Effective Parenting Skills - Kids Learn A Lot of Skills From The World Of Play

by Ken Mathie

For children, play is their work. It is naturally enjoyable, of course, but more than that, it is their way of learning about the world. It helps them naturally engage in things that interest them. Therefore, play should be led by the child or at least inspired by the child, in order for it to remain relevant and meaningful to them. When children are at play in a positive fashion, they happily lose themselves in what they're doing. They live in their own realm of imagination and can explore and examine at leisure. Many times, they can pull their parents in by saying, "Lets play, mom," and mom, too, then can enter into that childlike world once again.

In addition to children, young infants also immerse themselves in play activities. They do so because they need to make sense of the world around them. Play gives very young children the means to experience the world through their own eyes, which is vital for their development. Peekaboo is one such game; although this simply seems silly and fun to adults, babies rejoice in the surprise they feel every time they see the faces of the people they love reemerge over and over.

Stages of Play

As toddlers, children experience a growth spurt and a rapid increase in motor development. Because of this, they are driven to manually explore literally everything they can get their hands on. They can fiddle with everything from a construction toy to the box it came in. Toddlers also explore the world by continually babbling as they learn the language they were born into. They can also dance spontaneously, and wiggle with absolute joy or imitate finger plays with mom and dad.

As preschoolers, children began to do what is called "parallel play," in which they play alongside peers but not necessarily with them. As children get older, they actually begin to interact with peers in their play, so that friends become fully involved in their ongoing imaginative games. Increased ability, both physical and motor, as well as imaginative, allows them to extend their play from indoors to out, from simple play with stuffed animals to table games, to dramatic games and outdoor activities.

Benefits of Play

As stated above, play is no laughing matter, even though it is, of course, fun. In fact, play is simply a child's way of exploring and making sense of the world. Therefore, it is really necessary. Some reasons why include:

1. Play is absolute pure and utter joy.
For the toddler who uses the empty box as a car and imagines driving down the highway just as mom or dad does going to work, imaginative play helps him understand mom and dad's world from his point of view. And of course, he exhibits a sheer joy when he does this that many adults may be slightly envious of.

2. Play develops socio-emotional learning.
As children play, they develop competence, confidence and independence in the new situations they encounter there. The 10-month-old who shrieks with joy at her stuffed toy and a 10-year-old playing basketball with his friends both are learning age-appropriate rules and social norms in the process. The baby learns to wait for her toy with patience, while the boy learns to deal with the possibility of losing the game, and with being a good sport regardless.
3. Play develops physical and motor development.

Because play often encompasses the use of every sense, including the body and use of the extremities, children not only exercise their minds, but their bodies as well; they develop physical strength, ease of movement, and balance and coordination.

Perceptual motor ability, which is the capacity to coordinate what you perceive with how you move, is a basic skill every preschooler needs to develop. Three-year-olds do this by digging, scooping and pouring sand into a container, which helps them develop a sense of balance between the perception of the space in front of them and hand movements, so that he follows through properly with the appropriate motor activity.

4. Play helps develop cognitive learning.
Play is very important to a child's intellectual development. To learn properly, children need to learn to decipher words, numbers and other forms of higher intellectual functioning. When children are very young, symbols will not mean anything to them, because young children have not yet learned to make the leap in reasoning that abstract thinking requires. Play helps teach children to understand these symbolic relationships better in ways that are truly fun and meaningful to them. For example, a child can play when he or she learns that two plus three equals five. This can be done, for example, by having a parent sit down with several blocks and showing the child by an arrangement on the table just what two plus three equals five entails. You can start by grouping two blocks together and three blocks together and then push them together to say, "Equals five." In this way, the child learns to translate abstract concepts like addition into very concrete examples that he or she can understand.

Older children, similarly, can learn things like math concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, by doing game scores. Applying these types of skills to practical applications is what will help children of any age learn best.

5. Play enhances language development.
Beginning with infants and toddlers, play can help facilitate language development. Toddlers especially will need to be immersed in language continually so that they can imitate what they hear, although this is also important for infants. Children who have learned to speak learn best from songs and rhymes that are both fun and educational, in that the songs use rhyme, alliteration and consonance, for example, so that they are easy to remember, fun and very easy to imitate. This helps children begin to understand how language works.

When children play with toys, adults can facilitate learning by modeling how they can use language to label objects or describe an event. When they play, preschoolers use language to interact with each other, communicate ideas, and can also learn information by listening to older children and adults teach them things.

6. Play encourages creativity.
With very young children, imagination is the way to go. Young children can use imagination to learn just about anything. Suddenly, simple play clay becomes spaghetti with meat sauce, a blanket becomes Superman's cape, or an overturned coffee can becomes a makeshift drum. Just about whatever children wish to express can be done through play. In this way, they can master what they know through practice and then show new skills off, express themselves, and create endlessly.

7. Play provides opportunities to bond between the child and another person, such as parent and child.

Play is vitally important in a child's development. It lets children interact with others, experiment, and can even help with moral development. Parents can use play to encourage and support their children's development.

To start, let your child take the lead in the play. Let the child initiate the activity, set the theme of play, and establish parameters. In this way, play is a venue for children to be in control in a world where they are so often controlled by others. This helps develop competency and a sense of mastery in the child that better helps him or her develop confidence later in life. It is also a perfect opportunity to let your child's unique talents develop.

You can help your child develop his sense of competency by allowing him to figure things out for himself, without pressure or a sense of "right" or "wrong." For example, if a child is learning how to figure out a puzzle, stop yourself from helping at first. Let the child literally "puzzle" over the puzzle without any interference from you. Not only will the child figure it out eventually, but he may even come up with more creative ways to use the puzzle than you could have thought of. When the task has been completed successfully, congratulate the child on a job well done.

As you play with your child, watch your child for signals as to what he or she needs you to do. Do you need to be an active participant in the activity? Do you need to provide some encouragement? Is it time to gently stop the activity, clean up and have lunch, if the child is hungry?

Whatever needs to be done, it's true that although you let the child take the lead, you can maintain control of the situation enough so that you have ultimate control over when it starts and stops and what happens during it.

8. Have a play plan.
If possible, have a loose plan in place for you and your child to spend time playing together each day. One good way to do this is to use your child's self-care chores to begin to play together. For example, brushing teeth or washing the face doesn't have to be all business. You can use brushing the teeth (along with the child's imagination), to encourage the child to have fun during the process. Similarly, you can use washing my face as a brief opportunity to play peekaboo, if time permits.

You can also do this with household chores. Children love to help, and this is a perfect opportunity to begin to foster a sense of responsibility to the outside world. Let your toddler use his or her own toy vacuum cleaner to "help" you vacuum when you do. When you fold clothes, give him or her a couple of pieces of toweling to fold and play with. When you wash dishes, save a couple of unbreakable pieces out and let the child play in soapy water and begin to learn how to wash dishes.

In this way, the child begins to learn a sense of responsibility along with the sense of play. Older siblings and grandparents, too, can learn to foster this in the child as they are included in your play "plan of action."

About the Author
Kmat.com.au The online baby & kids clothing boutique where we connect you with...The best available price for, kids clothing, baby wear, designer baby clothing, designer kids clothing, boutique babywear, blankets, shoes, nursery equipment, nappies, baby gifts, bags, bibs, books, feeding, toys, and MUCH MORE! Discount Baby Clothes Click Here Now

Three Things to Consider When Buying Preschool and Kindergarten Educational Learning Toys

by Garolyn Bowen

Back to School and it's Time to Think About New Toys for Preschool and Kindergarten Children.
Excitement is in the air - its Back to School time and parents and educators will once again begin searching for new quality educational learning toys for their toddlers and preschoolers.

Whether you are a parent or an educator selecting new toys for your preschool and kindergarten age children is something to take seriously. There are three important things I believe we need to consider when selecting toddler and preschool toys.

In this article I will briefly define just what makes a toy an "educational toy", suggest three things to consider in the selection of such toys and offer three toy categories that I believe are of utmost importance as a choice for preschool toys.

To the point, an educational toy is any toy that will "teach a child something good." Allowing children to play creatively, alone or in a group setting, with a variety of carefully selected toys will greatly benefit your child. Children's "work" is play and selecting toys that spur their creativity and imagination will make a variety of toys "educational."

Imaginative children do not need fancy or necessarily expensive toys but their toys do need to be safe. Safely is one of the most common things overlooked when selecting new toys for young children. Remember to read the labels and be aware of the type of material the toy is made of. If you are shopping online make sure you are provided information about the durability of the material, especially when selecting wood products.

The best type of wood for wooden puzzles and play sets comes from the Rubberwood tree. Its wood is very hard, non-splintering and very durable. Toys made from this wood are not going to break or splinter when dropped or chewed. If the toy puzzle is painted make sure the manufacture tells you that child safe paint was used. It is also a good idea to make sure the individual puzzle pieces have smoothly sanded edges so that there are no rough edges to hurt your child.

Making sure a toy does or does not (depending on your child's age requirement) have small pieces that can be easily swallowed is another important safety issue you must consider. Some pieces that come with a particular toy or play set might need to be pulled out and put away until your child is a little older.

Besides safety it is imperative we remember to think about sanitation. This is especially important for preschool and kindergarten classrooms because many different children will be handling the toys. Consider whether or not the toy can be cleaned and sanitized without destroying the toy. If there are many nooks and crannies that can't be gotten at you may want to select another toy that has straighter edges.

Wood is a popular material for lots of children's toys such as puzzles, trucks, and play sets. Again, a well-made wood toy, painted with child safe paint, can easily be cleaned without any harm to the wood. Another thing I especially like about wood toys is that they have a "feel - good" texture everyone loves. Any time I pick up a wooden toy I remember the joys of my youth. This is a good feeling to pass on to the next generation.

The third and last attribute of a day care toy that I'd like to present is that the children's ages be taken into consideration. No one wants his or her children to get injured from a toy that is too advanced for their age or developmental stage. I think it is better to stay on the safe side and give a toy that is at or below his age to your child.

In a preschool and kindergarten setting you will need toys of varying age groups so as younger children develop you will already have more advanced toys in your inventory that you can pull off the shelf. As an after thought - it is also a good idea to rotate toys so children always feel there is something new to play with.

As you select educational preschool and kindergarten toys that are safe, easy to clean and age-appropriate remember that all children have different methods of learning. Children do not need to be sitting at a desk to learn. You will need a variety of toys in a wide selection of shapes and colors to keep all your children from getting bored. If you notice a child getting bored with a certain toy it might be a good time to consider pulling out a more advanced toy to see if he is ready for it.

Several types of toys that are very popular with young children and create stimulation include cardboard building blocks, 3d wood puzzles and wooden play sets. Not only are these toys safe and easy to clean they are reliable, and children of several age groups can play alone or together to develop eye-hand coordination, social skills and muscle strength.

ImagiBRICKS is the trade name of some of the toys that I personally believe in and sell. These giant "brick" block toys that have a drool-proof coating. These brick blocks have smooth, tight fitting seams and are easy to clean. A safe, quality cardboard set of blocks such as these will hold up well for many years of tough play. They also happen to be crush-proof making them a block I would recommend for preschools whose toys get a lot of use and misuse.

Wooden play sets such as A Day at the Zoo, African Safari and Arctic Circle, sold at All I Can Imagine - http://www.blocksand3dpuzzles.com offer quality built toys for children 3up and are geared for creative imaginative play that will encourage your children to play together and increase their social skills. Play sets make good toys for preschools because there are lots of pieces allowing several children to play together. As they "work" together to create their own "drama" they will learn to work together and problem solve while, at the same time, you as a teacher or parent will have opportunities to guide their play to correlate with a new lesson.

My third and final toy category suggestion is the ever-popular 3d wooden puzzles. Providing a variety of puzzles, a child's favorite toy, will meet their need for a variety of shapes and colors. When playing with puzzles children - · acquire eye-hand coordination · expand fine motor skills · reinforce paying attention to detail · foster your child's self-esteem

3d puzzles are intricately interlocked and are one of the best toys I can think of for helping a child learn to stick to a task until it is finished. Even as adults we find it difficult to get up from a puzzle. When a child finishes his puzzle they will often tear it apart and begin all over. Because there are only three - ten or so pieces in a 3d puzzle it is a wise idea to have several puzzles from a variety of categories so that your child will not become bored.

Presenting puzzles to your toddlers is an interesting teaching method to use when beginning a new lesson series; such as when introducing children to underwater life it is a good idea to have many fish and sea life puzzles handy. Even quality 3d wood puzzles are affordable so it will be easy for all schools or parents to have a plentiful supply on hand.

Providing many colorful visual "displays" in your preschool, kindergarten and at home will make learning fun and aide in your children's learning development. Lesson planning will be enhanced for teachers and parents with the addition of several new toys every month or so. Back to School - the doors are open to another exciting year of learning fun. And, remember to think of safety, sanitation and age appropriateness.

About the Author
Author is a retired Christian woman. She owns All I Can Imagine (a certified Family Friendly Website) that sells eco friendly children's learning and fun toys including giant cardboard building blocks, 3d wood puzzles, adventure and wood play sets, wood coat hooks and wood bookends. Website includes many parent and teacher resources and activities for kids as well as animal facts that go along with the animal puzzles. See our complete

Activity Equipment for Your Baby's First Year

by Bob Russell

With all the options out there, it can be overwhelming trying to select activity equipment such as baby swings for your child's first year. Plus, if this is your first child, you may wonder what your baby will play with most during his or her first year and which baby activity equipment options will give you the most bang for your buck.

Baby's first year

Your baby's vision, coordination, muscle tone and intellect all increase at an amazing rate during his or her first year of life, but for many children, it's not fast enough. Play equipment can help your child experience new sensations and develop muscles. Plus, items such as baby swings or bouncers help give parents a nice break and allow them to focus on other household responsibilities without having to worry about their baby's safety.

Activity Equipment Options:

There are several baby activity equipment options to choose from including bouncers, swings, activity centers and doorway jumpers. Below you'll find the details on each.

Baby Bouncers

A bouncer is a versatile, relatively inexpensive piece of baby equipment that your baby can enjoy from day one. You can put a newborn in a bouncer and continue to use it until your child reaches 25 lbs.

Bouncers provide safe and soothing motion for your baby and free you up to do other things. Plus, your baby is exercising and developing muscles while he or she plays. Just make sure to always supervise your baby while in the bouncer. Never put the bouncer on a table or on anything that your baby could bounce off of and keep it out of range of furniture and dangerous objects such as cords, hot surfaces and curtain pulls.

Baby Swings

Swings are one of many parents' favorite ways to sooth a crying baby. You can usually begin using a swing when your baby is 6 to 8 weeks old, but you should check with your pediatrician first. Swings typically hold babies up to 15 to 25 lbs.

Look for a swing with safety straps and a comfortable seat. You'll also need to choose between a wind-up model and a battery-operated model. The battery-operated models are nice because you don't have to worry about periodically winding up the swing, but some parents like the slow winding down of the manual models.

Be sure to keep swings and all other action equipment on a level surface away from stairs.

Activity Centers

Exersaucers just may be the final frontier in baby action equipment. They swivel, rock, bounce, and turn a full 360 degrees, and they come fully loaded with toys to stimulate your baby's hand-eye coordination, focus, and perception. Plus, exersaucers are safer than walkers because they are stationary, but they provide plenty of entertainment for your child.

Exersaucers are suitable for any child who's old enough to sit up and control head movement, and most exersaucers can adjust to accommodate a toddler's height.

Doorway Jumpers

Jumpers enable babies to experience the exciting possibilities of standing up straight and using their legs to stand up control movement. Baby jumpers are designed for children 6 months and older who are comfortable supporting weight on their legs.

About the Author
Baby Center: baby swings and exersaucers

How Day Care Centers Can Improve Child Development

by Heath Sentares

Though many parents don't realize it, a child's development is closely connected to their child care environment. Development in child care facilities, particularly during their toddler years, can have a huge impact on children. There are a number of stages that a child may go through, and the level of a child's development in a child care facility generally depends on the facility's approach to learning. Special care in a child's development should always be taken.

Types of Development Occurring in Child Care Facilities

There are many types of development that occur both in child care facilities and outside of them. Social development is one example of this. Social development is something that occurs as a child matures and ages. One very important factor in social development is allowing a child to interact with other children. This is an area that child care facilities definitely play a major role in developing. Day care centers and other child care facilities allow children to come into contact with many other children that they may not have otherwise been exposed to had they been taken care of by a babysitter or a nanny.

Not only can children develop better socially in day care centers because they are around other children that are not from their family, but also because they're coming in contact with children that may be very different from themselves. Children can be exposed to other kids from completely different social, ethnic, economic, and cultural backgrounds. This is not something they would be able to do in most other types of child care settings.

Children may also learn language skills in day care centers. This is due to the fact that toddlers, in particular, tend to learn a lot by speaking or babbling with the older children. Also, many child care facilities will mix activities such as singing and rhyming in with their lessons. This type of learning can greatly aid children in developing their language skills.

Other activities like free-play can allow toddlers and young children to develop their physical coordination and motor skills. Motor development skills are also encouraged through the implementation of activities such as puzzles and painting. If children are fed properly at day care centers, as many now encourage, they are also receiving help with their physical well-being.

Day care centers and other similar child care facilities can help children develop many other necessary skills as well as the ability to learn better. For example, children tend to develop their imagination through pretend play with other kids. Also, they become more active learners as they're able to use different toys and other learning materials that may not be available to them in their home environment. This type of active learning can also help children develop greater attention spans, as they may have to entertain themselves at certain times.

About the Author
Brought to you as a courtesy from Child Day Care Centers Center, a member of the Child Care network.

Tips For Homeschooling With Toddlers

by Jordyn Coffin

It is the most common question that I get from my fellow homeschool moms, "How do you keep your younger children occupied while teaching your older ones?" I am always happy to share my experiences with other moms in the same situation that I am in.

Nothing can hinder teaching like an impatient toddler who wants to do school too. So I have put together a list of ideas proven to occupy your little one so that you can focus on teaching your older ones.

1. Lacing cards- This is my favorite activity for younger kids! This activity promotes creativity, helps with dexterity and gives your child a great sense of accomplishment.

2. Puzzles- These are not only a great learning tool, but they are fun too. Puzzles are great for memory, concentration and dexterity. I recommend a puzzle with letters and numbers to encourage a little bit of learning while they are having fun!

3. Play-Dough- This is a tried and true classic. Break out the play-dough along with some cutting tools and a rolling pin and watch your toddler's imagination take over.

4. Scissors and Paper- Let them build their confidence and prepare for kindergarten by giving them old magazines or scrap paper to cut into pieces. Please do keep an eye on them or they are likely to try to cut something that you don't want them too, like their hair (speaking from experience here!)

5. Blocks- Once again this is a fantastic tool to encourage your child's creativity. They will enjoy building towns, buildings or just building towers and knocking them down!

6. Crayons- Never underestimate the power of crayons and a coloring page. There are so many websites offering free coloring pages that your child will never color the same page twice!

7. Make a box of toys and books that only come out when it is school time, this keeps your toddler from getting bored with the toys and gives them something special to look forward to.

8. Last but not least invest in a pair of headphones and some read along books on tape. Toddlers love to listen to stories and flip through the books on their own. The headphones make them feel especially grown-up.

These tips are tried and true by me and many of my friends. Homeschooling with little ones can seem like a quite a challenge but if you remember that they just want to be included and provide them with stimulating activities then everybody's school experience will be rewarding.

About the Author
Written by Jordyn Coffin - Homeschool mom of 4 For great educational toys, games and puzzles, visit Giggles & Grins educational toy store

Great Toys For Babies That You Already have Around The House

We have all had it happen. A neighbor or a family member drops by your house unexpectedly touting their toddler. You look around frantically. Never mind the fact that the bathrooms aren't clean, what toys do you have to occupy the kid while the adults sit down for a conversation? Never fear. Here is a list of everyday items in your house that can be used to occupy and entertain a child for at least 10 minutes.

1. Pots and pans. Chances are there is a picture of you that your mother took ages ago that shows you sitting down on the kitchen floor happily banging away on a pan. It just goes to show you that the best toys never really go out of style. Drag out that old bundt cake pan, slide the bread loaf pan across the tile, or just pull out the whole array of matching cookware and become the child's fairy godmother. Add a plastic spatula and a spoon and the kid will become your number one fan. Don't worry, pans can always be washed and honestly, when is the last time you baked a bundt cake anyway?

2. Tupperware. Along the same lines as the pots and pans, any type of plastic container also does the trick. Better yet, these can always be thrown in the dishwasher, will not break, are cheaper and most importantly, are quieter than their pot counterparts. My daughter's favorite toy in the world is the stackable Gladware containers you can buy at your local drugstore. And when she is finished, they can be washed and used for leftovers. Now that is what I call multitasking.

3. Cordless phone. Just remember to unplug the receiver and unscrew the antenna before handing it to the child. Otherwise you may end of with some very interesting numbers on your next phone bill.

4. T-shirts. Pull several of your oldest t-shirts out of the drawer and pile them up around the toddler. Let them play dress up. Be prepared though, there is a good chance they will cuter in your clothes than you do.

5. Cardboard boxes. Any type will do. Shoe box size up to appliance size. The child will have fun crawling around in them and dragging them about the house.

On the flip side of this, there are also some household objects that should never be used to entertain a toddler.

1. Cats' Whether sleeping or awake, most cats do not enjoy being made to play with small children. Ear pulling, tailing grabbing and the "child pat" are sure ways to make your usually docile cat break out the claws.

2. First additions of any books. These valuable items will become worthless with drool marks and pages torn out of them. Best to keep the child way from the library for now.

3. Television Remotes. My daughter loves to play with the remote. Unfortunately, she is also very adapt at reprogramming the satellite dish configurations. I on the other hand, am on a first name basis with the technical department at the dish company as they walk me through yet again how to get my channels back.

4. CD's and DVD's. Contrary to popular belief, these products are not packaged in child proof containers and while chances are the child is in no immediate danger from these items, the frustration they will feel coming from you when you discover that they have removed all of the disks and placed them in other containers is probably not that healthy of an environment for them to be in. Play it safe, don't let toddlers near the entertainment system.

There are many items that can be used to entertain a child without running out and buying up the toy store. Be sure to always supervise them and be ready to remove the object should it become hazardous. Rest assured that a surprise visit from the neighbor can be pleasant and enjoyable experience.

About the Author
Jill Dory is a first time mother currently learning the best ways to take care of a baby by the widely popular trial and error method of childrearing. She hopes to have all of it figured out by the time the child is 27. To see more tips and stories like the ones in this article, please click here. www.bestbabyaccessories.com