Toys and Games – Reviews and News

It would seem with all of this new technology such as computer consoles and crazy programmes for kids on the television that smaller and smaller numbers of children are actually sitting down with their parents and building something from one of those model kits. Even easier constrictive sets like the popular Lego bricks are finding it hard to sell and it would seem that adults are more interested than kids. However is all of this actually having an effect on our children?

Gaming

Personally I have no problem at all with kids sitting down and playing video games but this should really only be done at certain times and they should not be there all of the time doing it. The great thing about model kit building is that kids need help with it which is where the parents come in but with something like gaming it is often the kids teaching the parents on what to do which is why on the most part gaming is called unsociable. Although I do not believe this to be true because of things like Xbox Live I have to say model building with the parents would be much better for a child.

So if you can why not get your child a model kit and sit down with them to build it, if this is something you know will not happen then consider getting them one of those RC helicopters or RC Tanks.

I posted a question recently on answer bank and was really surprised at the response.

My question was what do you reckon was the best toy you ever owned?

First reply was etch a sketch, I  too had one of those and got hours of fun out of it.

Next up was Hungry Hippos probably one game that most people have either owned or heard of.

Someone else said it was a yo yo and another juggling balls which kept them amused for hours.

Football was mentioned utilising Mums washing line to make  your own makeshift goalposts in the back garden. Also a boomerang.

Another real old favourite was lego which I suppose really took over from mecano.

For the girls there was of course Sindy, My Little Ponies, and of course Barbie Doll.

The strange thing is if you notice out of all the replies there is only one game which requires more than one to play.

Wonder what that says about our childhoods or do we just  prefer our own company? Maybe we were simply just used to amusing ourselves better, thats my theory anyway!

I suppose when I look at all the different toys what strikes me most is the lack of computer games. It seems that the good old fashioned traditional toys are the ones that seem to stand the test of time and its those we remember best!

What do you think?

Where do you start with buying a learning toy for a child?

Are you the harassed Uncle or Auntie wondering what to buy a niece or nephew? Are you a puzzled Mum or Dad wondering what toy may connect with your child and develop them further?

Truth be told there are simply too many toys for parents to choose from and guess what the parents choice is typically narrowed by advertisers and peer pressure.

Look at every Christmas, there is typically a mad stampede for the en-vogue toy of choice, which inavriably ends-up in the obscure never-never land of the back of the wardrobe once the novelty wears off.

Another factor is are those buying presents actually that bothered whether a toy is going to have the right benefit for the child? My guess and experience is not, but you may disagree.

Do the likes of Argos, Woolworths and Toys R Us and the like actually give people the right choices? Or are mass marketed, mass produced, easy win, easy buy toys with attractive packaging co-ersing people into making an impulse purchase.

Have you ever tried asking a member of staff on whether a specific toy would be good for a childs reading, or writing or arithmitec skills? They haven’t a clue and subsequently a child is then in the hands of the gods.

Unfortunately this is endemic of society and the fast speedy world in which we live in which everything must be done at a pace. Thankfully there are a number of stores which do care about children and that do care about what toys they play with.

Traditional toys, wooden toys, retro toys, learning toys, educational toys call them what you like, they still have a place in homes up and down the UK, it is just a pity that so many people do not get to know about these stores.

I have purchased many of these ‘traditional toys’ but not from the big high street stores, I have always found the time to be purposeful about certain toy purchases. That is not to say that I do not enjoy a visit to Toys R Us? Of course I do, all that fun in one place. All I am saying is don’t expect to find toys that will make use of your child’s imagination and nurture their learning.

My favourite Toy Shops include Mulberry Bush Online Toy Shop which is great for Traditional Toys and Hamleys which is an absolute Aladdins cave!

Children are learning even before they are born. Every event or experience they have is educational and this is why it is important for them to have access to play facilities and toys that will make a positive contribution to their ongoing learning. Play activities contribute towards a child’s educational development in many ways including:

• Psycho-motor skills development, hand to eye coordination, manipulation, dexterity.
• Language development
• Communication skills
• Cognitive skills (concentration, perception, memory and logical thinking)
• Creative thinking and problem solving
• Personality development

Todays toy shops are full of the latest whizzy electronic toys. Many are advertised as being educational but are really simply attention grabbing. Tests have shown that humans are predisposed to pay attention to rapidly changing events, loud and unusual sounds and the like. Many modern toys exploit these predispositions with loud, noise-making flashing toys that will grab the attention of any youngster but may actually provide limited educational value.

The right educational toys will be stimulating and fun to play with rather than simply being another form of entertainment. And the right educational toy for a baby is obviously a lot different to the educational toy that will stimulate a 10 year old.

Babys and infants need things to look at, to touch, to shake, rattle and roll. Varied colours, varied textures, varied sounds and varied behaviours will all provide immense enjoyment and stimulation to an infant and they will be learning whilst having fun. For example the Baby and Blankie is a beautifully made developmental toy for babies that won the Good Toy Guide Gold Award.

Toddlers in the 1 to 2 year age range are getting to grips with language and associations with the physical world. They like to stack things, build things up and then knock them down again. The baby walker is a well known traditional toy that is loved by toddlers taking their first wobbly steps. Equipped with a cargo of assorted bricks that allow the child to stack and build and knock down whilst encouraging creativity and achievement.

As they grow, toddlers begin to try and emulate the adults around them. They will enjoy dressing up, role play games and adopting personas such as a fireman, postman, nurse or doctor. They will also derive enjoyment from problem solving, puzzle games, building kits and fantasy play.

Many of us will remember having a toy castle when we were children. Building the castle encourages children’s language skills development and creativity as the child creates their own story, imagining their castle occupied by knights and princesses, fighting off dragons and invaders.

From a very early age children will enjoy creating things by drawing, painting, gluing and colouring in. As they grow their drive to create becomes increasingly sophisticated. They will want to have a go at all sorts of creative play, from painting pictures to building a volcano. Luckily there is no shortage of creativity toys from simple sets of crayons and colouring books to bead jewellery and flower gardens.

Don’t be deceived by the hype and advertising of modern, supposedly educational toys. Many have limited educational value and are actually entertainment devices that provide little stimulation or opportunities for learning. There are many traditional toys that make ideal, traditional gifts providing a valuable educational experience for growing children.

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I recently re-read this interesting article: Bringing up Brainy: A look at the educational toy market, in which Dr. Dimitri Christakis details some of the results of his research into attention problems in children. He has found that letting a baby watch television may actually cause them harm.

His study involved almost 1,300 children and found that TV may simply be too much for developing brains to handle. He states that:

“Our minds are conditioned to immediately stop paying attention to what we’re currently focusing on if we hear or see something that seems strange. Television actually explicitly exploits that, in the case of young children.”

Reading this I was prompted to reflect upon the way in which I have seen very young children sit in an almost mesmerised state whilst staring at cartoons on the television. The rapidly changing images and sounds exploit the brains inclination to pay attention to things that appear strange or out of the ordinary. In the wild this natural pre-disposition would have kept us from being eaten!

Dr. Christakis has found that a child’s risk of developing attention related problems increases significantly the more TV they are exposed to. He goees on to look at Disney’s Baby Einstein series of DVDs and videos which are aimed at infants. He found that Disney had carried out little or no research into the way in which the pace of the editing in the programmes and the rapidly changing imagery actually affects the development of a babies brain.

Child development specialists are pretty much agreed that too much TV is bad for children. Dr. Christakis recommends that children under two years old should not be exposed to any televsion whatsoever.

Developing infants need stimulation and interest. They need things to touch, manipulate, look at, shake, rattle and roll. Parents and carers of young babies will know how fascinating they can find things like packaging, kitchen utensils and everyday household objects. If you are looking for suitable toys for a baby or infant, maybe a gift for Christmas, try sticking to the more traditional toys and games that you will have probably played with as a youngster. Building blocks, dolls, crayons and simple games are all learning toys that will encourage investigation, support psycho-motor skills development and foster imagination and creative play. What’s more, they are unlikely to contribute towards your child developing attention related problems.