Are you thinking of getting your toddler a new set of toys that will support his development? Here is what you’d focus on.
Choose Open Ended Toys
Toddlers at their age love experimenting to the max. It is a good idea to look for toys with which toddlers can do various things such as pull apart and put back together, fix and build. Toys with which you could do a number of actions such as the above are called open ended toys and your toddler will enjoy doing different things with them.
Wooden blocks and interlocking blocks for instance, can be used to make wonders – make bridges, towers, spaceships – you name it! These are the type of toys you help spark your child’s imagination with, and is a great way of developing logical thinking and creative skills. Sand and water play, and play dough are top items on this list.
Opt for Toys that Grow with Your Child
Most parents complain about how their kids end up putting away their new toys after playing with them for a couple of days or so. However, you can avoid this happening to some extent at least, by making better choices. Think about what toys can grow with your child.
If you choose a dump truck for your toddler boy, for instance, he’d play with it by simply pushing it back and forth, rotating its wheels at first. However, in a couple of months or so, you’d notice him driving it up and down slopes, and over tracks, and soon, loading and unloading stuff onto it and off.
Choose Toys that Encourage Exploration
It is important that every child grow to become good problem solvers, irrespective of what they will become in the future. Thus, as parents, you would need to make sure you pick toys that encourage exploration and problem solving, even in the simplest of ways. Toys that involve ‘figuring out’ supports almost all-important aspects of development including hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and the ability to understand how things fit together and why they don’t.
Pick Toys that Keep Your Child Active
Physical activity is more important than you think. One easy way to encourage and maintain your child’s physical activeness is by offering them toys that involve some sort of physical activity. Be it a basketball hoop, a tricycle, pull toys that come with a string, or garden tools for digging and raking they all involve a certain level of physical activity that will benefit them greatly later on. Look up big toy store Sydney on the web to find a cool collection of these!
Know When It’s Time to Offer Role Play Toys
Your toddler imagination gets soaring as they begin to grow older. This is when you’d think about handing them toys (and other items) that are ideal for pretend play. Pretend food, plates spoons and dishes, toy cleaning sets such as brooms and dusters, are all great to help your toddler enjoy his/her play time and stay occupied for the longest they ever have. This is the phase when you’d want to hand them real items such as cups, plates and dishes from the kitchen, and random items like remote storage containers and baskets, remote controllers, and anything that is safe and encouraging as it could be one of the best and most effective ways of supporting development.
