By Karah St. Preux

When deciding what toys to get your babies and toddlers, sometimes it’s easy to just get the cheapest thing you see at the store, or maybe the cool toy that lights up that they’ve been begging you for. But there are many toys and play activities that actually have the ability to help your child’s development. Want to know some of the best toys for childhood development? Here’s 5 items to consider getting next time you’re doing some toy shopping for your tots!

Blocks

Even though blocks may be considered a toy that is simple, they still provide a lot of entertainment for all. Blocks that include letters have the opportunity to introduce babies and toddlers to these letters & shapes and begin to form the foundations of spelling. When being utilized for building, once children decide what they want to build, they’ll have to problem solve and plan in order to accomplish what they are imagining. They can even begin learning things like balance as they stack the blocks with one another. By playing with blocks, babies and toddlers have the ability to build creativity and imagination as well as learn all about educational principles.

Puzzles 

Puzzles are one of the best toys to aid in the development of young minds. They help to challenge young children and toddlers while increasing their problem solving skills and teach them that sometimes they must look at things from a different perspective in order to accomplish a goal. Puzzles also help with hand-eye coordination as they must fit the puzzle piece properly in place to fit. By solving puzzles, children are able to solve a problem from beginning to end and it helps their brain develop persistence. If children are working to solve it on their own, they are also able to learn about independence and gain confidence in their abilities.

Play Carpets

Play carpets embrace imaginative and creative play, and toddlers and children are able to create a whole world of their own on them. With play carpets, they are able to enjoy fun that can last for hours while also increasing their social skills. With 3D play carpets like ours, kids can play using all of their senses. Sensory play is important because it helps children become aware of their senses, helps cognitive growth, and helps with language development. There are so many different play carpets that are available for kids, so you might as well pick a 3D play carpet cause there’s nothing else quite like them!

Mini City M

Art-Based Toys

With art-based toys such as paint, markers, colored pencils, clay, and more- young children are able to increase their fine motor skills. Children are able to learn how to use their hands by grasping objects such as markers, crayons, brushes and more. Art toys also help with hand-eye coordination and they give kids the ability to explore self-expression. Self-expression has the ability to increase confidence within an individual.

Wooden Toys

Not only are wooden toys good for children, they’re good for the environment too! 

Classic toys such as wooden ones have the ability to help kids develop problem solving skills, as well as motor skills. With wooden toys, kids are not in front of a screen or pressing buttons on a digital game. They are able to use their fine motor skills and actually embrace creative play. Our pick for the best ones to get? IVI’s non-toxic wooden play set, available on Amazon now!