Obviously, children love playing with toys all day long.
Granted, toys can pose as distractions as you try to communicate with your child or get them to do something else. However, the good news is, toys aren’t 100% a distraction. In fact, toys can be learning tools for kids since many provide at least some opportunities for children to learn. Yes, toys can enhance a child’s ability to:
- Understand their senses
- Let their imaginations run wild
- Socialize with others
Studies show that playing with toys can boost child development by allowing them to learn from playing and releasing enough energy as they spend time playing.
So, want to ensure that your child is not only getting enough playtime but still wants to learn something from it? Then you’re in luck!
If you’re still skeptical about children learning from play, here are 4 reasons why they can benefit from educational toys and activities:
Building Motor Skills
“As children grow up, they’ll be exposed to more objects that require physical activity,” says Jaxon Gratton, a relationship writer at Australia 2 write and Writemyx. “Whether a toy has them using their sense of touch and sight – their fine motor skills – or the child uses walkers, tricycles, or toy cars – which boost their physiognomy or gross motor skills – these toys can be beneficial for their development in the long run.”
The best part is that a lot of these toys can help children stay active and adopt a healthy lifestyle rather than run the risk of developing obesity. And as they discover balance and coordination through toys, they will also be motivated to use their hands and feet to learn forms, colors, and sounds.
“From sitting to crawling, to eventually walking, kids will be incited to interact with a toy,” adds Gratton, “meaning that if the toy is out of reach, they will use their arms and muscles to try and grab it.”
Emotional Development
Along with creativity, toys can help children express their emotions (internal and external), whether it´s through role-playing or playing with dolls. With their feelings, children can create different real-life scenarios (i.e., playing house, a trip to the doctor, etc.) or invent worlds of their own without the limitations of the real world. Creating their own worlds allows them to make decisions and define the rules of said worlds that they can play in.
Socializing
At some point, a child will come across another child, whether through family gatherings, school, etc. So, why not encourage your child to be more sociable?
That’s where toys come in!
Not only will most toys help improve language skills, but they can also teach social skills and even give them an understanding of the society that they live in. In short, toys have children interacting with – first, with their parents and adult family members, and then with other children that they will eventually encounter. This allows them to learn about respect, cooperation, and sharing, which are desired traits for when they go to school, and then out into the real world.
Cognitive Development
“Toys can promote a child’s cognitive development by stimulating their concentration and memory skills,” Jake Phillips, a lifestyle blogger at Brit student and Next Coursework. “When they play board games, that gives them the ability to concentrate on winning and learning to memorize how the game is played.”
Another good example of cognitive development is when children play with building blocks.
“Building blocks allow children to solve problems creatively,” adds Phillips. “As future autonomy is key in solving problems, children will benefit from other activities similar to playing with building blocks. And, it helps them understand things like math and language skills, as they try to figure out which block goes where, and how to communicate their thought processes to observers.”
Conclusion
Do all these ideas sound fun? Do they make you want to encourage your child to play more?
As you can tell from these 4 reasons, children can learn much from simply playing. When you give children educational toys to play with and fun games and activities, they’ll be happy both leisurely and intellectually. As you keep in mind the reasons displayed in this article, you’ll soon see your child learning from play and using these skills as they grow up. And it’s no surprise that toy stores are always in demand. There are many benefits to owning a toy store near you! At SenseOrient is a list of the top three reasons your kids will love a local toy store.
Michael Dehoyos is a writer and editor at PhD Kingdom and Write my literature review. He is also a contributing writer for Dissertation help. As a content marketer, he helps various companies improve their marketing strategies.
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