Buying toys for kids is not as simple as it looks especially because kids are naughty and immature. Also factors like age, gender, learning and safety has to be taken into consideration when buying toys for kids. In terms of choice, there is ample available in the market; however, parents have to take an informed decision with regards to selection of toys for their kids as learning from toys begins at very early age.
Boys and girls have different interests with respect to toys. Where girls are fonder for barbies, boys are inclined towards toy cars, football, toy guns, etc. Apart from gender, age also plays an important role when selecting toys for kids. Parents should also remember that entertainment is not the sole aim of a toy but kids also learn from them. Thus parents should buy only those toys which are suitable for their kids age as others would be useless with respect to learning and entertaining and may also pose safety hazards.
Any toy which would help your kid grow mentally can be referred to as educational toy. Educational toys are not restricted to kids of a specific age. In fact,
educational toys are also available for toddlers. Say for instance, a toddler gifted shapes and cube toy, result in extreme learning for him as at young age they are learning to control their arm and fingers. Grasping a shape and learning to place it in a block is good learning for the toddler and also improves his/her hand-eye co-ordination.
Another toy which is highly recognized as an educational toy and is largely responsible for your kids mental growth is the jigsaw puzzle. The jigsaw puzzle poses a good learning curve and encourages your child to plan a strategy with regards to start and end. Your child begins from scratch with just one piece in hand and builds upon. This requires considerable amount of time, patience and other qualities involving strategies like designing the border first and then building the areas that are easiest to identify or vice versa are involved.
It is advisable to buy only branded toys and refrain from buying cheap ones because of the risk of lead toxicity, brittle or recycled plastic and loose metal and plastic parts that can be harmful to children. Many reputed brands of kids toys and games like Barbie, Dr. Woods, ELC, Fisher Price, Franco Leone, Funskool, Hot Wheel, Magic Lantern, Munckin, Simba etc are now available online in India.
