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Showing posts from May, 2018

Best travel toys for toddlers

So you are planning a vacation with your toddler. Perhaps your family is going to a cabin, or grandma’s or even a cruise. You have limited luggage space but want to bring toys that will keep your toddler entertained. The ideal toys would be versatile; they can be used in many ways. They need to be compact and easily transported. They have to be sturdy and fun and amusing. For the plane or car ride I would suggest providing a surprise bag of little treats. This could include tiny books, a sticker book, finger puppets, zip lock bags of special snacks and maybe a miniature etch a sketch. A small construction sets for toddlers such as one with magnetic pieces is great, as long as there aren’t too many small parts. These items need not be expensive, just novel. At your destination, pegs and pegboards for toddlers are a good bet. The oversized pegs are difficult to lose and good quality sets are durable and travel well. The pegs can be used for sorting, stacking, matching and con

What are great toys for 3 year old boys?

3 year old boys are curious, creative, imaginative and active. They are ready to join in with other children but still like their solitary play. They enjoy pretending and mimicking adult roles. They love building things and constructing and expanding their knowledge. And they have energy! This is a wonderful age of discovery, with vocabulary expanding and lots and lots of questions. So what are great toys for 3 year old boys ? Construction sets are popular toys for 3 year old boys . High quality building toys for preschoolers are designed specifically for this age group. The pieces are the right size for little hands and fit together smoothly so they are not frustrating. Construction sets are open ended which contributes to creativity. They require imagination, planning and problem solving. Construction or building toys for preschoolers range from simple wooden building blocks to interlocking bricks to nuts and bolts to bristle blocks. Sets with wheels and gears are particularly

Toddler Toys for Growth and Learning

Your child is no longer a baby and has become a toddler! Toddlers are in the midst of a vast developmental stage. They are moving towards independence. They love to imitate and practice roles. They are learning to follow directions and explore their world through hands on experience. They are trying to make sense of their environment and are starting to understand patterns and categories. Vocabulary is expanding and physical competence continues to develop. Parents and caregivers can help their toddlers with this tremendous growth by providing stimulating and age appropriate opportunities for learning. best learning toys for 2 year olds can help. Toys for role playing are a great investment. Toddlers will use toy kitchen sets to pretend to cook and to feed their “babies”. Dolls will be nurtured. Dress up clothes stimulate the imagination. A toddler cleaning set , which may include a mop and bucket, and broom and dust pan is fun as it mimics everyday adult activities. The todd

IPhones and vacations with children

When my boys were small (30 years ago!) my husband and I would take them on vacations, usually by car and occasionally by train or plane. I would always pack up a surprise bag to entertain them when boredom or restlessness attacked. There would be small containers of treats (raisons, smarties and pretzels), some new tiny sized books, maybe a magnetic tic-tac-toe game, a sticker book, a Rubik’s cube…. you get the idea. We would play I Spy and Count the Cars and Spot the Items on the list. Sometimes we just sat and watched the scenery, or the boys would poke each other and bicker about who is looking out of whose window. It wasn’t always peace and quiet and jolly times. For more information click here. building toys for preschoolers Contrast this to what I witnessed on a recent trip to Rome and London. Children as young as toddlers played on iPhones. My husband and I were in the Roman Coliseum and we were surrounded by families and lots of children. I heard very little bickering an