Tips on Buying Children’s Educational Toys

You are probably a parent or early childhood educator who is thinking of buying Children’s Educational Toys for your children or students. Since LeapFrog’s success in selling their children’s educational toys in year 2000, many other children’s educational toys manufacturer had created their own unique range of children’s toys.

Every marketer for these children’s educational toys had claimed that the toys that they sell are the best. While there are now more choices, which is a good thing to drive down the price of the toys, it becomes confusing as to which is the good children’s educational toys. The process of visiting a toy store or finding toys online can sometimes be overwhelming.

We like to offer some tips on buying children's educational toys for you to consider:

1. Safety

This is perhaps the most important aspect when it comes to choosing children’s educational toys. To start with, ask yourself if the toys meet the Consumer Product Safety Standards? Does it comes with any warranty statement? If you are buying educational toys for toddler, you need to ensure that the toys do not contain small parts that can come loose. The material used to make the educational toys should not be toxic.

2. Fun

A good educational toys should provide children with endless hours of entertainment, fun and learning experience. Ask yourself, in what aspect does the toy develop the children’s intellectual, physical or emotional aspect of their development? A good educational toys do not necessarily need to be complicated. Even though simple, a good children’s educational toys could provide endless hours of entertainment for the children.

3. Suitability to Age

Different children’s educational toys may suit children of different age, and sometimes gender. There are also toys which are generic and provide continuous fun and learning experience for the children even after they have grown beyond the age grading of the toys.

4. Design

A well-designed children’s educational toys not only looks appealing to the children, but it is easy to play for. Do not just look for the fun element, look at how the toys could enhance the children’s development. Some children’s educational toys are also designed to be versatile so that children may use their own imagination to expand the toys’ original design. These are very good toys as the children do not get bored with them easily.

5. Durability

Regardless of whether you can afford to renew the children’s toys collection, it is good to choose children’s educational toys that is durable. Durable toys are easier to maintain and it also teaches children to appreciate their belongings.

6. Usability

You will also need to ensure that the children’s educational toys are so challenging and difficult to use that the children just lost interest in them. Toys should be simple enough for the children to play them without help from adults and safe enough without adults supervision.

7. Values

Some toys are design with which encourage elements of violent or sexist and playing with these toys will not help the children to cultivate positive values in their lives.

8. Educational

Different types of children’s educational toys develop different aspect of a child, and to chose a suitable toy to enhance certain aspect of the children’s development is important. What do you want to develop in your child through the toys? Are you looking for an educational toy that develop eye-hand coordination or communication skills?

9. Maintenance

Ensure that the children’s educational toys are easy to be cleaned in practical ways. If the toys contain some mechanical and electrical component, it should be easily maintained and repaired.

Adults should take time to have fun with the children in playing the toys. This is an important aspect of the children’s development. Learning and education is easier when the whole family is having fun.

You may encourage your children to tell you about the toys that is on his wish list. Do not feel guilty if you can’t afford them financially. Explain to the children and not able to get everything that they desire is a learning and educating process itself. You may not always agree with the child when it comes to final selection. While you will have to be responsible in guiding the child to choose a good educational toys, the child has to learn that they are responsible for decisions made as a consumer, and not just influenced by toys that their friends are playing.

It may be a good idea to thoroughly research the toys before you actually purchase them. In choosing the right children’s educational toys, it is also important to consider the children’s individuality. Every child is born with different capabilities and interests. While every child should develop every aspects of their potential, forcing a child to learn something that they do not want to may totally kill their enthusiasm to learn.

If you have noticed some areas that your child may need help in, children’s educational toys that is specially designed to enhance those area are extremely useful and beneficial. For example, if a child has problems with recognising shapes, then blocks and puzzles may the suitable educational toys.

In today’s advance society, it is likely that many parents are switching to electronic and modern gadgets as toys for their children. While electronic games has their roles to develop children’s fine motor skills and coordination, it is a good idea to get a balance of both electronic and traditional educational toys for your children.

In short, buying a good Children’s Educational Toys may not be an easy task, but the effort to research on the suitable toys is definitely well-spent in the long run.