Best toys for kids

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If you live in a part of the country that gets lots of snow or rain during the winter months that season can seem to drag on forever! kids already spend a large part of their day indoors at school. What better way to encourage them to get outside and play then providing them with some great toys to do just that? Time spent outdoors playing is time that children are active and getting proper exercise. In this day and age when more and more children spend countless hours lounging in front of the television or computer, never has outdoor recreation been so important to preventing childhood obesity.

One of the best toys you can get for the summer months is a pool. Heat can be a big activity deterrent, because no one feels like running around when it’s 100 degrees! A pool gives kids a great place to cool off and still have fun and get some exercise. There are all kinds of awesome toys that can be used in the water besides the traditional beach ball. Games like Flip the Frog with Lily Pads, underwater boomerangs, water bouncer toys, motorized swimming toys, diving rings or balls, water trampolines, water volleyball or basketballs sets, floating toys, and submarine toys are all sure to intrigue your child for hours.

If you’re worried about your child getting too much sun in the pool (Always use plenty of sunscreen!), you can even get a covered pool like the Beachcomber Fun Island or the Jungle-Themed Pool with Sunshade. For your toddler there are plenty of covered pools and floaties like the Starfish Baby Float of the Baby Beach Cabana Pool. To make things a little more interesting, get a pool with some kind of fun water feature like the Children’s Seahorse Swimming Pool with Sprayers or the kid‘s Pirate Pool with Slide and Water Sprayers. Slides or water sprayers (or both!) make swimming even more fun.

There are some older traditional outdoor toys that never go out of style. Pogo sticks, stilts, sliding boards, and sandboxes are all common outdoor toys that children have loved for generations. While they are incredibly fun, pogo sticks and stilts encourage fine motor skills and sandboxes are all about promoting imaginative play. Your children won’t even realize that they are actually learning and developing their minds and bodies while they are having a great time!

Bouncy toys are pretty popular right now as well and are perfect for outdoors. Jumping Hippity Hop Balls, mini trampolines with safety sides, and inflatable bounce houses (some even have a ball pit!) are a big hit with kids of all ages. These can even be brought inside during the winter months (if you have the room) for year-round fun.

No matter what your budget or your child’s age and interests, there is something available that will interest them and get them engaged in playing outdoors. Before they even know what hit them, they’ll actually be having Fun without the help of Game Boy and TV!

As soon as a child turns one, the increase in mobility also results in higher curiosity levels. All 1-2 year-olds love exploring the world around them. They try their best to figure out what all is happening around them. Also categorized as terrible twos, this age asserts their independence and children show marked improvements in their communication and developmental skills.

Although this tantrum throwing phase is frustrating for parents sometimes but it stands for the individuality of the children. By now, they have their favorite toys, games and activities to keep them engaged. While playing forms a major part of their day, their toys need to focus on development at all levels. Here are the kinds of developmental toys that are best suited for your 1 – 2 year olds:

Pushing, riding and rocking

Your child has just learned walking and is trying to gain control over his or her pace. The push toys like play gyms, wheeled toys help in developing strong leg and arm muscles with the freedom to traverse the world around. Similarly, riding and rocking toys work on gross motor skills and enhance the child’s capabilities.

Manipulative toys

With advanced physical development, their mental and psychological skills are also growing distinctively at this age. So toys that involve manipulation and use of brain are the best developmental toys for young children. Shape sorters, stacking toys, nesting toys, bucket filling activities not only improve the dexterity and hand eye coordination but also rub their grey cells.

Scribbling

1-2 year olds love to use colored pens and draw to their heart’s content. Give them crayons and paper and you will see them having fun as if nothing else exists. This brings out the creativity and imagination of the children. You can give them safe and washable versions to maintain hygiene.

Stuff toys and dolls

Children at this age start forming affinity towards life like things. They enjoy playing with stuff toys like bears, cats, dogs and dolls. These toys offer them the opportunity of enacting things that they witness around them along with exploring their emotional side. Don’t be surprised if you one day see your baby offering his or her milk bottle to the bear.

Action reaction toys

Toys like bat and ball, pound a ball, marble running rails allow children to understand the basics of action and reaction. They improve your child’s hand eye coordination, motor skills, stimulation skills and reflexes.

Some toys are just fun while others offer developmental advantages for your 1-2 year olds. It is your responsibility to offer a proper mix to your children so that they develop, learn and have fun all at the same time.

If you are Interest in these and other learning toys, go to the big kid gifts.