The ten best learning toys

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-ten-best-learning-toys-2287753.html

Wow. I totally disagree with most of these choices. But then again I'd be suspicious of any article that says "we all want to increase our little ones' development and brain power". It seems mostly a puff piece for toy manufacturers. Why buy complex toys when simple ones will do? I want my kids to develop an imagination, not learn to push buttons (they'll do that anyway). And there is little need to motivate kids to learn. They want to. You just have to encourage it and not stand in their way too much as they do it.


Some comments:

- Abacus with vehicles. Kids learn to count anyway as long as their parents encourage it. You don't need to make it more "interesting". I mean it is a fine toy, but don't pretend it "teaches" better than any other counting implement? Give your kids five teaspoons and count. Works just as well.

- "The award-winning Mozart Magic Cube teaches how sounds combine to create eight Mozart masterpieces. It also enables children to add and subtract ". I don't know what to say about this one except perhaps "huh?"

- VTech laptop. Don't kids get enough screen time as it is? My kids got one each as presents. I fail to see how this toy educates. Mostly it makes annoying noises.

- Leapfrog book with stylus. I'd rather my kids were read to by actual humans.

- Leapstart bilingual learning table. If you think your kid will learn any language skills from it, you're kidding yourself. Also how awful does the thing look?

- I do like the magnetic board with letters. And the Lego.



My list of "learning" toys. These will "teach" just as much as the ones on the list.

- Wooden blocks

- Playing outside. A trip to the playground can be a great experience in physics. Fun too.

- Crayons and paper

- Puzzles.

- Magnetic drawing pad.

- Play-dough.

- A soccer ball. Learn to move your body kids.


My #1 educational "toy": Parents that interact with their kids instead of hoping the toys will teach them. But also parents who allow their kids to be bored and thus learn to entertain themselves instead of being constantly distracted. Parents who read to their kids every day.

actually my top 2 kid's toys so far (8 month old boy):


1. my 200 HKD mobile phone

2. a set of 10 cubes with different sizes that stack into each other


each one of these two seems to hold endless fascination over days and weeks and make him play for long stretches at a time.

Best educational toy of all time: ipad/ ipod touch with educational games/ puzzles / quizzes on them ( not arcade games)


My two year old has learnt so much from it - the difference between her and kiddies who just play with toys that dont interact is sometimes quite startling..

It is so much bett than tv because it is interactive. The options are endless. Godsend on a long journey. That said - I still limit it to about an hour or less a day.

And despite her ability to play in quite sophisticated ways with these electronics she still absolutely loves her stacking cups and wooden blocks. .... So spare me the rhetoric on how bad electronis toys are for kids. Its just another form of stimulation.

I don't think electronic toys are bad per se. I just think most kids nowadays get far too much of those toys and far too little activity that allows them to move (e.g. "playing outside"). Everything in moderation. You say yourself, fieter, that you limit it to max an hour a day.


For the record, I don't think the toys in the list are bad since they are electronic. I think they are bad because they don't actually "teach" more than any other toy and I would rather have simpler toys that encourage a kid to use her imagination.


In our family, the rule is nothing with a screen during weekdays. It is not that we think electronic games and TV are evil. It's just a simple way of ensuring our kids don't sit there stuck in front of a screen on a day that already has school and other activities. Also it cuts down on the "just a bit more with the iPhone" nagging. ;) Once they get a big older, we'll let them have more computer time but probably not TV time.


Our friends have a "Nintendo DS only on the schoolbus" rule.


I agree that iPad and iPod touch can teach a lot. Certainly they are way better than a so-called "children's laptop". On trips as you say, an iPad or iPod touch is a godsend.