Educational toys to offer in your store
Wednesday 26/10/2022
Children discover the world through play. They learn by watching, imitating and trying for themselves. Do parents often ask you how they can stimulate their child’s development? With these toys, you can put them on the right track!
Buying baby toys: colours, shapes and movement
Noise stimulates, too. From three months, babies have more control over their neck and they can turn their head sideways. If they hear a nice, unknown sound, they will do their best to find out where it is coming from. They search with their eyes and ears, whether from the arms of their parents or in a bouncing chair. Everything that makes a noise is interesting: music boxes, pets, rattles, bells and hooters.
Reading aloud is also a great activity for parents and children, and by telling stories or singing songs regularly, parents stimulate their baby’s language development.
The baby will gradually learn to grasp and try to turn round or move about. Advise parents to place a fun toy just out of reach so as to encourage their child to crawl. Their own reflection is fascinating, too. A small mirror attached to their playpen makes learning great fun!
Babies learn with all their senses. So they like putting things in their mouth, as well. Draw parents’ attention to the importance of choosing toys suitable for the age of their child so as to avoid the risk of choking. Photo Oli & Carol.
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Buying toddler toys: doing things by themselves, building and demolishing, and trying
I can do it! Toddlers like nothing better than to imitate. They still need mummy and daddy, but they think they are gradually getting big enough to dress themselves or tie their laces. That, too, is learning, although it can sometimes cause great frustration – for both parents and children.
Toddlers explore the world on two legs or on wheels. A two-wheeled balance bike is ideal for developing a toddler’s motor skills and sense of balance. Throwing (or rolling) a ball is also a fun game and if there is room, a trampoline can be set up in the garden.
Toddlers practise fine motor skills by playing with plasticine, threading strings of beads or using a pricking pen. They gradually master the pincer grip and can colour and paint more precisely or stack up building blocks. And then knock them all down again!
Parents do best to keep an eye on them, of course, but children learn most from trying, failing and trying again. Persevering and not giving up are skills they need to master.
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Buying preschooler toys: role play, games and stimulating independence
Everything toddlers like to do appeals to most preschoolers, too: building, demolishing, messing around with paint, colours and clay. But for them, it can all be a tad more challenging. An obstacle course stimulates their motor skills and their first board game teaches them that there are rules and that they can’t always win. A hard lesson and one that is not always learned without a fight!
Activities requiring fine motor skills fascinate preschoolers, too: cutting, pasting, threading or doing craft work are great activities for a rainy afternoon. Open-ended play triggers children’s imagination. They have plenty of scope. There are no rules they have to obey. If that’s not stimulating, then what is?
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A tip for parents with children of all ages: get out and about. Jumping in puddles wearing rubber boots, watching birds fly to and from their nest, exploring playgrounds and woods. Going outside stimulates all the senses and - literally - gives children room to breathe and relax.