Dolls, little dinosaurs, plush animals, wooden blocks, puzzles, stacking games, coloured sticks, train sets, tiny little cars that run when pulled back, remote controlled boats with the little propellers, dollhouses, and pocket kitchens—these are the building blocks of our childhood.
Nostalgia comes when we try to remember what it was like when everything was simpler and all we had to worry about was what toy we would play next. There were no deadlines, no meetings, no paychecks, no utility bills, no jobs that we had to stress about. Our only job when we were little was to play. Can we go back in time, please?
Now that we’re the parents, we recognise the intense importance of toys in the lives of our children. They play a crucial role in early development because toys are not just objects that entertain or get rid of boredom. Toys are basically the teachers for exploration, experimentation, and learning about how the world works. A child learns to get dressed, button up shirts, or pull up socks with the help of dolls or plush toys. A child learns about colours and sizes when playing with pretend fruits and vegetables or little model zoo animals. A child learns about motion and structure when playing with trucks and cars. A child learns to share and interact when playing with toys like dolls, puzzles, blocks, or pretend careers with tools. It’s definitely safe to say that there’s so much learning and development happening in the brains of our children when it’s playtime. Of course, when you’re a kid, awake time is playtime.
This is why it’s important for us parents to recognise and appreciate how toys contribute to our children’s development. We should understand that toys are an investment for their early education and prepare them for their years in formal school. But how exactly do toys help our kids? Let’s explore that.
Toys promote cognitive development. Cognitive development happens when children are given the chance to explore and experience the world around them. Even in infancy, cognitive skills are developed using what they call sensory toys. These teach them about colours, textures, shapes, sizes, and numbers even from just a simple set of coloured wooden blocks. More importantly, these kinds of toys help with other early on-set cognitive skills like spatial awareness, depth awareness, colour recognition, number recognition, and even something not-so-simple as problem solving and critical thinking. Let’s take for example puzzles, which are amazing for a child’s cognitive awareness. A simple challenge of matching the pieces or figuring out what comes next in the picture allows the child to analyse what the problem is and solve that problem. This kind of exercise targets logical thinking skills and improves the child’s ability to make connections by understanding that a certain photo or picture will not be complete without the missing parts or the puzzle pieces.
Toys enhance social skills. Toys from Brio are amazing for social development in children. These toys that simulate real life and real occupations promote opportunities for children to interact with each other and learn from each other. This is called interactive play, and this is how children learn early values such as sharing, telling stories, cooperating, learning to communicate effectively, and following social norms.
Even toys as simple as little dinosaurs allow kids to act out roles, imagine scenarios, and challenge them to use their imagination. This is still how children learn to understand their role in society and to accept the functions that they have in that society. Through imaginative play with toys, children develop essential social skills and learn how to navigate real-world roles and responsibilities.
More importantly, toys allow children to understand their own culture and their own responsibilities as children. Even as young as four or five year olds are encouraged to participate in household chores, depending on their capacity and physical abilities, of course. One thing is for sure, toys teach children how to achieve goals and how to be part of a group, whether that group is doing group play with the toys, simultaneous play, or parallel play.
Toys promote emotional intelligence. One of the biggest challenges of having children is teaching them the ability to regulate their emotions and to manage their behaviours. Children’s emotional development takes a longer time to exercise and manage simply because their emotional growth is still limited. Maturity is still a long way off at this age, which is exactly why toys are great at helping comfort our kids, provide companionship and entertainment, and give them an avenue for self-expression.
Let’s take for example stuffed animals, a common source of comfort in very young children. The “teddy bear” icon provides a security blanket to a child and provides a nurturing environment the same as that of having a close family member. At the same time, having this kind of “safety” allows the child to also express empathy and compassion to playmates because he knows what “safe” is and what comfort is. Even things like colouring books and colourful blocks provide a way for children to explore their feelings and ideas and be expressive with their emotions. Through these kinds of toys, children can find a way to identify how they feel and how to express what they’re feeling.
In conclusion
Toys are definitely not just objects that entertain our kids or objects that are put on display when guests arrive so we can brag that we give our kids the best kind of toys. Toys are so much more than just for entertaining or decoration but are actually opportunities for teaching our kids so much about life and learning.
In the most important aspect, toys pave the way for early development in our children; cognitive, emotional, and social development. It’s important for us parents, as the providers of toys for our children, to choose the best kind of toys that will ultimately align with the needs and interests of our child and help build a foundation for his future best self.
