Word Count:Educational Toys - Do They Help?

Most parents complain that their child does not concentrate on his/her academic pursuits, but instead whiles away the time, playing with toys. For such parents, and for all others, educational toys have come like a breath of fresh air and a ray of hope. Purpose As the name suggest, the purpose of educational toys, is to educate. They essentially make learning fun, and have helped many a child to grasp the basics of various subjects. Over a period of time, many teachers, education experts have also started prescribing the use of educational toys to increase the intellectual ability of the child. Developing a child's abilities Educational toys are instrumental in developing the child, both emotionally, physically, as well as, intellectually. While buying an educational toy, you must take into consideration the age of the child. For example, a baby needs an educational toy that will help it grasp concepts like stimulation and hand-eye coordination etc, toddlers might just enjoy toys that will help them indulge in various activities etc, older children need a different set of educational toys. Target the area of development of a child, and buy a toy accordingly. Stimulation of creativity Educational toys also stimulate the creative pursuit of a child. There are many such toys available in the market that help a child learn the basic of drawing, crafts, or any other creative activity. Look for toys that will give wings to the imagination of a child. In the modern world, be wary of toys that, in the guise of education, focus on the play, and not practical education. The best toys are those that make a child think and perform accordingly. They get rid of stress All toys de-stress children. However, these toys go one step further and not only entertain, but also mold the psychological tendencies of the child. This means that they positively affect the core of the stressful condition and try to eliminate it. Again, at the same time, they assist the mental development of the child. Enjoy the learning process Such toys are getting increasingly popular because they are vibrant mix of entertainment and learning. Children get tired of studying and learning, more so, when they are forced to do the same. With educational toys, children might never realize that they are actually gaining some valuable learning lessons from the use of educational toys. They will learn, but in a way that is natural and thus they will understand the concepts in a better way. Educational toys make learning fun. Building knowledge and interest One of the most important benefits of using educational toys is that they increase the knowledge base of the children. More importantly there are various curriculum based educational toys that are specially designed to cater to particular subjects, such as science, mathematics, language etc. If such educational toys are used at a very young age, they help in piquing the interest of the children in the subjects that they might study after a few years. Increasing intelligence As a general course of occurrence, educational toys also increase the general level of intelligence in a child. This is because they make a child think and then perform. In most educational toys, there is a set of instructions that a child has to follow. This also teaches the child a certain level of discipline. Cognition Many of the educational toys cater to the needs of children, who have not yet started kindergarten, focus on developing their cognitive skills. There are toys that focus on the use of fine motor skills, in a child, before kindergarten. This helps a child, to effectively help in learning how to hold a pencil and to write with it. Helps specially challenged children Educational toys help people with either physical or mental disability to grasp the basics of various day to day activities, which they might otherwise not be able to learn. Even at the classroom level, many teachers use educational toys to explain various subjects to disabled children. Many a dyslexic child has learnt how to read and write through the use of various educational toys that are designed specially for their use. Increases dexterity Not only do they help in increasing mental dexterity, but physical dexterity as well. This is important for people who have learning difficulties or are suffering from conditions like autism etc. Such toys, help in problem solving and at times, are so effective that even specially challenged children, learn to read better, get good test scores, and think faster then they would have done if traditional methods of teaching had been used. Extensible toys There are quite a few educational toys, available that have an extensible nature. Meaning, a child can use them through various stages of his/her development. Throughout this time, the toy does not lose its inherent educational value and the child can learn something new from it all the time. All, this answers the question in our topic. Yes, educational toys are useful and will continue to be an integral part of the educational process of a child.

Classic Toys=Classic Fun

It seems nowadays children are preoccupied with either television or video games. But it wasn’t that long ago when children had to use their ingenuity and imaginations to be entertained when playing and having fun. Parents can bring back this ideology back into our homes by turning off those dreaded machines, getting back to the basics and bringing into our homes the classic toys that have entertained and educated children.

With the advent of the “video age”, there is no doubt toy companies feel slighted on the bottom line. But some toys stand the test of time and never go out of style, still entertaining and thrilling children for decades, with no let up in sight. Let’s explore one of these classic toys and an icon of the toy industry:

Etch a Sketch

Invented in the late 1950’s by a gentleman named Arthur Granjean (he called it “L ‘Ecran Magique”), meaning the magic screen; in his garage. The Ohio Art Company decided to take a chance on his “drawing toy” and renamed it the Etch A Sketch and in 1960 launched a successful television advertisement campaign to promote it.

The response was so overwhelming, Ohio Art continued to produce them until noon Christmas Eve, 1960. The toys were then immediately shipped to the west coast so people there could have the Etch A Sketch in time for Christmas.

The Etch A Sketch has entertained over 100 million adults and children in 67 countries worldwide. The basic design pretty much stayed the same, although Ohio Art did offer hot pink and blue frames in the 1970’s, but found that people preferred the traditional red frame. Additionally, the Etch A Sketch Club was formed in 1978 and has an average of 2,000 members worldwide.

For fun, take a poll of your friends or coworkers, and ask them how many of them ever drew something with an Etch A Sketch. Your numbers will be astonishing; it was and still is, one of the world’s most popular toys!

Did you know there is an Official Etch A Sketch Website? You can go to www.etch-a-sketch.com if you want to learn more about this marvel of the toy industry and if you are feeling a bit nostalgic you can even draw online!

Children Can Learn With Classic Toys

Have we lost our children in a hypnotic video game trance? Have they become “drones” to the “video age”?

Sometimes it may seem that way as many children spend hour upon hour in front of a video screen, pressing buttons or jockeying around a joystick. But it is up to the parents of children to say enough, let’s find some educational alternatives. However, it wasn’t that long ago when we were kids….we had real toys….classic toys.

Let’s step into a time tunnel of sorts and recall some of the fascinating toys that we had the pleasure of playing with:

Tinker Toys

Ahh..Tinker Toys..rods, sticks, spools, spokes..simple, but a true classic toy invented in 1914 by Charles Pajeau, who was a stonemason by trade from Evanston, Illinois. He was inspired by children playing with pencils, sticks and empty spools of thread to create his new toy. He saw them improvising and using their imaginations and wondered if improve upon what they were doing. He designed his first set of Tinker Toys in his garage and displayed them in 1914 at the American Toy Fair.

Alas, his Tinker Toys drew no interest. So he tried again, this time at Christmas time, but with a new marketing plan. Pajeau hired several midgets and had them dress in elf costumes. He then had them “play” with the Tinker Toys” in a store display window in a Chicago department store and with this publicity a new toy was born. After a year or so, over one million sets of Tinker Toys had been sold!

Lincoln Logs

Notched redwood logs that could be used to construct log cabins, Lincoln Logs were the invention of John Lloyd Wright, son of famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The inter locking logs, invented in 1916, were fashioned after the foundation of Tokyo’s earthquake-proof Imperial Hotel, which the younger Wright witnessed being constructed.

During the World War I era, it was in vogue to encourage American patriotism and for American’s to buy American made products, thus the new toy was named after one of our most revered presidents, Abraham Lincoln.

The original sets sold very well and became even more popular with the introduction of television to the United States. In fact, Lincoln Logs were among the first toys to be advertised and promoted on television. Capitalizing on the popularity of westerns in early television, Lincoln Logs were successful promoted on 1953’s Pioneer Playhouse.

Today, Lincoln Logs are still available and have stood the test of time. As a matter of fact, as late as 1975, Lincoln Logs were still selling at a rate of one million sets per year. A sophisticated toy, it challenges youngsters to use their imagination and improve hand-eye coordination skills.