9 Disappointing things with most toys in the market
As a new parent, it’s understandable that you would like to introduce educational concepts early in a fun manner to your child. It is easy to assume that big toy companies know what they are doing when they are selling certain toys as educational that are battery operated, with too many buttons and sounds blaring at the press of each button. Yet, If you have wondered why your child does not play with a similar recent purchase from these biggie toy companies.
Here’s why:
Noisy : The nursery rhyme coming out of a battery operated toy is not a real human voice. infants love soft sounds and voices and find it comforting. Too much noise irritates their gentle ear drums of your child leading to them losing attention and even crying a few moments later.
Flashy : You’ve seen toys that have too many lights flashing along with sounds blaring and have cartoon characters on them! That’s a lot of things for your little child to process and again leads to irritation and inability to focus. ‘Less is More’ when it comes to infants to pre-schoolers. Isolation of one concept at a time helps to understand what is going and leads to better brain development
Plastic : Little children are easily stimulated through their senses and soak in every thing through it. Plastic toys unfortunately do not cater to the sensorial needs of your child and lead to lesser play time. On the contrary when presented with toys made from natural material like wood, cloth etc, you will notice extended time of play and engagement.
Minimal Value : Don’t let big toy companies make you feel guilty for not spending quality time with your child. You don’t need to build a pre school for your child. It also may seem easy that buying a new toy may be an easy solution for a little ‘me time’, but if the toy cannot hold your child’s interest for long without your involvement then it’s not good solution. Too many toys overwhelm children and lead to the child not playing with any toy or playing with it for a very little time. 4-5 toys presented on a low shelf make it easy for your child to choose and play. But ever heard any big toy company tell you that it’s ok not to buy more?!
High Parent Involvement : Reading of instructions, Assembling, Building, Teaching how to play with a toy repeatedly and ending up doing it for the child is counter productive to a child’s brain development. Playing with the child is different then doing it for the child. The child does not learn anything and the parent ends up getting frustrated. It’s important to present toys to your child that they are able to play on their own Eg: A simple ball to roll and kick on their own.
Complex : Be it a video game or toy, some of them though targeted to a certain age could be earlier than a child’s capability to play with it. In your eagerness to upskill your child you may be presenting toys that are beyond their capability at that time and ends up frustrating them. Whereas toys targeted to the right age and capability level can build confidence in your child that they can do it on their own
Active than the child : Movement is important for little children’s growth and development. A child is constantly learning through movement right from birth. When your child is presented with toys that move around them while they simply stare at it passively, it is counterproductive to their growth & learning.
Toxic & Unsafe for the environment : As you have grown more conscious of what kind of food and play material you provide your child, You are also conscious of the impact of your purchases after you no longer have use for it. Unfortunately most plastic toys are single use. They loose their aesthetics with time and become dull making it unattractive to little children. They cannot be passed on for generations and end up in landfill and will stay there for a very long time
Low Stimulation : Most toys are not designed to cater to the capability and competency level of a child. Every child can play with toys easily that are designed for thier age and developmental milestones.In absence of a gentle challenge for growth inbuilt in the toy, most plastic and commercially available toys are unable to stimulate the child's brain leaving them feeling frustrated.
Provide your child with purpose based, development specific toys that are made from natural material and stimulate their developing brain.
