Finding the BEST Educational Toys

You child is going to play with toys.  That is pretty much a given fact.  What you can do is to make sure that at least SOME of those toys also stimulate their mind and educate them.  This can be done in a variety of ways.  There are many opinions on the subject.  But here are some points you might think about when choosing the best educational toy for your child.

Age:

You must pick a learning toy that is age appropriate.  You don’t want to get an older kid a baby toy such as blocks with letters. And you certainly don’t want to get your toddler a chemistry set full of poisons.  You may find that the toys you are interested in are age rated which helps.  The other thing is to simply use a healthy dose of common sense.  Will this be fun for this child?  Will it be too difficult?  Will it be safe?

What does your child like?

This is sometimes difficult to determine.  For example perhaps you want to get a toy musical instrument but your child has never had any kind of musical instrument.  If you think they might like it and you can use an entry level toy and spend more later if they enjoy and use it.  You can always get something better down the road.  But you don’t want to buy your 7 year old a $2000 guitar first thing.  That would just be a waste of money.  Remember that common sense thing?

If you child likes to draw, maybe more art projects are in order.  If they like to build things, then perhaps project toys such as erector sets, project blocks, electronic circuit toys and so on would be good.  Again this should all be age appropriate.

Ruggedness:

If your child likes to stomp on the toys then you need really rugged toys.  I don’t have to tell you that.  You have to know.  The point is that YOU know your child and I don’t.  You need toys that are rugged enough to counteract the wear and tear your child will put on the toy or the money is wasted.  Sure, sometimes it is difficult to know just how rugged a toy will be.  Just give it your best guess.

Desirability:

If the toy is advertised on TV and your kid is asking for it then THEY desire the toy.  Now you need to see if it is something that YOU desire them to have.  You might not want your child playing a first person shooter blood and guts video game.  These are YOUR choices.  You have to look at your child’s desires and weigh them against YOUR desires.  This is often a point of concern.

Safety:

This is a super important point.  Year ago parents often gave toys with a zillion super tiny pieces that their child could choke on.  Now days this is more commonly thought about.  Many consumer organizations rate toys for safety and blow the whistle on products that are unsafe.   Again, I don’t know your child, you have to decide if your child is capable of handling chemistry sets and electric circuits.  Think about tiny pieces that can be swallowed or worse, sharp objects, poisons, and more.

The honest truth is that it is YOU the parent who has to use that healthy dose of “common sense” which is all too commonly no common.

Here at Pelican Learning Zone we offer educational toys of many varieties.  You will find them for ages down to infant and up to young adult.  Pay attention and get something that is educational, fun, safe for hours of enjoyment.