ALT-3 Educational Gifts for Toddlers
Educational gifts for toddlers.
Toddlers are at that stage where curiosity leads them into all kinds of mischief, and keeping naughty hands busy can be combined with learning, though care is needed in choices bought for children of this age. Parts of toys should never be too small or tempting to swallow, and avoiding this danger is always a good idea.
BOOKS
Toddlers won't really get a huge amount out of paper books. Chances are they will rip the pages, scribble on them, and generally discard them. There are however very inventive cloth books that can be shared with kids at this age. Illustration is everything because if you want to keep their attention, they need the stimulation of pictures. They are too young to read, though the ABC books are great because even though they don't realize they are learning, you can read out silly little phrases that stay in their minds and reinforce reading skills.
BUILDING BLOCKS
There are all kinds of building blocks available for small children. These are big enough not to tempt the child to put them in their mouth and either slot together getting them to understand shape and form, or brightly colored to enhance their knowledge of color recognition.
ACTIVITY CENTERS
Brightly colored activity centers really do grab a toddler's attention, though do be careful in your choices as many are inferior and offer very little of educational value. The activity centers and toys that give voice feedback to certain actions are good for learning, and even recognition of which animal makes which noise are helpful, interesting and amusing to a toddler. The best ones have a wide range of skills like turning a dial, pushing a button, pulling a string, each rewarded by recognition and some kind of stimulation that tells the child they achieved the aim.
PICTURE CARDS
Picture cards for smaller kiddies need to be those that are larger and have a plastic washable surface. They will be abused, though buying good quality ones mean they will last longer. These can be a combination of people, animals, letters, numbers and colors, although don't expect immediate recognition at this stage of development. The child will grasp those skills in their own time but the cards help the subconscious to digest information.
There are thousands of toys on the market that are both educational and stimulating for the toddler and that will assist them in the learning process. Giving a child toys that stimulate will also keep them out of mischief, although parent inter action is essential. Show them how to do things, let them discover the joys of learning, and you will have built a good foundation for the education that follows.
