Importance of Toys and Playtime in the Life of a Child

Toys are essential tools to facilitate fostering the mental, physical, emotional and social development of kids. They are the basic instruments for accelerating the development of children’s fantasy, thoughts and creativity. The potential to improve the learning and experimenting process in the child’s life through toys and play time is immense. As a parent or a teacher, it is often challenging to help a child realise his/her potential but a good parent or a teacher also finds it stimulating and inspiring. Play time is something, which provides a unique opportunity to gain new insights about the kid. The right kind of toys given at the right time can help in the following ways:

Development of Linguistic Skills

An infant tries to communicate through little gurgles he/she makes. They try to express a number of emotions like pleasure, dismay, excitement etc. through those sounds. Providing tools in the form of toys help them in discovering new ways to communicate, express themselves, and experience role-playing, all of which can help them to better understand the world, overcome shyness, gain self-confidence, and provide practical and positive ways to succeed.

Cognitive Thinking

The very first step towards cognitive thinking is when a child discovers that, “If I cry mommy will come and hold me”. After this, they keep finding reasons in everything and puzzles, building blocks etc. help them in realising it more and more. With games like chess, checkers etc. they begin understanding the process of strategy and logic. They get involved in analysing questions and finding answers to them, thus developing their reasoning power.

Gaining Confidence

Playing with other children makes them confident. They also understand that winning and losing are both vital in life.

Develop Social Skills

Man is a social creature and hence to learn the importance of socialising and sharing right from the beginning is important. They also understand how to deal with peers.

Following Directions

Children learn to read and understand directions and instructions and follow them while playing. This is vital as at every step in their life they will need it.

Toys and playtime have a foremost role in children’s play with one another and help them build up in public. Taking time to understand the importance of this time and using the values of games will open new paradigms and enrich both the child and the parent or the teacher.

Leave a Reply
