The ultimate guide to developmental toys
Our Favorite Creative Costumes Children benefit intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally from imaginative play. Playing dress up (or, if you want to be more formal, “socio-dramatic play”) is obviously a great way for kids to develop creativity and story-telling skills. Novel scenarios, inventive props, and fun new costumes stretch their imagination. But there are additional, … Read more
Best Star Wars Toys With a wave of brand new Disneyfied Star Wars movies comes brand new action figures, books, posters, T-shirts and other memorabilia. Check out the best Star Wars toys of 2016 that will bring you to a galaxy far, far away. Why Star Wars is worth $4 Billion Disney has spent $15.5 billion over … Read more
Best STEM Toys INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering from Purdue University has released it’s 2nd annual gift guide for future engineers. The guide includes toys that foster STEM (science, tech, engineering, and math) learning across various categories. “Define the problem Identify an engineering design problem to solve. Set criteria (desired attributes) and constraints (limits). Recognize … Read more
Did you know? Any toy you see on a shelf in the U.S. must pass over 100 safety tests and standards that are required by federal law. They include tests on physical parts (things such as choking or strangulation hazards and pinch points for small fingers) to its chemical makeup (things such as regulating lead paint and … Read more
Crowdfunded Toys Watch out for this next year! Marbleocity from Tinkineer is the most awaited new toy on Kickstarter right now, and it teaches engineering and physics concepts (but it needs your help). From a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning perspective the roller coaster is a classic classroom tool used to communicate lessons about conservation … Read more
MiniLand Educational Creators of toys to fill both play and learning time A trusted company (they celebrated their 50th birthday in 2012), MiniLand specializes in offering technologically advanced, healthy, and safe products for babies and children. What we like: MiniLand’s goal is to create new toys which are developmentally appropriate for every level of early childhood learning. … Read more
TIA (Toy Industry Association) reviews the claims in 3 reports: -U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG) 2014 “Trouble in Toyland” report -W.A.T.C.H’s 2014 “10 Worst Toys” list -Clean and Healthy New York’s 2015 “Toxic Toys in Monroe County” report which they found to be “misleading” and “fear-mongering”. Directly from the TIA review: None of the … Read more
Did you know? The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends that kids engage in open-ended play for at least 60 minutes every day. Regardless, playtime has been shrinking: kids often spend more time in front of screens and routinely spend much less time playing outside than experts recommend. In case the benefits of active play aren’t obvious, consider … Read more