Play is the essential work of childhood. Children need toys to learn, explore, and create during childhood. Meanwhile, parents are under immense pressure to buy toys such as Legos, dolls, and remote-control dinosaurs that flash lights and roll. Parents also exhibit immaculately curated playrooms and complicated toy rotation systems on their Instagram feeds, which adds to the pressure.
Here’s what experts say about what kids need regarding toys and how parents can sort through all the choices to find the right ones.
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Toys Are Educational
For children to develop essential skills, it’s necessary to “curate a toy collection and focus on appropriate toys for play. Erica J. Card, a store director, said that play is integral to children’s development. With suitable toys, she emphasizes, children won’t even realize they are learning.
The Toy Diet. What Does It Entail?
Rebecca Rolland, a lecturer and author said, “Having a variety of toys is important since each kind of toy is an ‘invitation’ to develop different skills in kids.” Card suggests six categories of toys as part of a healthy “toy diet”: creativity, movement, communication, logic, fine motor, and gross motor.
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Boredom: How To Cope
At some point, all children will get bored. You don’t need to buy more if your toys are developmentally appropriate and in line with your child’s interests. In addition, Dr. Zishan Khan recommends helping your child enjoy their time with activities without toys.
What Can Parents Do To Resist The Pressure?
Parents may be tempted to ignore this advice when they see a hot toy on social media. Regarding social media pressure, Eccleston says someone is making money off people clicking on their affiliate links. It’s most likely to be for financial gain, even if it’s from a personal social media page.
Keeping your children from watching the latest toy on television and the tablet can help ease parental pressure. Keeping children away from commercials is helpful, as they are designed to attract their attention and encourage their purchase.