ROANOKE, Va. – Many toys are marketed as “educational” but how exactly do you determine which toys promote children’s development? With the popularity of video games, tablets and other “kid tech” a lot of parents are also torn on what’s best for their kids and whether or not they should purchase video games or electronic devices for their children this holiday season.
Dr. Cara Goodwin, a child psychologist, best-selling author, mom of three, and expert behind the well-known Instagram account “Parenting Translator.”
Goodwin offers advice on toys:
- For younger children, blocks or other building toys, like legos or magnatiles. These types of toys are linked with improved math skills, spatial skills, more advanced language, and greater creativity
- For older children like teenagers, there is research showing that they value experiences over material objects so you might want to plan a special activity or trip.
Video Games:
- Video games aren’t all bad showing that video games are actually associated with some attention, memory, and learning benefits. However, they should of course be used in moderation and parents should always consider what playing video games might be replacing such as homework, quality family time or sleep.
Electronic toys
- Parents might want to be careful with electronic toys because research shows that they tend to disrupt the interaction between child and parent and may reduce the number of learning opportunities in play. This might be because both children and parents are distracted by the features of electronic toys.
- This doesn’t mean that parents need to avoid all electronic toys– just try a little harder to work learning opportunities into the play. Parents can also always switch the toy off if it is too disruptive.
For more information check out https://www.parentingtranslator.com and @parentingtranslator