Toys are more than simple playthings. Depending on which ones you choose, they can help your child to develop, build skills and even improve communication abilities. When you think about your child’s toy play time, it’s likely that you picture them sitting on the living room floor and quietly building with blocks, dressing up dolls or running teeny tiny trains through a small-sized station. Or, maybe it’s more like brashly tossing a block brigade at a newly-built castle or whipping puzzle pieces into the air, just to see what happens.
Whatever way your child plays, it doesn’t have to mean that they only engage in solitary activities. Interacting during these times is a major way that growth and development happens. With that in mind, finding the best toys that support interactions with your child is key to making the most of these times. Not every toy is created equally. Some may encourage parent-child interactions and help to foster communication development more than others. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Pediatrics, researchers found that electronic toys (yes, even those so-called educational ones) did the least to promote positive social interactions. What got parents communicating with their children the most? Reading books!
Of course, books aren’t the only way to start talking and interact with your child. These toys are the top communication-makers and may do more than other playthings to support interactions.
1. A cardboard box: Yes, a cardboard box. It may be what that fancy “educational” toy came in, but it will do so much more for your child’s development than almost anything that’s store-bought. A plain moving-sized box (with the top cut off) ignites imagination and inspires pretend play. It also encourages communication. Your child can go on a wild ride in their make-believe car, fly you to the moon and back in their pretend play spaceship or create a garden in an imaginary mini farm. Add in paints, crayons, markers or other crafty items to decorate the box, talking about what your child is doing the whole time. Adding additional props, like a plastic plate as a steering wheel, promotes flexible thinking even more.
2. Blocks: Like a box, these are open-ended toys that promote interactions to the max. Younger children (especially those who are known to throw or won’t use a gentle touch) may do better with soft rubber blocks, while older kids can use wooden ones. Including a variety of shapes, sizes and colors gives you, and your child, plenty to talk about. Instead of sitting back and watching your child play their day away, get in on the action and take direction from your master builder.
3. Puzzles: Your little problem-solver can develop critical thinking skills, build spatial abilities and practice communicating, all while putting together puzzles. Toddlers can play with simple versions, such as chunky or handle-pieced shape puzzles. Preschoolers can use puzzles that have large pieces or simple designs (such as a cow or a star). Older children can put together more complex puzzles that feature intricate designs or full pictures. As your child pieces together their puzzle, you can use the time to ask questions about what they’re doing. This doesn’t mean you point and say, “This piece goes here.” Scaffold what your kiddo is doing. That means that you use your words to create a framework for helping your child to grow – kind of like a scaffold helps workers to build.
4. Board games: Chances are that you have fond childhood memories of Hi Ho Cherry-O, Life, Chutes and Ladders or some other board game. The very nature of these games is social. It’s entirely impossible to sit silently and play a board game. Opt for a traditional speak, read and play board game, instead of a video game or some sort of electronic hybrid version. The more opportunities the board game gives your child to talk, take turns and experience excitement and disappointment, the more you’ll interact.
5. Dress-up bin: A well-stocked dress-up bin is an invitation to interact. Who is your child pretend to be? Why did they choose the clothes that they’re wearing? How can they add to the costume by creating props? These are basic questions that you can add to as your child continues to play. Along with interacting as they’re dressing up, you can use the kid-created costumes as a jumping off point for an impromptu play or to act out a story from a favorite book.
What toy really gets your child talking? Share your pick in the comments section below!
#development #communication #toys #play
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