Educational Toys for Infants and Toddlers

Educational Toys for Infants and Toddlers

With Christmas just 6 weeks away I thought I should include some gift ideas for infants and toddlers. These are all items that are educational and help in a child's development as he or she grows.

While there are a lot of toys out there for young children with bells and whistles (literally), I have always believed that simple toys are best. A child needs things they can build with and learn from. In addition to this I feel many toys out there provide too much stimulation for younger children.

Here are some of my recommendations.

Wooden Blocks

Wooden blocks are great for children over the age of 18 months (could be for younger infants if the blocks are big and non-toxic). You can get many varieties these days, like the typical wooden blocks with alphabet or numbers, or blocks of different shapes that can be used to build various structures. One of my kids' favourite block sets came in a little wooden wagon with wheels. My oldest used to dump out the blocks and pull the wagon around the house. It took him some time before he realized he can put the blocks in the wagon and take them for a ride also.

Lego Duplo

Lego is a fabulous product for kids of any age. They have the Duplo line which is suitable for infants and toddlers. The Duplo blocks are larger and easier for little hands to play with. The line also includes a variety of animals, vehicles, theme characters (Toy Story, Cars Movie), and building structures.

Shape Sorters

Shape sorters are excellent for developing your child's critical thinking and mathematical skills. It is the beginning stage ofmaking puzzles and sorting shapes. They often come in a ball or a cube with a number of small pieces that fit into certain slots. Our kids even have one with Elmo on one side and Cookie Monster on the other that "eats" the shapes.

Pretend Play Toys

Every little child looks up to their parents and wants to be like them and do what they are doing. Pretend play toys are ideal for this. These days you can find evrthing from play kitchenstoworkshops. I have a preference for the Little Tikes brand simply for durability, but there are some great wooden options through more specialized toy stores. You can also buy play sets like a fry pan with fake food, kitchen cutlery, tool sets, and more. And with all these tech gadgets these days, even little cameras, phones and laptops are showing up in stores.

I also suggest finding some nice dress up items like sunglasses, fireman hats, nurse hats, doctor sets, cowboy outfits, princess clothes, etc. I often grab some extra stuff after Halloween, when the prices are low on costumes.

Enjoy shopping for your little ones and most of all, enjoying playing with them at home.

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