Category: Children

How to Choose the Right Educational Toys for Kids

Florence McDonald
learning toy

Although a toy is meant to be played with, it can help promote certain skills needed for a child’s development. It is rewarding to every parent to see kids grow and learn. You need to be thoughtful when choosing toys. This is necessary to ensure you choose toys that promote important skills. Think of different areas, such as creative thinking, problem-solving, and literacy, when choosing learning toys. You should note that interactive toys help improve cognitive skills. These are some tips to help you choose the right toy.

Interests and Abilities

educational toyIt is advisable to choose a toy that matches the child’s abilities and interests. You should note that a toy can only contribute to the development of cognitive skills if your child has an interest in it. For instance, if your kid likes dinosaurs, you should get toys and games that focus on ancient concepts. Make sure you consider the age of your child when choosing a toy. A toy needs to be challenging to be fun. However, buying a toy that is difficult to use can make your child avoid playing with it.

Multi-Purpose Toys

It is advisable to purchase open-ended toys, such as blocks, building bricks, and builders. The good thing about these materials is that they can be used in a variety of ways. This also means such toys can grow with your child. The open-ended toys encourage engineering, math, technology, and science learning. In fact, they make learning simple and fun. Your child can use these toys to build their creations.

Imagination

It is recommended for parents to find toys that offer opportunities and spark the imagination. Studies have shown that imagination helps boost creativity and it promotes literacy and language skills. If you engage in imagination, you can easily build your vocabulary and take on various characters.

Consider Social Skills

learning toysYou can find toys that promote cooperation and the growth of social skills. In this case, you should consider board games. Also, puzzles, builders, and experiment kits can help. That is because these toys show the children the best ways to share, compromise, and teamwork. Other than learning to work together, they can help children master problem-solving skills.

Exploration

You can also get toys that encourage your kids to explore the world. Exploration and learning new things can stimulate curiosity. In this case, you can buy binoculars. Also, science toys and experiment kits are recommended.

Factors to Consider Before Enrolling Your Kid in a Swimming Class

Florence McDonald
girl swimming

Swimming is a skill that will stay with you forever. When you learn to swim but have not been swimming for a long while, your swimming skill will naturally show up. Enrolling your child in a swimming class will not only teach your child how to swim, but it also has many benefits. It will make your child grow healthier physically, mentally, and emotionally.

With all the benefits your child can get from swimming, you should enroll him in a swimming school with the best facilities and teaching methodologies.

swimming pool and babyAge of the Child

The age of your child is a primary consideration before he can be enrolled in a swimming class. While it is encouraged that infants and babies can be dipped and moved in water for them to adapt to a new environment while benefitting from other health claims, kids can only learn the basics of swimming when they are older than three years old.

The progress of your kid’s swimming skills can be achieved while he gets older and until he is six, that’s the time when he can be ready for competitive swimming.

Availability of Parents

Parents are required to be with their young kids when they are to be enrolled in swimming classes. When they have grown comfortable with the environment, that’s the time when the parent’s presence during swimming classes may not be needed. But when both parents are working, the problem of fetching your kid to and from the swimming school arises. And what if your kid will not let you leave his side for a moment?

The availability of parents is truly important when deciding whether to enroll their kids or not.

kid with floatersHealth Condition of the Child

There are a lot of health benefits that your child can get from swimming. But enrolling him may have to take a backseat when he has severe respiratory problems with manifestations such as heavy cough, runny nose, and other flu-like symptoms. When he has chickenpox, eczema, or verruca, you have to ensure that he is free from these infectious diseases before he can be enrolled. Also make sure that your child does not have diarrhea, urinary incontinence, and open wounds.

Teaching Proficiency in the Swimming School

You enrolled your kid in a swimming school primarily to let him learn how to swim. And you must be expecting this to happen after a while. The progress of your child’s swimming skills can be determined by his natural abilities, motivation, and the teacher’ expertise. Lack of natural abilities can be overcome with the right motivation techniques which parents and the teacher can do to make the child more focused and attentive on his lessons.

The school should have swimming professionals that do not only teach your child how to swim but should also have the motivational instincts to uplift your child’s interest in swimming.