Educational Toddler Toys

Is Technology the Be-All, End-All?

Well, there's no doubt about it, technology has taken a huge stride toward capturing the imagination of our little ones. Toddlers can take part in some pretty interesting and incredible creative endeavors, including painting a masterpiece to creating some of the "best" music out there. Developmental toys for toddlers include much more than ever before. Now, your little person can make her own video, create her own painting, or make a movie. And, she's not even four years old! How can this be? Technology - internet - online educational toddler games, that's how it happens.

In this very fast-paced world we live in, our babies are exposed to more technology than any of us even knew existed a generation ago. Now, toddlers by the age of three can manage a computer game without any trouble at all. The truth is that many educational children's toys are part and parcel of the internet. Toys that help child development tend to be geared more toward the electronic media than the hard goods of hand-held toys. But, is technology really replacing hard toys? We hope not.

Nothing Replaces Real Toys

Children need to be able to develop good hand-eye coordination and do things to encourage the growth of the gross and fine motor skills. Although the computer can provide some of that training, the bulk of it comes from doing the kinds of things that babies, toddlers and little kids have been doing for centuries - playing on their hands and knees with toys that make them use their creative abilities to develop their own story lines. There are many toys and games that help children attain their best. Check into the baby toys reviews to know whether which toys you've been scoping out are indeed the best for your child.

Since toddlers between the ages of one and three are avid explorers, they need to engage in activities that help develop physical, mental, and emotional skills. Sitting in front of the computer may help with the mental skills, but it misses the physical and emotional development. In order to gain knowledge of the world around them, developmental toddler toys must enable toddlers to experience new things. Testing boundaries and flexing muscles, especially the cognitive and creative ones, takes toddlers to the next level in their development. Toddler toys are baby tools that open the door to creativity, expression and individuality.

Try Holding Them Down

As much as we'd like to think that toddlers would love to sit and watch interesting and stimulating things on the computer, the truth is that they are incredibly active at this stage of their lives and they are more interested in motion than sitting. Educational infant toys for this age group range from riding toys to easels and crayons. They are busy beyond belief and require a place to put their physical energy. Riding toys, running, jumping, and climbing are important to toddlers. They need toys to meet these needs. On the other hand, they need toys to meet the needs of their expressive/creative bent, doing things with their hands as the small muscles in their fingers become more developed. So, it's monkey bars and Lego; riding toys and crayons and paper; jumping on a small trampoline and singing songs into a recorder. Pretending, dressing up and telling stories are another facet of this amazing time of growth and experience.

Each Child Is Different - Honoring the Differences

There are no hard and fast rules, no "one size fits all" in terms of what works with all kids. Each child is so different and needing the very things that are special for his or her personal growth and development.

As a parent, it's your job to keep your ears and eyes tuned into your child to know what he or she needs next to attain the next level. It's challenging, but there's nothing in the world that beats the understanding that your child is moving toward his or her best because you've provided what he or she needs to get there.