by Rebecca Mayglothling

Created on: July 21, 2010   Last Updated: July 24, 2010

Toddler toys should be for play!

If a toddler toy is inspected and compared to other toys, the assessment is they are all the same. Some talk, some remain silent, but they are mostly brightly colored and over-sized for little hands. A purchaser of toddler toys for the holidays may be interested in a toy teaching colors, shapes, or letters, but the effect a toy has on the child depends on the response given by the caregiver of the child.

Toddlers have amazing imaginations and they learn from every resource available. However, when a toddler engages with a toy, caregivers should be concerned with the interaction. Playing with a toddler means talking to the toddler and explaining, therefore reinforcing, concepts such as colors, shapes, letters and numbers. A toddler who receives a plethora of information, such as many colors spoken in sequence by one mechanical voice, does not understand the color concept as quickly as a toddler who receives information regarding one color at a time.

Toddlers will push mechanical buttons to their heart's content, and they will have fun with the process. The button pushing process happens so quickly, information is thrown at a toddler in a rushed fashion. Consider trying to learn a new skill, such as mixing a bottle. If the instructions came in a quick fashion, such as waterformulashaketestheatserve, babies would starve! Toddlers, with their developing brains, need ideas explained slowly and repeatedly.The information needs to be broken down for full understanding.

Caretaker interaction is essential in a toddler's learning cycle. A caretaker can explain a concept to a toddler better than a machine, because the machine is responding to automatic gross or fine motor skills. Caretakers respond to human reactions and interactions. Caretakers slow the learning process, breaking concepts into parts rather than clumping like ideas. Toddler toys should be fun!

Toddler toys should be bought for both play and education simultaneously. Colorful blocks, with the proper interaction between child and adult, are as educational as a toy explaining various colors mechanically. A toddler caregiver may learn from the imagination of a toddler, realizing shapes, colors, numbers and letters need to be taught through creative methods. A toy that beeps, talks, and gurgles provides as much education as a simple set of foam letters. Toddler toys around the holidays, or any time, should be bought for fun and utilized by imagination between caregiver and toddler.

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