Archive for November, 2011

Games that develop with your baby

Monday, November 21st, 2011

As your baby grows, your interaction with your baby also changes.  The toys will also need to change from the baby toys to ones that move and stimulate their inquisitive minds.  It is possible to buy a toy that will grow with them. As their mental ability develops they will understand more of the toy.  Here are some examples that can give you some idea of what I mean.

Wooden Steam train whose boiler moves in and out of the cabinFor example take the wooden steam train sold by www.GreenOwlToys.co.uk.  The cargo on its wagon is separate to the wagon. Inside is a bell and ball which is perfect as a rattle. This is great for 6 month baby to hold and manipulate.  It also provides stimulation to sound and movement. As the baby grows you can introduce the train.  By 18 months your child will be able to say “choo-chooA Stacker and a Construction Toy in rainbow colours.” and have endless fun pushing/pulling this gorgeous Wooden train around. Plus it has an interesting way of moving. Have a look at this video: Wooden Steam Train in motion.

Another type of growing toy is the window stacker, sold by the same company, has a starting point between 18 months to 2 years. First of all its a stacker. This type of toy develops the childs hand-eye coordination. Then it aids in language: saying and recognising colours.  All the while it is a great alternative to the standard building blocks.

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Toys help with social activities

Friday, November 18th, 2011

One Wooden pegboard toy played by 3 children

Children love to play. Playing with toys encourages their imagination to develop. But what else can it elicit? It can do wonders to help with their social skills.

While Babies and Toddlers are playing they are continually learning about the toy and the environment they are found in. Playing with their toys have different persons have different social environments. A toddler playing an adult gives your toddler plenty of practice to feel confident and to naturally interact with you. Listening to him and praising him builds their confidence. Being confident encourages social skills and language. Play time with an adult encourages good behaviour and better playing skills.

Babies playing with babies is particularly a rare thing to witness. Toddlers are only interested in playing with other children at 3 years old. Prior to this they are very happy playing and entertaining themselves and find no need to interact.  But by 3 years old it is important for toddlers play with their peers.  Playing with other children teaches them about society, their role in society and more importantly how to get people to listen to you and the importance of listening to others. These skills are very important in life as good friendships are based on these very fundamental skills. The topic of : “social skills for preschoolers” is a topic that is taken very seriously at Preschool and Nursery.

Toys that elicit interaction are most toys but mainly fall on role play toys, for example, work benches, toy kitchens, fireman sets, cars and dolls.  Games can encourage turn taking where they learn that every person has a chance and that sometimes you get earn a point, sometimes you don’t.

 

 

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Which Raw materials are used for Green toys?

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Organic food, organic clothes and Green toys all in the same sentence in a newspaper articleGreen Toys come in various shapes and forms.  Some of them don’t look green but are green because of what it does. An example of this is a plastic house, but on the roof of the house is a solar panel driving a windmill and on the side is a vegetable garden.  The materials to build the house is definitely not from reusable materials but the function which they are representing, that is green energy, makes the toy a “Green Toy”.

However, if we are to focus primarily on the materials used to make a toy a “Green Toy” then there are several in the market already.

One such material is wood. Wood is recyclable and can last for many years.  The best wood to use is ones that originate from forests that are under the Responsible forest management.  The toy would bear the FSC or PEFC mark.  FSC is an international, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC runs a global forest certification system with two key components: Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification. This system allows consumers to identify, purchase and use timber and forest products produced from well-managed forests.Organic cotton

Another is cotton, cotton can also have the organic logo.  Cotton becomes organic in the way it is grown. Organic cotton growing is intended to establish a balanced ecological system: organic farming and environment-friendly fertilizers preserve the fertility of the soil and protect the ground water.

And lastly, the use of biopolymers and recycled materials in plastic products contribute to ecological sustainability.

All of the toys in Green Owl Toys Ltd are green because of their material that is used to make them.  The dumper truck is green in the materials used and green in the function of recycling it provides.  Even the building bricks are made from eco-plastic!  Its good to think about the world around you and how it may effect others.

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How much TV should children watch?

Friday, November 11th, 2011

There are many views on this. TV in some ways can make your child go into a “sleep-like” trance and actually gain nothing while watching TV. This kind of state is useful only when you are tired, terribly sick or mum/dad have to get on with the cooking or DIY and it is too dangerous for children to be involved.

Science experiments

However, TV does have a lot advantages. Here in the UK there is the channel Cbeebies. It has only fun and educational programmes. One programme actually teaches your child sign language, another about science and show how things work and why. (Sometimes my daughter tells me over dinner how sugar is made – which I had no idea she knew but learnt it from TV).

Another useful tip that TV can give us is to create conversation and understanding. These 2 qualities is also useful not in day-to-day interaction with your child but also with homework. Talking about a topic and understanding what you are hearing can help in interaction in the classroom and relaying it at home.

As with all things, TV should be used in moderation. Make sure TV time is a set time and that it does not get in the way of study time or bonding time. Make TV a treat for progress rather than a background feature.

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