February 23, 2010

Child's play is serious business

As a parent, it is a lot of fun to get down on the floor and play with your child. It's fun for your baby too, but it can also be a time for you pick up on some hints on how your baby is developing. Motor skills, imaginary play and traditional skills like color recognition are all components of your baby's growth.

Toys like this Fisher-Price First Blocks Sorter help your child learn fine motor skills, which he will eventually need to hold crayons and cut with scissors at school age. You can enhance this learning experience by saying the names of the colors and shapes to your baby as he holds them. Of course, your baby won't catch on right away, but after a while your baby will recognize them.

As your child grows, provide him with more challenging toys. This Melissa & Doug Geometric Stacker acts a traditional stacking toy and a puzzle. Your little one will have to decipher which post is the correct one for each shape. It is a great way to teach your child to think through basic concepts of planning and critical thinking.

If your child needs additional support due to developmental delays or sensory issues, don't feel like those expensive therapy catalogues are the only answer. A few bags of dry beans in a small container can help a child with sensory dysfunction to tolerate different textures. These Edushape Balls are also a great alternative to some of their more expensive counterparts. Your child can improve hand strength and motor skills by squeezing and manipulating this toy.

As you can see, play time is more than just bonding time, it's learning time too. As a parent, I used to think that having more toys would be best. Now I realize it's not the quantity of toys you buy, it's how you use the ones you have. I wish I would have realized that sooner. I could have saved a bundle.