The Importance of Toys and Games

Children learn through play. Play helps them to develop motor, social and perceptual skills. Playing appropriate games with your children can stimulate their development and build your relationship with them. Good toys can teach children to follow instructions, complete tasks, concentrate, problem-solve, take turns and accept winning/losing.

Try add some of these recommended toys and games to your play time (for 4 to 10 year olds)

Sensory

• Musical instruments
• Tents with tunnels
• Ball ponds
• Sand pits and Motion sand

Gross Motor

• Trampolines and Mini-trampolines
• Riding Toys: Bicycles, Scooters, Skateboards, Rollerblades and Go-carts
• Ball Games: Bats and Balls, Swing Ball, Skittles, Velcro-mitt catching set, Sports equipment
• Bop bags and Punch bags
• Stilts
• Motor Planning toys: Hula hoops, Skipping ropes and Pogo sticks
• Jungle Gyms and Swings

Imagination and Social

• Books
• Puppets
• Dolls, Action figures and Soft toys
• Wendy houses or Forts
• Tool set, Animal set, Farm set, Doctor set, Car set and Train set
• Dress up clothes

Fine Motor

• Playdough and Accessories
• Blackboards or White boards
• Arts and Crafts Supplies: Blow pens, Magic kokis, Stamp pads and Glitter
• Construction toys: Meccano, Lego, Zoob, Duplo, Busy Buttons and Brainy blocks
• Pegboards
• Threading toys: Beads, Lacing cards and Geostacks
• Spinning tops
• Wind up toys
• Stress balls
• Water pistols
• Pick up sticks
• Jax
• Remote control cars
• Mini muffin match up
• Avalanche fruit stand
• Blow toys: Whistles, Blowing bubbles and Blow darts

Perception

• Board Games: What’s in the square?, Differences and Silly Spaghetti
• Games of Strategy: Screwball Scramble, Connect 4, Don’t Break the Ice and Rush Hour
• Body Image Games: Mr Potato Head and Funny Face
• Puzzles
• Card games: Uno
• Tangram

Try to alternate sensory/gross motor activities with fine motor/perceptual activities or combine them e.g. Hide blocks/puzzle pieces/game pieces (e.g. in a box full of dry beans) and get your children to find them and then use them to build or play the game. Or put the game pieces on one side of the room and get your children to crawl, jump, hop or do a wheelbarrow walk across the room to fetch them and then use them to play the game.

Have fun playing with your children!

Compiled by Jennifer McGuirk