Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Importance of Toddler Toys in Brain Development

The first three years of a child are crucial to brain development. During this period, the brain triples in weight and establishes billions of nerve connections. At the age of three, kids have twice as many nerve connections than a lot of adults. This is the reason why toddlers are very curious and inquisitive.

Their brains absorb thousands of information all at once, constructing new connections and associations, and making sense out of all the new and unfamiliar sights and sounds that bombard their senses. This is also the reason why toddler toys are designed the way that they are: colorful, bright, loud, with many different textures, shapes, sizes, and are made of different materials. These are all designed to stimulate and develop a child's mind.

Differentiation and classification
In the early phase of development, one of the crucial things that a child learns is differentiation and classification. Toddler toys such as building blocks, stuffed animals, padded play gyms, rubber balls, and spiky mats, help a child recognize the different textures and shapes of different objects. Having toddler toys in different colors and in different hues and shades, also allows a child to perceive the nuances and basic principles of color, developing their creativity and imagination. Exposing the child to as many colors, shapes, and textures as possible can help expand their perceptions and sensory experience, and help them have a wider picture of the world.

Emotional intelligence and imagination
There are also toys for toddlers that nurture emotional intelligence and imagination. The popular ones are musical toys for toddlers. Musical toys help kids learn balance and harmony, and stimulate their creative minds with interesting melodies and artistic rhythms. Classical music, particularly Mozart's Violin Concertos, is also a big help in developing a child's brain and Imagination.

Logic and reasoning
While children have most of the neurons they need to work in their lives, their neurons are not set for wired networks to complex thought processes required form. the early years of a child who will soon be connected to each other and the neurons form connections, or synapses. toys such as puzzles, mind games, mixing and matching, playing cards and mind maps to help the children can make connections and develop their complex quicklylogic and reasoning.

Memory and concentration
These days, with numerous technological advances and a bombardment of media messages and information, from home theaters to 3D video games, all-day cartoon channels to internet access and online entertainment, and from billboards to interactive LCD screens, ubiquitous advertisements, and sophisticated gadgets, kids and toddlers have shorter attention span and concentration. They are easily distracted and bored. Traditional toys for kids can help them be more patient, increase focus and concentration, improve their listening skills, filter out distractions, and enhance their memory.

Traditional toys that require kids to sit down, think, and tinker for a couple of minutes or even an hour will help a child form good habits and acquire discipline-two important traits for excelling in school and the adult world.

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