If you’ve been keeping a close enough eye on primary and kindergarten schools over the past 10 years you’ll have noticed that the toys on offer to children have been getting progressively more educational. There is nothing wrong with this in principle as we all want our children to learn to the best of their abilities, but recent reports have shown that the latest educational toys may not be as beneficial to our kids learning as first thought.
A study by the Federal Education Department has found that children are engaging with toys a lot less in school and are finding other ways to spend their free time, often leading to disruptive behavior. This has been blamed by experts on the fact that toys have steadily moved away from being aids to fun and towards tools for education. Ed Harry of the federal schools board has stated that “children learn about English and math all day in their work hour and don’t want to be doing the same in their break time”. He went on to say that bath toys and toy diggers should be reintroduced for use in the water pits and sand pits that most schools have available to them. Simple dolls houses can keep children entertained for hours and because they are social use toys (can be played with by more than one person) they help develop communication and interaction skills.
The government have spoken out about these findings and said they would like there to be a mix of toys available but certainly the balance is too far towards education at the moment. Their suggested action is to supply schools with a variety of different toy types so that kids can selected which ones they like and get out of them what they can.The reactions of parents have been slightly less unified, with some agreeing that children should be able to play with whichever toy they like, whilst others feel that they can play when they get home and that school is for education
Its really hit and miss sometimes how smoothly bath times go with children. Not every child likes being in water and some don’t even like being cleaned, so you really need to make bath time fun in order for things to go smoothly. There are some great bath toys that can supplement bathing perfectly and get everyone enjoying themselves, here are the best 3.
Rubber ducky. These toys should be given out as standard whenever people buy a bath. Its not too hard to see why it is consistently the best selling bath toy in shops. Having a animal in the bath is always great fun for children and especially one that can squirt water and bop up to the surface time and again. They have proved their popularity over the last 100 years and won’t be disappearing any time soon.
Squirters.If you don’t have a rubber duck that squirts water then you need to invest in a little water gun or similar. Kids love squirting water around and there is no better place to do it than in the bath, although you have to be careful they don’t get you. On top of this, if your struggling to get your child to wash themselves in the bath, a squirter is a fun way to get them wet and get them clean. Just keep filling it up and soaking them down using it.
Sticky numbers. Not all bath toys are simply for play. Kids learn best when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves so it’s good to have a number of learning toys or educational toys that can be used in the bath as well. There are a variety of toys on the market that can be used in water, one of which are the big inflatable letters. Those sticky number made from foam are definitely the best on the market though.Children are able to brush up on their math whist also learning about the physical qualities of water and the notion of friction.
The evolution of toys over the last hundred years is truly staggering. We have all but said goodbye to the traditional, individually handmade toys and now embraced mass-produced electrical toys that have lights and sounds and eat batteries like grains of rice. Let’s take a look at some of the most iconic old toys and why they were loved so much
Rag dolls. There is nothing more simple than a rag doll. Once upon a time every little girl had a rag doll and they would go everywhere the child went. Among their most appealing features was the ability to wash them simply by dunking them in warm water and not having to worry about bits breaking or falling off. These days Barbie and crying replica babies are all the rage. These cannot be washed using the same method but I would encourage you to give it a go.
Wooden bikes. The majority of bikes in shops today are made from either plastic or metal, which have the cheapest production costs for manufacturers. You cannot beat however a hand-crafted bike made out of high quality hardwood. wooden bikes could take a knock or two without breaking and always maintained a good looking quality.Often people used these wooden bikes as pieces of furniture and they just fitted in with character of most houses
Rocking horse. Due to their brilliant design and stunning hand crafted looks, a wooded rocking horse lasts for decades and looked again looked great as a feature in a room. The most appealing part about a rocking horse however is that you child will be content with riding it all day and you don’t have to fork out for a real one and all the things that go with it. The art of rocking horse making has been all but lost sadly, although you can find some makers if you look hard enough.
