Some parents operate under the misconception that toys are just a frivolous means to divert a child’s mind when the parents are busy. Research, however, has shown that playing with toys is crucial for the development of children’s cognitive, social, physical, and emotional well-being. In this articleToys Stimulate the Sense of Touch: TextureToys stimulate the Sense of Sight: ColoursToys stimulate Motor Skills Development: MovementToys stimulate Sense of Hearing: Sounds Toys stimulate a baby’s sense of touch, sight and hearing while also developing their imagination and dexterity. They boost a baby’s attention span and curiosity level, and help its memory and nervous system develop faster. Therefore, babies who have been encouraged to play with the right toys have better muscle coordination, develop fine and gross motor skills faster, and hit their developmental milestones faster! Understand how different toys stimulate your child’s development and learning below: Toys Stimulate the Sense of Touch: Texture Encourage your baby to play with toys of different textures. Play with soft toys or larger toys with a younger baby, as these are easier for your baby to reach out for. Let your baby feel the various fabrics like cotton, velvet, furry textures and so on. Focus on letting your baby realise how different materials feel different against his skin. You can also encourage them to play with sand or clay. Not only will it help develop their strength and coordination, but will teach them how to grip and hold different objects. Allowing your child’s touch receptors to be stimulated develops their spatial relationships and tactile experiences, and helps them recognise patterns and shapes. Toys stimulate the Sense of Sight: Colours The reason why all children’s toys are vibrantly colourful is that colours are a great stimulus for their brains. Colourful toys hanging from a mobile help stimulate your baby’s sense of sight. Certain colours help your child get excited about play and some colours help teach your child to associate that colour with real objects surrounding him. Parents are advised to provide their babies with toys that have strong contrasting colours and patterns to stimulate their baby’s developing vision. Once their sense of sight improves, it will serve to motivate your baby to interact more and more with their surroundings. Toys stimulate Motor Skills Development: Movement Parents often wonder whether their babies are following their movements, and if not, when they will start doing so. Stimulation helps a great deal at this age and a gadget like a rotating mobile will help teach your baby to follow a moving object with his eyes. Once your baby starts reaching for the toys, he will develop hand to eye coordination. Parents are advised to then introduce their child to toys that require some level of coordination between limbs and build their strength and balance, thereby developing their large motor skills. Toys stimulate Sense of Hearing: Sounds Parents are advised to provide their babies with toys such as music boxes, rattles, or toys that squeak or play music when pressed. The sense of sound helps your baby develop his language skills and thought processes. When your baby observes that his toy makes a sound, when pressed or shook in a certain manner, he will be able to deduce patterns of cause and effect. It will help him understand that when a particular action is taken, it brings about a particular reaction. In any case, once your baby is a few months old, he would also be able to understand that his cries bring about a certain reaction from you. For tips on the best kinds of toys to stimulate your child’s development, click here. Do you agree that playing with toys is beneficial for our kids? What kind of toys do you encourage your child to play with? How does playing with toy help your child to learn and develop? Discuss here.
Some parents operate under the misconception that toys are just a frivolous means to divert a child’s mind when the parents are busy. Research, however, has shown that playing with toys is crucial for the development of children’s cognitive, social, physical, and emotional well-being. Toys stimulate a baby’s sense of touch, sight and hearing while also developing their imagination and dexterity. They boost a baby’s attention span and curiosity level, and help its memory and nervous system develop faster. Therefore, babies who have been encouraged to play with the
right toys have better muscle coordination, develop fine and gross motor skills faster, and hit their
developmental milestones faster!
Understand how different toys stimulate your child’s development and learning below:
Toys Stimulate the Sense of Touch: Texture
Encourage your baby to play with toys of different textures. Play with soft toys or larger toys with a younger baby, as these are easier for your baby to reach out for. Let your baby feel the various fabrics like cotton, velvet, furry textures and so on. Focus on letting your baby realise how different materials feel different against his skin.
You can also encourage them to play with sand or clay. Not only will it help develop their strength and coordination, but will teach them how to grip and hold different objects. Allowing your child’s touch receptors to be stimulated develops their spatial relationships and tactile experiences, and helps them recognise patterns and shapes.
Toys stimulate the Sense of Sight: Colours
The reason why all children’s toys are vibrantly colourful is that colours are a great stimulus for their brains. Colourful toys hanging from a mobile help stimulate your baby’s sense of sight. Certain colours help your child get excited about play and some colours help teach your child to associate that colour with real objects surrounding him.
Parents are advised to provide their babies with toys that have strong contrasting colours and patterns to stimulate their baby’s developing vision. Once their sense of sight improves, it will serve to motivate your baby to interact more and more with their surroundings.
Toys stimulate Motor Skills Development: Movement
Parents often wonder whether their babies are following their movements, and if not, when they will start doing so. Stimulation helps a great deal at this age and a gadget like a rotating mobile will help teach your baby to follow a moving object with his eyes.
Once your baby starts reaching for the toys, he will develop hand to eye coordination. Parents are advised to then introduce their child to toys that require some level of coordination between limbs and build their strength and balance, thereby developing their large motor skills.
Toys stimulate Sense of Hearing: Sounds
Parents are advised to provide their babies with toys such as music boxes, rattles, or toys that squeak or play music when pressed. The sense of sound helps your baby develop his language skills and thought processes.
When your baby observes that his toy makes a sound, when pressed or shook in a certain manner, he will be able to deduce patterns of cause and effect. It will help him understand that when a particular action is taken, it brings about a particular reaction. In any case, once your baby is a few months old, he would also be able to understand that his cries bring about a certain reaction from you.
For tips on the best kinds of toys to stimulate your child’s development, click here.
Do you agree that playing with toys is beneficial for our kids? What kind of toys do you encourage your child to play with? How does playing with toy help your child to learn and develop? Discuss here.
