Here at Educational-Toys-Mart we strive to find toys that encourage creative, imaginative and active play. These three components are essential to a child’s healthy development. The American Academy of Pediatrics is starting to take a stand on the claims some toys to make you child smarter. Emphasising that free play and interaction with the caregiver is of greatest importance. “We like simply toys that encourage imagination. That’s when learning occurs,” says Kenneth Ginsburg, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and lead author of the AAP statement on the importance of free play. Pediatrician Deborah James says it well, “It’s better for a child to tell the toy what to do than for the toy to tell the child.” Turn to Educational-Toys-Mart.com for a great selection puppet theaters, easels, blocks, marble runs, Legos,tool benches and other imaginative toys for the children in your life.

New studies out of Japan show the importance color in the development on a babies brain. Bright contrasting colors may be the way to go over the traditional pastels so often used. The contrasting colors stimulate the brain. This is not to say that a pastel nursery is wrong. A contrast in pastel colors can also help stimulate a baby’s brain. You can bring in different colors in toys, blankets, furniture or paint. Any contrasting color can help in a baby’s development. By age three, a child’s brain will be twice as active as an adult’s brain. The most important thing a parent can do to support this activity and stimulate a baby’s development is to spend quality time with them. Face to face interaction with your child goes much further that any color contrasting or baby video.

Use the toys offered by Educational-Toys-Mart to enhance that quality time spent with you child. Make a puppet show together. Build a castle out of blocks. No electricity necessary, only your imagination. These are the memories that your child and you will cherish for years to come.