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The Kid Learning Toy
...learning through play

Learning happens through play for kids. And play involves being engaged in an enjoyable activity.

Playing is never a waste of time. It is essential to your child's mental and physical development.

Best of all, children just love to play.

Babies and young children learn valuable skills from play.

Babies are social beings. They need an adult partner to develop their social skills. You can begin playing with your baby as soon as your baby is conceived.

The Power of Play and Learning Toys for Kids

Play helps your child develop motor skills, strength, balance and co-ordination. Physical skills involve:

gross motor skills

rolling over
crawling
walking

fine motor skills

hand to eye coordination
grasping objects
drawing
writing

sensory development

sight
sound
touch
smell
taste

Play also helps the development of language, encourages creativity and helps children learn to get along with others and solve problems.

Mental skills involve

use of language
smiling and giggling
imagination
developing solutions
emotional wellbeing through development of self awareness, self esteem and the ability to interact with others

Types of Learning through Play

Play helps your toddler learn to express their feelings by describing to him how you think he feels such as 'happy' 'frustrated' 'sad'.

Young children usually have short attention spans so to encourage your little one to stick at it, avoid distractions such as the television, telephone, computer or other people. Simple games that have a clear cause and effect are good to begin with.

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Matching Toys for Smart Kids Development

In the early years your child's learning is based largely around the relationship with you - the primary care giver, so the role of stimulating and satisfying your child's desire to learn rests with you.

encourage your child to explore their creativity
buy your child educational toys across different skill areas, including science, nature, maths, music, reading
match educational age appropriate toys to your child's development level
consider your child's interests
think about how the toy might be used before allowing your child to play with it. When choosing a toy for your child, consider sharp edges or pieces that could break off and become a choking hazard

Baby (0 to 12 months)

Many babies' toys are designed to stimulate all of their senses through different textures, colours, sounds, smells and visuals.

Toddlers (1 to 3 years)

Toddlers begin to play together at about 21 months at which stage they are becoming quite independent. A favourite play at this age is pretend tea parties. Stuffed toys and dolls become more involved as childhood companions.

Older toddlers, at about 25 to 30 months can develop a story with his friends. These toddlers enjoy re-enacting scenes from home, playgroup and television.

Toddlers also love to engage in physical activities. Climbing gyms help your child's early gross motor skills and toys such as balls and hoops help develop their or fine motor skills.

Pre schoolers (3 to 5 years)

Around three years of age children create pretend worlds together. This development through the stages builds towards the important social skill of understanding that what they think isn't always what others think, and they can put themselves in someone else's shoes.

Pre-schoolers also become interested in memory and visualisation games and creative art and craft projects.

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Age Appropriate Learning Toys for Kids

0-3 months

Kid learning toy: Wind chimes, unbreakable mirrors, high contrasting mobiles, cloth books, soft toys, music boxes, mirrors

Most babies enjoy looking in mirrors. These encourage them to be aware of their mouths and make sounds.
Look for toys that stimulate multiple senses, such as those that have sound, colours that are bright and contrasted like red, black and white, and have interesting textures and make noises.
Consider toys that rest on the floor or attach to cots, car seats, and strollers.

3-6 months

Kid learning toy: Baby play gyms, rattles, squeaky rubber toys, colourful teethers

Babies respond to sound and some of the best educational toys include rattles and musical toys. Auditory and musical toys are known to stimulate logical thinking and imagery.
From four months old a baby will smile and giggle when you make funny sounds.
By eight months babies are delighted by peek-a-boo games.

6-9 months

Kid learning toy: Textured books, soft blocks, toys that pop up when your baby pushes the button, soft balls

Fine motor play educational toys are used to stimulate coordination in baby's finger and eye movements.
From about 12 months, toy telephones and hand or finger puppets are helpful in encouraging conversation.

9-12 months

Kid learning toy: toy telephone, shape sorter, books with flaps, bucket and spade for sand play

Bright colours in learning toys stimulate baby's vision. Look for toys with strong colour contrast and patterns, has different textures.

12-18 months

Kid learning toy: Simple wooden puzzles, stacking toys, pull toys for walkers; washable non-toxic crayons, ride-on vehicle, push wagon

Stacking cups and blocks help your child develop dexterity and a sense of patterns.

18-24 months

Kid learning toys: Musical instruments such as keyboards, drum, plastic tea set, play house (a big box is great - cut a door in it) or tent, shopping trolley, gardening tools, wooden blocks, play dough and shape cutters

Musical Instruments allow your child to learn and explore movement and sounds.
Play food is perfect for playing house or restaurant. Your child can pretend to serve you lunch or dinner. They can learn their food groups and learn simple counting and quantities like "2 plates for teddy."

24-36 months

Kid learning toy: Illustrated books, dressing-up clothes, child-size household equipment, construction toys, eg Lego, wooden puzzles, dolls to undress, kid sized shopping trolley, puppets

If your children love to pretend they will love acting out different scenarios with their puppets.
Lego allows your children to build and use their imagination while creating their own masterpiece such as a fairy castle or fire station. You can follow Lego instructions or create and explore on your own.
Child sized household equipment enables your kids to be involved in helping out around the house. If you want your kids to help out with the daily chores be it cooking, mowing, repairing or vacuuming, have a toy ready to make your little helper feel included as he "works" alongside you, such as a bowl and spoon, lawn mower, screw driver and work bench, vacuum.
Plan the Perfect Playdate These toys provide hours of themed activities that kids can do together.

36 months +

Kid learning toy: jigsaw puzzles, memory games such as snap, child-size pots and pans, bats and balls, golf sets, reference books

Puzzles help your child learn strategies, matching, shapes and objects.

How do Learning Toys for Kids Work?

The website at the Victoria and Albert Museum, a great museum of art and design provides an explanation of the workings of a wide variety of traditional baby and toddler toys, from push to wind up to battery toys.

Once you're at the site, just click on a graphic icon to learn about how that kid learning toy came about and the science behind it.