As a strong tool for education and learning process, the educational toys and games prove to be very effective. If you give your child the proper educational games and toys, you are bringing in better intelligence and emotional stability for your child.
There can be basically two types of education, one is formal, the other informal education. Now, formal education will include entry to a school or any other educational institution. Informal education occurs outside school guided by people and resources outside the classroom.
Introduce educational toys and game to your child and voila, an informal learning ambience is created. Children are natural learners, so your task as a parent will be to provide them with toys that have the fun as well as the educational quotient. The ideal toys and games will help the all round development of your children. However, there are differences in the emotional and reasoning development of different children.
Remember that the educational toy and game should be compatible with the child's individual personality. As the children grow older, they require educational games and toys that are appropriate for their age. For instance, a child in the adolescent stage may be going through emotional turmoil, as a parent, you can engage your child into chess or sports. Informal education is a way to strengthen formal education.
Educational games for children at various stages of their development
A baby learns to experience taste, touch, smell, hearing and seeing right from infancy. Make use of this. Use the language games and for this you need to talk to your baby repetitively. The baby recognizes a particular word and learns to utter it.
As your baby gets older, you can gift them educational toys and games like crayons, blocks, hand puppets, mobiles, stacking toys, easy puzzles and more. All these toys help to develop spatial awareness, motor skills, recognition of different sounds and language skills, if you keep talking to the baby. No matter, what toys or games your baby is playing, make it a point to talk to your baby always. Just talk, talk and talk, it will be fun for your baby and simultaneously help in learning the language.
Maintain the fun element when teaching your baby. Be sure to clap and applaud when your baby points out to an object and calls it by its name; this further encourages your baby to learn and makes the entire learning process an enjoyable one. Therefore, never think that the child's playtime is merely a pass time, but make use of the opportunity for the better of your child.
Some of the best educational toys for your child
· Fisher Price's Laugh and Learn Home: This is an essential educative toy for children above 6 months. The product teaches your child a number of things that will really keep your child interested till the age of one year.
· LeapFrog's LeapStart Learning Table: This educational toy provides your child lots of fun and has different games in only one fajita. The child comes to know music, colors and alphabets.
· LeapFrog's Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set: Your toddler will love this educational toy that features interactive alphabet figures coupled with a magnetic reader. This is attachable to any surface that can hold magnets like the refrigerator. It can also play a song to entertain your baby.
If you are confused regarding which educational toy to opt for, just ask the toy store attendant for his/her advice. Also get a demonstration of the toy and then decide finally whether you think your child will love it.