How to choose educational toys for children?

Are you faced with the choice of new toys for your child? Or are you just looking for a good gift idea? Choose something that has multiple uses! Educational toys for children don’t have to be boring at all! With them, your toddler can develop talents, exercise their motor skills and their mind and have great fun at the same time! Do you think colourful, interactive toys are more interesting? Be sure to read why this is not the case.

Interactive or educational?

Colourful, playing and glowing toys, although heavily advertised and therefore very popular, do not necessarily serve a child’s development. Loud melodies, ready-made play scenarios and strong colours are not allies of toddlers’ natural, healthy development. Very often, after intense play with such toys, children can be cranky, tearful, and have trouble focusing. It’s overstimulation. It occurs when a somewhat more sensitive child has prolonged exposure to numerous intense external stimuli, such as sharp, flashing lights, loud and repetitive music, and an excess of intense colours.

As you can see, the toddler is “attacked” from all sides, almost through all the senses, by intense sensations – visual, auditory and even tactile. Because a young child’s nervous system is not yet prepared for such a mixture of stimuli, the child reacts by crying, becoming irritable and may have trouble sleeping. Ultimately, interactive toys often provide children with a ready-made script for play. The child dances to the rhythm of the music and imitates the movements of the toy, etc. This in turn does not stimulate the child’s imagination. How do we change this? Is there a good way to support child development through play?

Educational toys for children – are they boring?

The problem with the perception of educational toys for children is that, unfortunately, many people treat them only as a supportive element for learning counting, letters, colours, etc. While this is partly true, of course, educational toys for children offer much more. They can support the development of fine motor skills (practising a child’s hand grip), develop memory, teach concentration, and help a child to stimulate their imagination. What’s more, educational wooden toys are also eco-friendly and natural, and this doesn’t seem to bother toddlers at all – quite the opposite! Children do not choose plastic toys on their own – it is their parents who often steer them in this direction. You can therefore be sure that choosing educational toys for children is the best possible solution. However, do you know which toys to choose?

Toys for children – educational, engaging and natural!

The best educational toys are simple. And it is usually in their simplicity and naturalness that their strength lies. If you don’t know which educational toys to choose, you can go for the classics, such as:

Manipulative boards

Manipulative boards are a real hit! It is an excellent aid for sensory exercises and great motor skills training. The manipulative boards offer a really wide range of play scenarios and, what’s more, they grow with the child (they’re good educational toys for 3-year-olds as well as older children!). The toddler, along with discovering their new cognitive abilities and improving their hand grip, explores new play patterns, trying out new options made available by the board. For example – a young child may simply pull on the strings attached to it, while an older child will try to lace or tie them.

Wooden puzzles

Wooden puzzles teach the child to comprehend shapes and forms. Depending on the choice – they can teach letters, numbers, or simply – geometrical figures and cause-and-effect relationships (“I take a piece, I put a piece in place”). What’s more, they are wooden, have muted colours and do not make intense sounds, making it easier for the toddler to focus on the task.

Decorative elements

Interestingly – even elements of room decor can help a child discover new textures, shapes and colours. A Lil’ things safe decoration for your child’s room can keep them occupied for a long time, just like a toy. They will even be appreciated by newborns who cannot yet play, but are keen to follow new colours and shapes with their eyes.

At Woobiboo you will find clever educational toys for little explorers, which can also be used for sensory processing therapy without any problems. Furthermore, natural educational toys are well received by children with Asperger’s syndrome, autism and sensory integration disorders. In summary – educational toys are not only developing but also versatile.