‘Educational Toys’- the
very word creates a buzz of excitement and we gear up to buy them for
our children. We want smart kids and by providing them right toys we
want to contribute to their sound overall development. But do we actually
know what an educational toy is or do we go by the label on the box
that contains the toy?

To make things easier for you,
let’s look into some of the important aspects. A toy that is age appropriate,
provides necessary stimulation, tickles the senses and requires the
child to make an extra effort can be categorized as educational toy.
Here are some characteristics that you should look for in an educational
toy before buying it.

Degree of challenge

An educational toy has to be
challenging. It should force the child to think out of the box but the
degree of challenge should be within limits. It should not make playtime
frustrating for the child. Our aim should be to offer a challenging
environment to make the experience fun and rewarding.

Sensory stimulation

The toy you are about to buy
should work on multiple senses. The variation of texture, sound, colors,
lights engage almost all the senses and you can find that in a single
toy as well. Initially, children need adequate stimulation of senses
to recognize colors, shapes and sounds so a toy that takes care of all
these needs works very well for the proper growth of the child.

Potential

You must also evaluate the
potential of the toy. There should be many alternate ways to play with
the toy. Such toys work on the imagination of children and encourage
them to think differently every time. But make sure that toy you choose
should be adaptable to the style and development level of your child.

Cognitive development

The toy should lay out choices
in front of the child so that the child can understand the impact of
a choice he or she makes. It should allow the child to express him or
herself fully and should give the required push to the creativity. It
should engage the child in problem solving and should have a reasonable
level of difficulty.

Social skills

Social skill building is also
a very important aspect of child’s growth. You must analyze whether
the toy provides an opportunity for the child to play with others. While
it is not essential for every toy to be played in a group, but you should
pay attention to offering an appropriate combination of individual and
social growth.

For children, play is work
and it directly impacts the way they grow in their future life. Education
toys are worth putting an effort. Just make sure that you look for all
the characteristics and buy those educational toys that direct your
child’s development in the right direction.