 to 2008 the incidence of childhood obesity has increased by nearly 15% in the United States alone. Adolescent obesity has increased 13% over the same time period. Studies show that childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past three decades, and future projections look bleak.

The explanation for this dramatic increase in overweight children is not difficult to understand. Thirty years ago technology had not yet advanced to the point where it targeted children. Portable tape cassettes were beginning to replace CD players, and the once popular boom box became a thing of the past. But the nearly indestructible mp3 player was still two decades away, and youngsters remained in the “hands-off” stage of personal music devices. Computer games were sparse, and those that existed were visually unappealing to a child, and far too complex for a child to play. Consequently, children aged six to eleven continued to seek their entertainment in physical activity. Sports included kickball, soccer, swimming, flag tag, and tee ball. Outdoor games included tag, hide and seek, and red rover. Chores for children often involved tasks such as raking leaves and planting. Garden toys made it fun to work outside, and children assisted parents in gardening tasks. Kids were always on the move. Obesity was not an issue.

With the advent of computer games, and gaming systems like the Sony Playstation and the Nintendo series, suddenly children became the target of colourful, exciting advertisements. Outdoor toys and garden toys gathered dust. Children spent hours every day sitting in front of computer monitors, television screens, or handheld devices. Physical activity dramatically fell, while obesity quietly rose. Today we can witness truly advanced gaming devices with colourful graphics and crisp sound. Many are small and conveniently portable. Outdoor toys cannot compete with these electronics that capture the imagination of children, draw them in and hold them captive for hours every day.

However, there is resurgence in innovative and exciting outdoor toys. Mobile toys abound. The Ripstik, Sole Skate, skateboards, scooters, inline skates and sleek sporty bicycles are just a few outdoor toys that woo our children, and offer good physical exercise. Trampolines and zip lines, swing sets and rock climbing walls, swimming pools and boogie boards, all provide the fun and excitement children need to become involved.

Today’s garden toys are nearly as realistic as the tools mom and dad use. Wheel barrows, plastic shovels and rakes, sturdy and colourful chainsaws that make noises—the list goes on. Parents can easily attract their kids to outdoor tasks by providing them with a few interesting garden activities and toys. Many of these actually have moving parts while ome even light up, or vibrate when in use. As soon as children remember how fun it is to be outdoors, electronic games won’t hold their attention.

Parents must also set limits on the amount of time children are allowed to stare at a television or monitor. Remember that parents set the examples for their kids. Invite your kids for a walk, or a swim in the pool. Let them join you in the garden. It won’t be long before outdoor toys and garden toys attract children effectively, offering them education, fun, and exercise. In the process everyone gets exercise, and the family spends time together.