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Locanto Parenting Magazine
Why are Educational Toys so Important?
Research, such as that from George Herbert Mead or Jean Piaget, shows that learning through play is an important part of a child’s development. Even from infancy, a child begins to find out who they are through educational play. During the early development stage, a child’s mind expands by looking at their environment, and taking in their surroundings. The use of educational toys is important for the cognitive growth in babies and children, as it helps them to learn many different skills that they will need later on, such as:
- Problem solving and learning cause and effect
- Their IQ, creativity and thinking skills
- Enhancing a child’s social & emotional development
- Learning how to play with others through compromise, conflict resolution and sharing
- Development of fine and gross motor skills
- Discovering their independence and positive self-esteem
Below you can find a curated list of the best toys for different ages groups:
Babies: Babies like to look at toys and touch them with their hands and mouth. They like to fit pieces of things together and try to make sense of the world around them. That is why you should choose toys that they can look at, feel, chew on, hold, and drop. Once they start crawling or walking, they will enjoy push-pull toys and balls. Appropriate toys include rattles, blocks, crib mobiles, stacking toys and rings, stuffed animals or dolls. Books with rhymes, simple picture books, noise making toys, small soft toys for throwing, and music-making toys.
Toddlers: Toddlers can play with a wider variety of toys than they did when they were smaller. Shape sorters are great for toddlers, LEGO DUPLO blocks provide an opportunity to learn more about colours and symmetry, while at the same time, developing fine motor skills.
Preschool and School-Aged Children: Early childhood development is an integral part of the acquisition of concepts, skills, and attitudes that lay the foundation for lifelong learning. Children need to learn how to react to the world around them, and playing with toys, like dolls and action figures, can help them to understand feelings, such as, empathy.
Best Infant Car Seats of 2021
You probably know that you will need a car seat before you can take your baby anywhere – even home from the hospital. Alone in the last year, more than 300,000 infant car seats were sold and according to research, almost half of the parents were unhappy with their purchases. This is why we looked at different types of infant car seats and compiled the best for you.
The winner of the best infant car seat for 2018 is the InfaSecure Grandeur Convertible as it is easy to use, easy to install and available in a great variety of colours. The first runner up is the Britax Safe-n-Sound Millenia which has excellent safety features that help to soften impacts and uses a bamboo fabric that helps to the baby cool. It’s easy to install and adapt as the child grows.
The second runner-up is the Maxi-Cosi Euro NXT Convertible. It features rearward facing mode and lots of padding for newborns. Next comes the Baby Love Convertible Car Seat with large side wings and EPS foam. It also comes with a six-point safety harness to keep them safe. The ideal car seat for young families seating their babies from birth to age four is the Safe-n-Sound Compaq MkII with its slimline design which makes it ideal for smaller cars.
