To help you make a good investment in your choice of toys for your child, keep in mind the importance and benefits of play that a carefully selected toy can enhance. Toys are tools for play, and when you provide your child with the best tools for play, his or her play experience will nurture essential skills. Many toys are not very good tools for play at all. Any toy that is not safe, that does not interest your child, that easily breaks, and that has no developmental value with use is not a good tool for play. The best toys are interesting and fun for your child to play with and are successfully designed to promote essential growth and development.
Finding the best toys requires some general knowledge, selective shopping, and an appreciation for the old saying, “you get what you pay for.” In the long run, paying more for a well designed and crafted toy made of better materials is also a much better value. Look for award-winning toys proven to foster skills such as sequencing, matching, sorting, counting, hand-eye coordination, memory, visual-recognition, touch, problem-solving, emotions, pattern-recognition, and fine motor skills. As children grow they advance to toys that enhance such skills as mathematics, science, construction, and basic introductory engineering.
The right toy for the right play experience will also help grow your child’s imagination which can be stimulated through storytelling, dramatic play, themes, role-play, and pretend. Some of these same toys and activities that help develop your child’s imagination can also help him or her to better recognize, understand, and process emotions. Children actually learn to express their feelings through healthy play before they are able to express them in words. The joy and laughter of children at play alone is worth the price of a quality toy that fosters such delight.
A well-chosen toy can also help children learn to better interact with others as they play along side other children and develop social skills. Some toys are specifically designed for group play for this very purpose. It is good for children to enjoy playing alone, and it is equally important that children learn how to play well with others and enjoy doing so.
The right toys can do wonders at helping to make all these skills and developments a reality through constructive and enjoyable play. Now, let’s ask the question once again, “What good are kids toys?” The answer is simple: A carefully selected toy, one that is well designed and carefully crafted, can be a whole new world of good to your child as an excellent tool for beneficial play that helps your child grow in many important ways.
Choosing the right toys for your child should be important to you because play is important to your child’s growth and development. Be advised that not all toys are equal. Beware of junk toys that do not last and that have no developmental benefit built into their design. Rarely will you find the best toys on the clearance aisle or at a garage sale. Toys that are a good investment in your child are high quality toys made for years of use. These are the toys that create cherished childhood memories, and that are often passed down to the next generation.