There is something special about children and their toys. Growing up, I can’t think of a girl who didn’t have a Barbie or a boy who didn’t run about the yard bringing to battle action figures to defeat evil powers. Building sets were scattered all over the floors of every playroom I entered as a youth, including my own. We could invent astonishing things with those building sets; towering buildings for our Barbie doll or stuffed toys to live in, a store for them to shop in; the possibilities were only limited by our imaginations. While toys similar to these don’t usually fit into the category of educational toys, they have the ability to show children some valuable lessons.

All toys can be important to children, even those that parents may not first think of as educational toys. This is as true today as it was years ago when I sat playing classic board games with my sister. Children learn through play, and they develop their imaginations and their critical thinking skills. While it may seem that only educational toys would actually be able to teach a child anything, that would be a mistake. Actually, most toys are learning games when you recognize that a child learns from free play.

Playing card games, while supplying lots of entertainment, also work on developing a child’s thinking talents as well as coping skills. Everyone doesn’t win when we play card games, and sometimes losing at something is as important for a child to learn as winning is. When there is a winner and a loser in a board game, one player is humbled while the other, hopefully, learns to be a polite winner. With the aid of an attentive parent, children will expand these skills. So popular are some board games that they are being modified in ways that they can be played in the car. Travel games may not be as energizing as the original board games, but it sure keeps a child occupied in the car!

Over several decades, fathers and sons have spent hours building their relationships over scale model sets . The vibrantly colorful blocks in a Lego set bring forth the very best in a child’s imagination, and keep them busy for days. A wonderful thing about scale model sets is that just one set could make many of different items, from a dinosaur to a neighborhood. Over the years, Lego sets have grown to where there are now sets just for girls, such as the Belville line. Naturally, boys love Lego sets like Star Wars or Bionicles. But youngsters can practice deftness and inventiveness through Lego sets, and that’s what is really important.

Need convincing of the value of Lego sets as an educational toy? Studies prove that children grow new neural connections when playing with scale model sets . By simply playing with their Lego set, kids also learn spatial concepts, cause-and-effect, and fine motor skills. What a way to learn!

About the author: Fran Swift discusses different toys and games for her readers, including preschool toys and hobbies for parents to educate and entertain their children.

  by Fran Swift