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Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2010

Ideas to teach good manners to your kids with the help of toys

Toys are meant to play or have fun but toys can play a role of a teacher when you use them as a learning tool. Toys can keep the kids busy for hours while calming them down at some annoying moments. Toys can also help children teach good manners. This article offers tips and ideas to learn how you can use toys as a tool to manage your child's behavior.

Toys make amazing rewards that can encourage kids to behave. Toys can be used to encourage general good behavior or you can use them to teach manners, stop phone interruptions and more.

The power of kid’s toys is utterly amazing when you start using them as leverage for positive behavior.

How Kid’s Toys can Encourage Overall Good Behavior?

Get three of anything. It can be three pennies, three rocks, three trivial toys etc… Put the three items in a drawer. Put your child’s name on a plastic cup. When you see your child doing something good like using manners, treating his sibling nice or more then place one of the three items in your child’s cup.

Tell your child that he earned 1 point for his good behavior and compliment him on a job well done! Let him know that if he earns 3 points that day that you will play with him and his favorite toy at the end of the day. Now if you find that it’s too easy for your child to earn 3 points consider bumping it up to 5 or more. When play time arrives, count up the points and if he’s earned the right quantity let him go and get his favorite toy of the day and play with him for at least 30 minutes. You’ll find that doing this will improve your child’s behavior very quickly and once he learns that you’ll play “his way” for 30 minutes he’ll be very determined to earn those points every day!

Using Kid’s Toys to Teach Manners

If your child has a favorite stuffed animal or doll then you’re in luck! You can use his furry friends to help teach him good manners. You’ll first need to write down a list of manners that you want your child to learn. Do you want to teach him table manners and help him learn to say please and thank you often? Do you want him to know how to address adults like Mrs. Smith instead of using first names? Do you want to teach him how to say hello and goodbye on the phone and in person? What you teach your child is up to you, but it’s a good idea to write a list and practice often till it sinks in.

To teach table manners, have your child bring is favorite stuffed animal or doll to dinner. Ask him how his doll should be sitting and have him place his doll in the appropriate sitting position. Then ask your child to do as doll does. Then ask him to tell you what his doll should do if he wants to talk, but has a mouth full of food. Use his doll as an example for every table manner you want to teach your child. You can even have him place a napkin on dolly’s lap. You could have your child roll play his “inside” voice talking through his doll and even talk about how dolly could use his manners at a restaurant.

Later, go to the family room and have your child and doll sit on the couch. Have your child tell you how dolly can use the words please and thank you throughout the day. Roll play with the doll. Encourage your child to have fun with the roll plays to really “show off” his knowledge of good manners. Let him add lib and make things up and ask him to have dolly show you all the good manners that he has. This can be very fun, as well as, quite educational and effective at teaching manners.

Using Kid’s Toys to Stop Phone Interruptions

Everyone has been on the phone and had their child run up making tons of non-stop noise! This is annoying for mom and annoying to the caller, but it can be prevented by simply creating a phone call kid’s toy box. First step is to get a box. You can choose a pretty basket or plastic bin depending on where you want to keep the container. Get a box that’s big enough to fit 2 or 3 kid’s toys. Then you’ll want to choose some toys to put in it. I’d advocate choosing toys that encourage long-time play such as: blocks, pretend play toys, puzzles or anything else that will keep your child’s attention.

Talk with your child about the importance of not interrupting you while you’re on the phone. Let him know that he now has a special “phone toy box” that can only be opened when you’re on a phone call. Show him the box and the special toys inside. Tell him that every time you’re on the phone he can play with those toys. Let him know that if he’s really good you’ll let him choose some new toys every 2, 4 or 6 months (depending on what you decide and your budget) that he can put in his phone toy box.

If he’s quiet while you’re on the phone then he can keep playing with his special toys until the call is over. If he interrupts, then the toys go back up on the shelf straightaway. If he needs to tell you something “important” you can practice teaching him how to interrupt the nice way. Have him walk over to you and place his hand on your arm or knee and wait till you excuse yourself from the call. Teach him not make noise as he approaches.

As you start using toys as rewards you’ll ascertain how much fun it can be to teach your child good behavior without having to use negative consequences. These techniques are a win/win for you and your child because each of you will get what you want in the end!

Author: Kim Proulx, a Certified Parent Coach.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

How to choose age appropriate toys for children?

Last year a parent asked me to suggest the toys for her 5 year old daughter with some learning disability symptoms. I personally prefer to provide blocks, and other educational toys for that specif age because my son enjoyed playing with blocks for hours and it definitely helped him in skill development. This article would help you choose age appropriate toys for your children and this guide is also useful to select and buy gifts for children.

Selecting toys for young children is an important task that involves decisions about the kinds of interests, motivation, and skills we want children to develop. Any toy given to a child should match his or her developmental age and individual needs.

When choosing a toy, careful attention should be paid to safety and durability--materials should have lasting play value and help provide a foundation for future development.

Following are some ideas for inexpensive, and most important, fun play materials for the early years:

Birth through six months

Toys for young infants should promote their interest in looking, listening, sucking, and grasping. Well-secured, unbreakable crib mirrors, rag dolls, stuffed toys and simple hand puppets moved by an adult are all age appropriate gifts that can either be made or purchased for a minimal amount of money.

6 to 12 months

Infants from 6-12 months are able to enjoy a wider variety of toys which support their social, cognitive, and physical development. Floating objects for bath play, construction materials, simple puzzles, cloth and board books, and balls are durable options for young children at this stage.
1 to 2 years

Toddlers are increasingly mobile and independent. Dressing, lacing, and stringing materials, picture and nursery rhyme books, nontoxic crayons for scribbling, and stacking materials will be enjoyed by one-year-olds, while role-playing toys, pegboards, and large balls to kick, throw, and catch are good choices for older toddlers.

3 to 5 years

Three- to five-year-olds often find enjoyment from materials that promote pretend play and foster their language and social skills. A large variety of books suitable for this age are available, as well as an assortment of blocks, dress-up clothes and simple games, including dominoes, bingo boards, and card games.

6 through 8 years

Primary-school age children show interest in and benefit from a number of specific skill-development toys. They can spend hours with art and crafts materials, particularly washable paints, clay, collage equipment, and small beads for jewelry making. Books and more complex games with rules and turn-taking are also appropriate, and natural objects (stones and shells) can pique an interest in science and the environment.

Keep in mind that the holiday season can also be stressful for children. It isn't necessary to give a child a room full of toys in order for him to have fun. Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the most enjoyable.

Link: Simple Gift Giving For The Early Years

http://www.naeyc.org/

Sunday, May 4, 2008

How to choose toys for your child?

My son is now 9 years old, and I can understand that his days of watching "cartoon movies" and playing with legos, bricks are gone. But still it is difficult to choose a gift for him. It is difficult for me to keep him busy when he is not doing his home work. But he has passion of making crafts out of recycle stuff. And I am happy that he himself finds enough material around the house to keep him busy most of the time.

This question is really important for every parent, which is "how to choose toys for a child?" Because not only toys are a good pass time for children, but they learn from it, developing theri skills at the same time.

Even the most expensive toys will be completely useless if they are not appropriate for your child. A good toy for one child isn't necessarily a good toy for another child. When you purchase a toy, you need to consider your child's personality, likes, and dislikes. In this article, we will answer all of your toy questions, including:

Children's Toy Safety

Every year hundreds of thousands of children get injured playing with the toys their friends and family have bought for them. Though there are manufacturer standards, your child's toys need to be further inspected by you for safety. In this section, we will give a list of safety concerns that you should consider before you bring a toy home for your child. From shocks, to choking, to burning, we will show you the hazards you need to look out for.

Age-Appropriate Toys

If a toy is beyond your child's level of development the child will quickly become frustrated and overwhelmed. If the toy is too far below your child's development level, they will become bored and lose interest. The right toy can also help your child's imagination and creativity grow and blossom. On this page, we will help you match age-appropriate toys to your child's age. From birth all the way through the third year of life, we will show you the toys that will be best for you child.

About the Author:
Alvin Eden, M.D.: Alvin Eden, M.D. serves as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Weil Medical College of Cornell University in New York, New York. He is Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn. Dr. Eden is also the author of a number of child care book, including Positive Parenting and Growing Up Thin.
For full article link: How to Choose Toys for a Child

Suggestion for electronic and educational toys:

* Educational Electronic Toys

* Creative toys

*** At Best Child Toys you can get advice on how to choose the best toys and games for your child, and how to maximize the use of toys for your children's benefit.

Selectively chosen toys and games are hugely beneficial for your children. Not only they are good for boosting your children's development, they are also good in helping your children to learn. With educational toys and games in tow, your children will grow to love learning.

For each type of toys, you will find these following information:

- The benefits and drawbacks of each type of toy.
- tips and advice on how to choose a child toy with the best value.
- tips on how to maximize the play value of a particular toy 'beyond' the manufacturer recommendation.

FREE offer from the site:

* Get the FREE e-book "The Secret On How To Save Money And Time On Toy Shopping"
What you can read there at e-book?

- The secret of stress-free toy shopping.

- How to save money on child toys

- Sure ways to prevent overspending on toys.

- How to recognize toys which are not only fun, but can dramatically boost your child's development.

- How to recognize toys which are just a waste of money.
And much more ...

- Click on the link, enter your e-mail to get your copy: Toy Shopping Guide E-Book


* "Ape 2 zebra" is an online store from Campbellville, Ontario and this site is from parents who are concerned about helping children learn while having fun. Site provides some of the finest educational toys and products available to help their children learn while having fun.


Site also provides tips and guide on choosing toys to develop skills like:

- Toys to develop fine motor skills

- Toys for gross motor skills

- Social Developmental Toys

- Reading and writing

Get their newsletter: link

Related posts
:

* Role of educational toys and games in skill development

* Review: "Dr.toy's Guide" --dealing in educational toys and products!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Review: "Dr.toy's Guide" --dealing in educational toys and products!


The Institute for Childhood Resources, a not-for-profit organization has created this award winning site.

"Dr.Toy's Guide" is called world's first website to provide information on the best in toys and educational products, offers year-round, award-winning toy and children's product information plus timely articles, useful resources, links and much more. These include toys, dolls, games, puzzles, books, software, CDs, audio and video discs and tapes, creative materials, construction toys etc.

Behind the scene: The person or expert behind the site is "Stevanne Auerbach, PhD"

More about Dr.Toy:
Dr. Auerbach, an established speaker, consultant, and author, is trained in child psychology, education, special education, and child development. Dr. Auerbach has a well-earned title, "Dr. Toy", dating to her first assignment with "Creative Playthings" (1968) where she developed its first education marketing program

Dr. Toy, Stevanne Auerbach, PhD, has been for many years one of the nation's and world’s leading experts on play, toys, and children's products. With 30 years of direct experience, Dr. Auerbach includes educationally oriented, developmental and skill building products from the best large and small companies in her four annual award programs. Many parents, teachers and toy buyers use Dr. Toy’s guidance in making selections.

Dr. Toy has written 15 books and many dozens of articles about play and toys for national and regional magazines and newspapers, has been featured as an expert in articles by others, and has been a featured guest on radio and television programs throughout the country and outside of the USA.

* Dr. Toy's Tips on Selecting Toys and Other Children's Products
* You can also ask any question relating kids toys at thisLink
* Enter your e-mail at provided box and get ready to receive their newsletter at your inbox. Click here

Some of the Dr. Toy's favourite sites
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