What happens when you see that super cute wooden tools kit at the store, and you cannot wait to give it to your child. It is so cool! a hands on activity, that promotes motor skills, creativity and brain development. You just picture your child playing with the screwdriver and the hammer and in your mind it seems like the perfect toy, but is it? Is your child physically and cognitive ready to play with it? Is this toy age appropriate for your child?
Using age-appropriate toys is essential for a child's development. Age-appropriate toys are designed to match the child's cognitive, physical, and emotional abilities, which means that they are safe and engaging for the child to play with.
For infants, toys that are soft, colorful, and make noise can help with sensory development. For toddlers, toys that promote exploration and problem-solving can help with cognitive and motor development. As children grow older, toys that encourage creativity, imagination, and social interaction can help with emotional and social development.
It's essential to use age-appropriate toys because children who play with toys that are too advanced for them can become frustrated and discouraged. On the other hand, children who play with toys that are too simple for them may become bored and uninterested.
Moreover, using age-appropriate toys can also help prevent accidents and injuries. Toys that are designed for older children may pose choking hazards or have small parts that can be swallowed by younger children.
And this goes beyond toys and play, it is also about activities and expectations. As one year old children are not developmentally ready to tell you how they feel, and instead they cry, two years old are not developmentally ready to jump the rope, because this is a skill most children master around 5 years old, and 4 years old will get bored doing a doodle page of tracing letters and most likely will start misbehaving in class (as it usually happens).
Using age-appropriate toys is crucial for a child's development and safety. Be mindful of where your children are right now, not all children are the same, and milestones charts can say your child is able to do something and your child is not there yet, and that is alright. What skills are they developing right now? Toys are the best tools to practice them. Providing toys that match your children's developmental stage and abilities, promote optimal growth and development.
Sometimes we want so much our kids to grow up, we hope this phase will pass and we forget they are not going to be little forever. Childhoods a precious time and it goes by really fast. Focus more on the good things of this phase and enjoy it!
