The Best Toddlers Toys to Keep Your Child Entertained

Research has shown that children (including toddlers) are spending more time in front of the screen (using computers, phones and watching television) than ever before. Why is this happening? Experts believe the reason for that is because parents are tired!

Taking care of small children takes a great amount of energy, attention and patience, so it’s totally understandable to want a few moments of peace every day. However, screen time in excess can be very harmful, and this applies to children of all ages. So, what you can you do to have a break without using the TV, the computer or your phone to entertain your little one? Buy toys that inspire little ones to play independently.

You might be thinking, buy toys? Your child has a full box of them but only play with a few ones, right? Here is the problem, if that box is full only with toys that do a small, limited number of things, that may explain why they are getting tossed aside. The best toys for babies and toddlers are those that require imagination and can be used in different ways. Here are some toys that are good for keeping children attention.

Dolls and Stuffed Animals

stuffed-toys

Kids love to pretend that their action figures, stuffed animals and dolls are real people or animals, and this can keep them entertained for hours. They may even play with a few of them at the same time, making different voices for each of them. That is not only fun for kids but also for parents to watch. Aside from being fun, dolls and stuffed animals provide a bunch of benefits for children such as comfort and confidence. Small children don’t have much control over their world and stuffed toy can provide an outlet for their own need for independence. Plus, acting as a parent to their toys put children in charge for a change, giving their confidence a boost.

Toys that Emit Sound or Have Pieces that Pop up or Move

These make the perfect toddler toys. Cause and effect toys fascinate toddlers and they really enjoy any toy that responds to his/her actions and makes use of newly acquired motor skills. For instance, he/she will love toys that allow them to hit a ball with a hammer, as well as toys with buttons that cause music to play or characters to pop up. Some high-tech toddler toys will name a letter, a shaper, or a number when your child presses a button.

Wooden Blocks

wooden-blocks

Blocks are a necessity for kids and children never seem to outgrow them. Although they are one of the simplest types of toys available, their possibilities are limited only by the child’s imagination. Toddlers can also benefit from them for learning activities as counting games and experimenting with basic addition and subtraction. As you can see, in addition to keeping kids busy, blocks also provide numerous learning opportunities. While plastic blocks are also available, we encourage parents to opt for wooden ones. In addition to being more durable, wooden toys have a bit of weight to them, so when children interact with them, they are more aware of what they are doing.

Train Set

train-set

A train set can be used in numerous ways, for example, to transport toys from one place to another, be the vehicles for dolls or stuffed animals, etc. A train set also lead kids to think out the construction of the layout and manipulate the toy train while creating a story to go with, igniting both imagination and engineering talent. Choose a train set that allows you to keep adding to it, so you can keep making it more interesting over time.

Dollhouses, Playsets and Figurines

dollhouses

Fire stations, miniature towns, castles, dollhouses, toy soldiers, superheroes, plastic animals, mini aeroplanes, etc, allow kids to twist fantasies and they physically manipulate the toys to play them out. And because all these toys fit nicely into a child-sized hand, this makes them great for helping children to develop fine motor skills.

Here are some tips to help you find the perfect toys for your children:

  • Go for Brand Names – Brand names are generally more reputable and often offer warranties that ensure the durability of their toys.
  • Read Reviews – Contrary to what many say, the majority of reviews you see on the internet are legitimate. You can learn a lot about the products you want to buy by reading what others who have bought and used them have to say about it. If there are more negative reviews than positive ones, it may be a good idea to look fora different brand or products instead.
  • Check the Recommended Age – Different toys are designed for different age ranges. Children younger than 2 years, for example, shouldn’t have anything with small parts because of the dangers of choking. And while a child of 5 won’t be attempting to eat small pieces, they might not have patience or understanding for a toy that’s been designed with older children in mind.
  • Consider the Features – A toy guitar may be cute, but does it have a volume control on it? If not, chances are you’ll be doomed to listen to it blaring every single time you attempt to make a phone call. Some products in the same genre will have very different features on them too, and it’s on your hands to decide what makes one set of features better for your child.

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