Posted on 30th Jun 2011 @ 12:56 PM

Who is responsible for the child’s learning?

Virtually all toys are educational toys because they teach the child how to behave in a particular way and how to interact with the toy. Just how they interact and how they learn is up to us however. It’s important to point out that no amount of educational toys can help your child learn much at all unless you do a certain amount of work with them too; at least to show them how to use the toy they have. This puts the parent in a position of power and it’s important that we use this wisely. We could teach our children to batter things with their abacus rather than learn to count, and it’s this that we should continue to be acutely aware of.

The best educational toys

The best educational toys always seem to be those that allow the child to use their imagination; misuse of toys and bad behaviour with them are usually only due to the child being bored with the toy they have, and this is usually because they don’t know what to do with it. Using their imagination is something children are very good at, and even if we can’t see it all the time, we are being mimicked by our children; they are following our examples, and in fact we are their ultimate educational toy.

If we can show them how to use the toys then you will quickly see them doing what you do. Your child trusts you to make the right decisions about things and this is just another one of those things. If you are seen to use the educational toys in a particular way then your child will try to do the same; try it out and observe what happens; sometimes you don’t even have to teach, you just need to make sure they’re watching.

The best toys seem to be in the following categories

• ·         Roleplay. This includes dressing up clothes and any other implements that make the child believe they are what they have dressed to be, such as: tools for mechanics, cooking utensils etc.
• ·         Crafts. Every child loves crafts. If you can show your child how to cut things out, how to do gluing and painting then you will have taught them valuable skills that will bring them hours of enjoyment where they can allow their creativity to blossom and their inhibitions crumble.
• ·         Writing. There are some wonderful writing accessories out there on the market these days, including work books that wipe clean when your child has finished the question or design.
• ·         Walking and moving. Although some may not directly associate this with learning, teaching a child to walk is an imperative part of its development, and although you shouldn’t force your child to walk if they’re a little too young, they can always be encouraged with educational toys like trolleys and other things they can stand up and hold onto.

Virtually all toys are educational toys, all we need to do is make sure our children get the right ones and learn the right things from them.

.