Preschool Educational Toys - What To Look For?

There are many fantastic Preschool Educational Toys on the market now, so as a parent it can be a little overwhelming to know what to look for to make the best choice for your child.

Here are some things that you may like to take into consideration when purchasing educational toys for your preschooler:

Interactive
Does the toy require children to be an active participant? It is important that the toy needs the child to do more than simply just listen or watch it in action. Toys like blocks, threading sets and puzzles require the preschooler to be active in their play.

Stimulate their Imagination
Does the toy allow the preschooler to use his or her imagination when they play with the toy? Although children may be drawn to branded toys due to the flood of marketing that they have been exposed to, these types of toys can limit childrens' imagination. That is, children may tend to play with these toys in a way that they have seen on the associated movie or TV show.

Toys like finger puppets are like a blank canvas to kids and they can let their imagination run wild with their very own puppet shows that they can perform. As part of the preschool educational range of toys we have at ickle Kids, we stock a number of different sets of finger puppets, like these very cute Pirate Finger Puppets:




Problem Solving
Does the toy require the preschooler to solve a problem? Toys that help little children practise their problem solving skills have the benefits of teaching them about perseverance, option evaluation, risk taking and logical thinking.



For instance in a game like Camelot Jnr (which is one of our best sellers!) the child has to build a path so the knight can save the princess. It is a multi-level logic game which focuses on spatial and problem solving skills.

Fine Motor Skills
Does the toy allow your preschooler to practise their fine motor skills? Practising fine motor skills with toys like threading, drawing, peg boards are essential for preschoolers. To be able to learn to write, little ones need to practise their fine motor control and strengthen their finger muscles, so it is beneficial for your child to have toys that encourage this endeavour.

One single toy will not necessarily have all of these elements I have listed. When buying educational toys for your preschooler, if you do look out for these elements, over time you will be able to build up a collection of educational toys that enhances the educational development of your preschooler.