3 Ways Toys Help Your Child

We always hear experts saying that toys are crucial for child development. It doesn’t matter whether the toy you’re talking about is a cheap block made from China or a highly advanced, state of the art gizmo made from Europe or the US. What is important to recognize is that toys are fantastic tools that can bring a lot of benefits to children and help them become whoever they want to be when they eventually grow up. Here are 3 ways toys help your child especially in terms of their growth and development.

  1. Helps with their physical development. 

Majority of toys help kids in their physical development. Playing tag, ball games, ride on toys, and other playthings best played with outdoors can be excellent ways to improve the physical activity levels of children. Playing shooting games where kids need to run, jump, and crouch will require a great sense of control over the different muscles of the body. Playing with basketball, tennis, soccer, or even foosball will also help improve the physical stamina of children and let them enjoy the benefits of these sports. Toys are important for physical development as these are essential for building and strengthening muscles. This helps prepare children for their activities of daily living. For instance, brushing the teeth requires strong and purposeful movements from the arms at the wrist. If the muscles are not well-developed, then there is a chance that holding a toothbrush may prove to be very challenging. 

  1. Develops their cognitive abilities. 

One of the most celebrated benefits of toys is their effects on children’s cognition or the different processes that occur in the brain. For many individuals, they would like to think of it as intelligence. But cognition is more than having the intellect as it also includes memory, awareness, sensory integration and processing, problem solving, reasoning, thinking, and learning, among other cognitive processes. Here’s the thing. Even the mere physical act of holding a toy already has a cognitive component to it. 


When children are given toys, the very first thing they do is not necessarily grab the nearest one. Their eyes are providing bits of information to their brain regarding what they see. These visual cues are then integrated by the brain with other sources of information to have an idea of what the “toy” really is. When the brain has made up its “mind”, it sends signals to the muscles to go and get the “toy” that the brain wants. Everything happens in a flash. That’s how efficient the mind is. 
Technically, depending on the toy being played with, children can develop their convergent and divergent problem solving skills, their critical and logical reasoning, their language and speech, their memorization skills, their ability for prediction, and their understanding of cause effect relationships, among others. 

  1. Enhances their self-esteem and boosts social skills. 

Toys can also help kids develop better self-esteem which can then be the foundation for their social skills. It’s all tied to the sense of accomplishment that kids get whenever they are allowed to play to their heart’s content. They will feel loved, cared for, and cherished by their parents, siblings, and other caregivers so they will form healthier self-concepts. This boosts their self-confidence. This also paves the way for healthier social relationships as they tend to share with others the kind of positive emotions they experience from their primary caregivers. This lays the foundation for cooperation, collaboration, and teamwork, things that will prove very crucial once they reach adulthood. For some great toy ideas for kids, you may want to take a look at mykidneedsthat.com.

How do toys help children? Playthings help in children’s physical, cognitive, mental, emotional, and social development. It is thus wise to invest in good quality toys now for their future.

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