Toys are something every child loves getting, no matter the occasion. The only difference is what toy they get. Some get toy guns and cars, and some might get dolls, while others get building blocks; the choices are endless.
Toys can influence children in different ways by encouraging them to develop various skills. Because of that, it can be interesting to know what skills these toys encourage and thus know what toys you should buy for your child.
For example, ride on toys, like toy cars, encourage kids to learn how to balance themselves and better their spatial cognition. Here is a list of some toys that you should get for your child and the benefits it will have.
Ride-On Toys
Ride-on toys, like toy cars, are model cars that kids can ride. Some of them are electric, while others can be used with the aid of peddles. These toys encourage the development of various essential skills in children.
The toy bike encourages kids to learn how to balance themselves and the bike while they drive. Also, the peddling, kicking, swaying, and turning that is involved in the usage of the peddle and electric versions of ride-on toys, encourage the development of gross and fine motor skills.
As they ride the toy, they get more used to their movements, learning how to control and manage their body movements. These are the skills that ride-on toys encourage, and while a bike might accomplish the same purpose, ride-on toys look cooler to kids making them more likely to use them.
To add more to the collection, you can buy ride on wooden toys like a wooden horse or a wooden dog.
Block Toys
Block toys are different from the usual types of toys that kids get. Unlike traditional toys that tend to have a definite shape and use, block toys are just blocks that stick together. Their user entirely determines their form and use.
They can be molded and shaped into whatever their user wants them to be. This flexibility encourages the use of creativity and imagination in children. It also promotes the development of children’s problem-solving skills as they learn how to build their visualized design using the blocks that they have on hand.
The process of placing these blocks at times can require good gross motor skills, because of that as the child builds more and more, they finetune their fine and gross motor skills.
Dolls
Dolls are a ubiquitous toy for kids to get. They play with it in so many different ways; playing house, pretending to have a tea party, pretending that they are a customer at a restaurant. The possibilities for them are endless.
Unlike most toys, they emulate people and therefore, can develop a completely different set of skills in children when compared to other toys for boys. For example, as most children talk and pretend to play with their dolls, it helps develop their language skills as well as their cognitive ability.
As they learn to take care of their doll, it also improves their self-help skills as they learn to apply what they do to take care of the doll onto themselves. Dollhouses are also great gifts for the kids on their birthdays. You can make a DIY dollhouse as well, if you are interested, you should check these 8 easy DIY Dollhouse ideas.
Conclusion
Overall, different toys, depending on how they work, can influence directly what types of skills children learn as they grow up playing with those toys. Make sure that you get a wide variety of toys that can help develop different skills. That way, you can improve your child’s development immensely.