November 04, 2009
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Useful Toddler Toys
Toddler Ideas is the insightful ezine delivered to your inbox every month from clever-toddler-activities.com
November 2009 Issue 06
Featuring:
- Opening Thoughts – Toys, Toys Everywhere!
- Q&A with Claire - Which Toys Do Toddlers Find Most Useful?
- Cute Corner – You'll Get Your Quilt
- Tip of the Month - Have Fun Being Your Toddler's Play Assistant
- Featured Page – Help Your Little One Discover Thankfulness and Bonfire Night
Opening Thoughts
Toys, Toys Everywhere!Do you feel like your house has been invaded by talking, singing and dancing toys? Join the club. :-) Finding the balance of how many toys a toddlers needs is hard isn't? Even though every child should have a choice of toys, toddlers can easily become overwhelmed by the vast amount that the toy industry portray they need.
With so much choice even parents can feel a little lost on which toys to buy, since every one of them claim to be educational as well as heaps of fun. Yet throughout my years of nursery (daycare) work I've seen many toys that neither entertain nor educate toddlers! Some even make little ones very frustrated.
So... which are the best toys for toddlers? I'd thought I'd share some of my observations with you in this issue of Toddler Ideas.
Q&A With Claire
If you have a question about toddlers, we'd love to help! Just use our handy contact form.Which Toys Do Toddlers Find Most Useful?
Question:
You have loads of fantastic ideas! I wondered if you could recommend some good toys for my twins who are 1 year old? I feel so overwhelmed whenever I look for toys because there's too much choice in my opinion! Christmas is around the corner and I want my kids (both girl and boy) to have fun toys that teach them too. Each one I've seen so far says that they do that but I don't quite believe them. I think you could give me the 'inside story'. Any suggestions would really help me out.
Thanks, Ian
Answer:
Hi Ian,
Thanks for your question, I would love to help out! I agree that the toy industry are deceiving parents and carers into buying loads of useless toys. I'll mention a few references to child development along the way as it seems a lot of toy designers aren't aware of them. To make it easier in this hectic run-up to Christmas I'll share a few links of toys I recommend. I hope either the UK or USA versions would save you postage.
Since you didn't mention any particular interests your children have, I'll suggest a few popular toddler developmental toys that I've seen one-year-olds love.
All the toys I'll mention below help develop: cause and effect, hand-eye co-ordination, spacial awareness and logical thinking. They also open up the opportunity to teach the names of objects, shapes and colours as well as adjectives and prepositions (in, out, on etc) during playtime.
Shape Sorters
As you've probably discovered one-year-olds have a need to fill and empty containers. Shape sorters add to the challenge. These are firm favourites of many toddlers, but they can also cause they a lot of frustration. Most shape sorters are actually too hard for one-year-olds to master, even though their boxes state they should be for that age group.
The perfect shape sorters for one-year-olds have 3 or 4 shape holes and more than one identical shape per hole. Solid plain shapes are best. It's amazing how many shape sorters are really hard to impossible for toddlers to retrieve the shapes! A lift out lid is good as before they are ready to use the holes they can enjoy filling and emptying it with the shapes.
I think every toddler should have one, but only one, as the pieces get mixed up. I found many a frustrated toddler trying to fit a shape into the wrong shape sorter at nursery.
Here are two links to a lovely wooden shape sorter, which I have seen toddlers use successfully.
Plan Toys - Shape and Sort It Out (UK)
Plan Toy Shape and Sort It Out (USA)
Puzzles
Wooden lift-out puzzles with knobs are also very beneficial to a toddler's development. As well as developing the skills above, using the knobs strengthens the vital muscles in toddlers' hands, which will enable the children to be able to write in a few years.
Choosing puzzles that have identical pictures under each shape also gives your children matching practice. This is another skill which one and two year olds like to master.
Every child is unique and develops at slightly different rates with varying strengths and weaknesses. Many one-year-olds need to start off with a lift-out puzzle with three or four pieces with chunky knobs and matching pictures underneath. Like these:
Touch and Feel Bugs Four Piece Lift Out Puzzle (UK)
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Fish Bowl Jumbo Knob Puzzle (USA)
When your little one can do a simple one quickly and starts to get bored, I recommend introducing a lift-out puzzle with more pieces and smaller knobs. Like these animal puzzles:
Zoo Animals Six Piece Lift Out Puzzle (UK)
Living World Seven Piece Lift Out Puzzle (USA)
Stacking Toys
You may have bought one of these when your children were babies. Stacking hoops onto sort poles with a base is also a popular activity among toddlers. One-year-olds can receive a greater sense of accomplishment with a thin straight pole so that the rings can be placed in any order. This sort usually comes in wood, extra bonus. (Believe it or not, many plastic toys are toxic. I'll try and get around to sharing studies and test results on this subject soon).
There are pros and cons about having a curved base or a flat one. Round, wobbly bases rock towards a child as they stack making it more handy for a less mobile toddler. Yet the sturdy flat ones make stacking the rings easier.
I recommend this wooden stacking toy with a flat base. It is a little on the small side but the rings fit into a one-year-old's hand and are a satisfying weight too. For newly turned one-year-olds, I'd leave the ball at the top off until they've mastered the rings.
Plan Toys Stacking Rings (UK)
Plan Toy Stacking Rings (USA)
Would you like to give your toddlers books as Christmas presents too? You may find my book reviews for one-year-olds useful.
If time permitted I'd share many more tips but then again I wouldn't want to fill your inbox anyway. :-) Thanks, you've just given me inspiration for a new section of Clever Toddler Activities.!
If you would like to keep up-to-date with our new articles, simply subscribe to the Site Blog by clicking on one of the little "Subscribe To This Site" buttons at the left of any page on Clever Toddler Activities (no email involved). Christmas craft ideas will be posted very soon as well as more tips on choosing the most useful toys for toddlers.
I hope you find these tips useful. Feel free to ask any more questions as they arise.
Warmest regards,
Claire
Cute Corner
You'll Get Your QuiltSunday after church, a mum asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, "Don't be scared; you'll get your quilt."
Needless to say, the mum was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the mum asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about.
Received via The Good, Clean Funnies List
Tip of the Month
Have Fun being your Toddler's Play AssistantThere are times when it's good for your little one to entertain himself. But they soon want our attention, don't they?! I love being a play assistant for toddlers, which is somewhere in the middle of a teacher and playmate. The main aim is to encourage age appropriate interdependence, confidence in themselves, a feeling of being supported and of course having fun is an important ingredient too! Sometimes just actively watching is all that's needed.
Striking a balance between helping little ones develop skills and succeed but still allowing room for exploration and creativity is tricky sometimes. But it just flows once you relax and go with the flow. Let your toddler lead as much as possible, taking note of his body language among other things. If a toddler's interested and active, he'll most likely be happy and learning. :-)
Featured Page
Help Your Little One Discover Thankfulness and Bonfire NightIntroduce your toddler to what saying "thank you" actually means this Thanksgiving. These are worthwhile activities even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving. As well as grateful activities, check out the Thanksgiving crafts and cooking project on our Thanksgiving activities page!
Are you British like me? :-) Have some seasonal fun with your little one by taking part in these Bonfire Night activities to prepare your toddler or reflect on the event!
What do you think?
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