‘Tis that time of year again! And all your kids want are toys, toys, toys! This can feel overwhelming when adding to an already large pile of toys in the home setting. Especially when the kids don’t even seem to play with the toys already available!
Below are some tips and ideas for bringing new toys in this Holiday season.
1. Balance of educational and choice toys; balance of seated and movement activity gifts
- Teach your kids from a young age that they may not get everything on their wish list.
- Provides them with opportunities to learn about toys they may have never seen before.
- Encourages seated attention or physical activity.
2. Hide toys and rotate them
- Hide old toys before new toys come out.
- When child appears bored of toys that are available, switch toys out with the hidden box of toys. Children will forget about some toys they have, making them feel new and exciting again!
- Continue this toy rotation as child displays readiness with multiple boxes as options. Allow child to peek into boxes and choose box, if they wish.
3. Incorporate multiple skills per toy
- Challenge the child to create different ways to use the toy.
- Model your own creative ways to use the toy
- Encourage exploration of new toy.
4. Use toy in obstacle course
- Toys that appear more challenging for a child are great to incorporate into a fun movement activity. This helps break up the challenge and decrease frustration.
- Great for toys with multiple pieces.
- Encourages physical activity, especially in those cold months!
5. Keep toys simple
- Simple toys encourage creativity and imagination!
- Toys don’t need to have a lot of lights or songs to be fun. These can actually become over-stimulating for a child.
- Allow child independence for exploring toys with only interrupting activity if unsafe.
6. Favorite educational toy companies
- These websites allow you the ability to choose toys based on age range so you know what activities are developmentally appropriate for child
If you want some more ideas check out our website or amazon idea page!
TaggedToyseducational toysgift guidechristmasholidayplay
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