What makes a toy educational?

With the toystore shelves groaning with an overwhelming selection, we look at what you should be looking at to help narrow the choices down

We already know that play is the way children learn and develop. Young children learn in an integrated way, meaning that when they’re playing with blocks, they’re also coming to grips with concepts like spatial integration, gross motor skills and skills like balance, shape and distance. They learn to problem solve, they develop fine and gross motor skills, they develop cognitive concepts and social skills through learning to cooperate, negotiate and take turns. Whether it’s in a more structured environment like nursery school or simply some time on the carpet at home, playtime is invaluable for small children. And if the advertising messages we’re given are to be believed, there’s nothing more integral to the educational value of playtime than the toys we buy for our kids.

EDUCATIONAL HOW?

Children can learn from any toy, but the amount and intensity of that learning depends on the interaction between the child and that toy – and the types of learning opportunities the toy offers. It’s important to know what you want your child to learn and experience when you’re standing in the packed aisles of a toy megastore. And it’s not necessarily a clever electronic toy packed with buttons to press and flashing lights that does the best job. On the contrary, it could be what many parents might think of as slightly retro toys such as building blocks for toddlers, pushcarts or Zoobs for older kids.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

“A toy shouldn’t just do one thing – you don’t want a toy that is too limited in what it does. For example, if it’s a shape sorter, the posting [of the shapes] develops perceptual and sensory skills,

as well as fine motor skills, but your child can also pack and unpack things and build stacks on top of each other,” explains Nicole Hilburn, paediatric physiotherapist and owner of Brightbeans Toys. “With the cheaper electronic toys, they might play a song and lights come on, but that’s about it. You want the toy to grow with the child and extend its uses. For a toy to be educational it needs to look at a couple of those skills, not just one – it should definitely stimulate the cognitive and sensory, fine and gross motor skills and imaginative play,” she explains.

“For your younger ones, you want them to really be exploring things and be able to put things in their mouths, and for your toddlers, they’re doing more constructive play, more building stuff, more pretend play, more difficult puzzles. Look for toys that are going to keep developing skills. With block sets, kids can spend hours playing and they can also integrate it with other toys, so for example, a girl playing with a doll’s house can build something to go in that and it doesn’t have to be played with on its own.”

PLAY TO LEARN

The experts from toy manufacturer Playgro explain what to look for in the toys you buy. In short, focus on those that offer certain features that help children develop particular skills through play:

Toys that help a baby use and control his larger muscles for movement actually encourage the development of gross motor skills.

Toys that help baby use his hands and fingers for small, precise movements develop fine motor skills.

Toys that encourage baby

to think, learn and problem solve assist with cognitive development.

Toys that feature various textures help stimulate baby’s tactile development.

Toys that feature bright and contrasting colours, or vibrant patterns help stimulate baby’s visual perception.

WHAT TO AVOID

There is, of course, a place for electronic devices like ipads

and other media devices but, cautions Nicole, this shouldn’t replace actually being down on the floor playing with real toys. “Pretend play, especially for children up to three years, is particularly important for development. That’s definitely one thing that technology is taking away from them,” she adds.

The overall quality of a toy is also worth considering – if a toy is going to fall apart after

some rough handling, it’s not a good investment. Nor should children have too many toys that present a simple cause and effect. “Especially for younger children, don’t go too much for electronic toys where you push a button and something happens, because that very much limits play. Obviously, kids could have one or two of those kinds of things, but you don’t need too many,” recommends Nicole. YB