Development Toy

Top 5 Top Art Games and Drawing Toys for Kids

2008-05-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

1. Pictionary Junior ( Development Toy )
The junior version of Pictionary, where you get a word you have to draw for the others to guess, is aimed at seven to 12-year-olds. Its specially chosen words are colour-coded into an easier and a more challenging selection. Needs three or more players.

2. Etch A Sketch ( Development Toy )
The ultimate endless piece of paper, the Etch A Sketch enables you to draw the whole day long. Simply clear the 'page' to start again. What better way to encourage the habit of sketching daily in a future artist?

3. Little Tikes Double Easel ( Development Toy )
With a plastic chalkboard on one side and a pad of paper on the other, this easel is designed for young budding Picasso's. There are also two removable plastic trays for holding supplies. Manufacturer's recommended age: 2 to 6 years.

4. Aqua Doodle ( Development Toy )
As the name implies, Aqua Doodle uses water for drawing. It's basically a mat on which you can draw using pens filled with water. Wherever the mat is wet, colour appears, and once it's dried, it disappears. Manufacturer's recommended ages: three and up.

5. Spirograph ( Development Toy )
Use the various-sized 'gears' with a pen to create intriguing patterns. Possibilities are almost endless. (Not suitable for very young children as it contains small parts.)

Credit By Marion Boddy-Evans,

Types of Play

2008-05-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

Motor/Physical Play

Motor play provides critical opportunities for children to develop both individual gross and fine muscle strength and and overall integration of muscles, nerves, and brain functions. Recent research has confirmed the critical link between stimulating activity and brain development. Young children must have ample opportunities to develop physically, and motor play instills this disposition toward physical activity in young children.

Social Play

A variety of opportunities for children to engage in social play are the best mechanisms for progressing through the different social stages. By interacting with others in play settings, children learn social rules such as, give and take, reciprocity, cooperation, and sharing. Through a range of interactions with children at different social stages, children also learn to use moral reasoning to develop a mature sense of values. To be prepared to function effectively in the adult world, children need to participate in lots of social situations.

Constructive Play

Constructive play is when children manipulate their environment to create things. This type of play occurs when children build towers and cities with blocks, play in the sand, construct contraptions on the woodworking bench, and draw murals with chalk on the sidewalk. Constructive play allows children to experiment with objects; find out combinations that work and don't work; and learn basic knowledge about stacking, building, drawing, making music and constructing. It also gives children a sense of accomplishment and empowers them with control of their environment. Children who are comfortable manipulating objects and materials also become good at manipulating words, ideas and concepts.

Fantasy Play

Children learn to abstract, to try out new roles and possible situations, and to experiment with language and emotions with fantasy play. In addition, children develop flexible thinking; learn to create beyond the here and now; stretch their imaginations, use new words and word combinations in a risk-free environment, and use numbers and words to express ideas, concepts, dreams, and histories. In an ever-more technological society, lots of practice with all forms of abstraction - time, place, amount, symbols, words, and ideas - is essential.

Games With Rules

Developmentally, most children progress from an egocentric view of the world to an understanding of the importance of social contracts and rules. Part of this development occurs as they learn that games like Follow the Leader, Red Rover, Simon Says, baseball and soccer cannot function without everyone adhering to the same set of rules. The "games with rules" concept teaches children a critically important concept - the game of life has rules (laws) that we all must follow to function productively.

"Play Is The Work of the Child"

2008-05-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

Play activities are essential to healthy development for children and adolescents. Research shows that 75% of brain development occurs after birth. The activities engaged in by children both stimulate and influence the pattern of the connections made between the nerve cells. This process influences the development of fine and gross motor skills, language, socialization, personal awareness, emotional well-being, creativity, problem solving and learning ability.

The most important role that play can have is to help children to be active, make choices and practice actions to mastery. They should have experience with a wide variety of content (art, music, language, science, math, social relations) because each is important for the development of a complex and integrated brain. Play that links sensori-motor, cognitive, and social-emotional experiences provides an ideal setting from brain development.

According to Montessori, the essential dimensions of play are:

Voluntary, enjoyable, purposeful and spontaneous
Creativity expanded using problem solving skills, social skills, language skills and physical skills
Helps expand on new ideas
Helps the child to adapt socially
Helps to thwart emotional problems

If play is the work of the child, toys are the tools. Through toys, children learn about their world, themselves, and others. Toys teach children to:

Figure out how things work
Pick up new ideas
Build muscle control and strength
Use their imagination
Solve problems
Learn to cooperate with others

Play content should come from the child’s own imagination and experiences.

Unfortunately, the play experience for today’s child is often quite different from that of their parents.

With the ever expanding influence of electronic media including TV, videos, video games and the internet, child are spending much of their time being passively entertained by or minimally interacting by way of a keyboard or control pad with an electronic device.

Even today’s toys are more often structured by onboard computers that dictate the play experience.

This robs children of unstructured play with other kids as well as individual playtime spent in creative play. Parents need to understand the play needs of their child and provide an environment to meet those needs.

Play and Developmental Stages

2008-05-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Birth-18 months

Almost all neuron (nerve cells) are present at birth but most are not connected in networks. The connecting process (synapse formation) is rapid during this year, with brain activity becoming closer to adult than newborn by 12 months. Areas of greatest growth are sensorimotor, visual cortex and later the frontal lobes. Play reflects the development of brain areas. This is what Piaget called “practice play.”

Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell: These are the ways babies learn about the world. This is why the best infant toys are usually brightly colored noisemakers. They soon graduate from mobiles (try a musical one for extra interest) and mirrors (which they find fascinating) to grasping and holding. Toys they can manipulate with pleasing effects--activity quilts with different textures: attachments that squeak or jingle; rattles; activity bars: soft balls to drop and retrieve--begin to teach them dexterity and the concept of cause-and-effect.

As babies team to sit up, crawl, stand and then walk, the possibilities quickly expand They're ready to experiment with nesting cups, activity boxes, stacking rings, large blocks, and a little later with shape-sorters. These toys help develop fine motor skills and reach relationships among objects. Cloth or board books, especially intriguing with pictures of faces or familiar objects, let then, practice object-recognition and instill basic ideas of language. Babies and toddlers also love bathtub toys because they delight in all kinds of water play such as filling, emptying, and splashing. And as soon as they're up on their feet, they're ready to roll with push-pull toys.

A word of caution: Be sure any toy for a child in this age group has no small pieces that can be removed or broken off and swallowed, no sharp edges or points, and is made of materials.

18 months-3 years

During this age the synapses continue to expand and reach about 1,000 trillion - twice the density of the adult brain. (Pruning takes place later to reduce the number). The toddler brain is twice as active as the adult brain. The structures of the brain that are sensitive to language and social-emotional response develop. Motor development continues at a rapid pace.

Action is the name of the game for toddlers, who delight in running, jumping, climbing and riding. A ride-on toy to zip around on will be a sure-fire hit- whether it’s a low tricycle or a foot-to-floor vehicle in a whimsical bus or car design. Low climbing toys, large balls, and outdoor items like a sandbox or wading pool are also good choices for developing gross motor skills.

Take-apart toys, pop-up toys mid simple puzzles gratify toddlers' curiosity about how things work, reinforcing their eye-hand coordination and understanding of spatial orientation and cause and effect. One of the best possible toys is that time-tested classic, a good block set: it's just about the most open-ended, mind-expanding toy made for kids of almost all ages and one that will be used for years. Another creative, tactile-pleasing choice is modeling clay. Tambourines, xylophones, drums and other simple musical instruments are satisfying noisemakers.

Again, be sure toys are made of nontoxic materials, with no sharp edges or points or small parts that can be removed or broken off and swallowed.

3-6 years

This is the fastest growth period for the frontal lobe networks, and speed of processing, memory, and problem solving is increasing. The brain is at 90% of its adult weight by 6 years.

Imagination and interaction play starting roles during the preschool years, and the best toys help set the stage for developing these skills. Things that connect with the experiences kids have are the best for dramatic play.

Opt for a generic unstructured item rather than the single-function brand name version. Play telephones, kitchen appliances and utensils, tool sets, medical kits. vehicles. dress-up clothes and, of course, baby dolls, as well as toy people and animals all spark the scenarios kids like to construct. Finger or hand puppets offer another way of acting out and mastering day-to-day experiences.

The language and social skills practiced through make-believe games come into play as preschoolers interact more and more. Early board games introduce the concept of taking turns and sharing with others, while letter -, word- and number-recognition toys and games reinforce math and language learning. So, of course, do books, especially if they're chosen to match the child's interests.

Art materials (clay, crayons markets, paints, collage materials) are another creative favorite with most children in this age group. And don't forget jump ropes, larger tricycles and that always-memorable first bike with training wheels.

The synaptic connections in motor and sensory areas are firmly established and the process of elimination synapses (pruning) in these areas has begun. Because of the activity in higher brain "control" centers, children increase in levels of attention and ability to inhibit impulses.

By the time they're in the primary grades, children have gotten the hang of basic dexterity, language, and social skills; now they're eager to practice and refine them. They like to challenge themselves, intellectually, with puzzles and games that test their growing knowledge or involve strategy (checkers, card games), and physically, with pick-up sticks, jacks, roller skates, pogo sticks, and ball games.

There are lots of other imaginative options than can broaden this group's horizons, from craft sets for making jewelry and puppets to a microscope, nature-study kit, or a printing set. You might also turn the passion for collecting that many children develop at this age into a special link between the two of you: for example, by adding a special doll or action figure or set of stamps.

The maturation of the frontal lobe continues in adolescence. (Pruning continues during the stage). The Speed and efficiency of thought increases, spatial working memory improves, emotional regulation becomes greater, planning and problem solving skills increase, and scientific reasoning and ability to understand one's own thinking develops. Play becomes sophisticated and increasingly symbolic.

Play in the preteen years often is a group production, and the pastimes kids prefer reflect that. Many complex head games for several players, and equipment for organized sports or activities (baseball bat and glove, racket/paddle games) is often a hit. Electronic games are also popular, played either on en masse or by competitive turns.

At the same time, preteens lavish lots of time and concentration on individual interests, which might include books, music elaborate construction of model- building sets, mature tools, sewing kits and paints. By this age their tastes and skills are pretty well defined, so targeting toy and entertainment purchases to likes and abilities of each child is important.

credit by http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/pl2.htm

Toy Safety - Basic Tips

2008-05-05T02:15:00.000-07:00

Shopping for toys can be exciting and fun, but it also can be frustrating. There can be thousands of toys to choose from in one store, and it's important to choose the right toy for the right age child. Toys that are meant for older children can be dangerous for younger children.

Here are some things to consider depending on the age of the child:

Under 3 Years Old:

Children under 3 tend to put everything in their mouths. Avoid buying toys intended for older children which may have small parts that pose a coking danger.
Never let children of any age play with un-inflated or broken balloons because of the choking danger.
Avoid marbles, balls, and games with balls, that have a diameter of 1.75 inches or less. (If they can fit through a toilet paper roll tube, they are too small).
Children at this age pull, prod and twist toys. Look for trays that are well-made with tightly secured eyes, noses and other parts.
Avoid toys that have sharp edges and points.

Ages 3 through 5:

Avoid toys that are constructed with thin, brittle plastic that might easily break into small pieces or leave jagged edges.
Look for household are materials, including crayons and paint sets, marked with the designation "ASTM D-4236." This means the product has been reviewed by a toxicologist and, if necessary, labeled with cautionary information.
Teach older children to keep their toys away from their younger brothers and sisters.

Ages 6 through 12:

For all children, adults should check toys periodically for breakage and potential hazards. Damaged or dangerous toys should be repaired or thrown away.
If buying a toy gun, be sure the barrel, or the entire gun is brightly colored so that it's not mistaken for a real gun.
If you buy a bicycle for any age child, buy a helmet too, and make sure the child wears it.
Teach all children to put toys away when the're finished playing so they don't trip over them or fal on them

credit by http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/