Through play, children learn new things most easily, develop skills and understand the world around them
Play is a way for children to adapt to the world and express their natural curiosity. The game is spontaneous, voluntary, and fun, and by combining this primal desire to play with certain educational toys and games, children develop. Educational games help sensory development and IQ growth through memory retention, motor skills development, coordination, and even literacy and numeracy. Children learn, explore and discover the world using their imagination, while the complexity of the game challenges them to mental reflection and physical tasks such as stacking, overlapping, and even breaking down.
The games are fun, motivating, and occupy attention completely. The children spend hours playing the game until it is completely mastered. Whether it is a game in nature, a board game or a computer game, and although most games are not educational, playing always teaches: new information is learned, new skills are acquired, sociability and way of thinking are developed. Through play, children discover their possibilities, develop abilities and skills, gain experience, learn and create. The game stimulates imagination and creativity. For Today’s generations of computer game students are a natural environment that makes them their own with dynamism and activity it draws into the virtual world. Educational games are intended primarily for learning. Their purpose is to teach the user how to use learning tools. They are of an educational nature, a favorite in preschool and school age. Educational games can be divided according to subjects, such as math games, language learning, reading games, environmental games, etc. It is always good to read more about it and choose the best option for your child.
Technology has taken off so much that it has spread all around us and an increasing number of our life activities are increasingly tied to technology. For example, today, mobile phones pay a lot for mobile phones, book and pay for tickets, etc. Children encounter this technology very early and start using it successfully from the earliest years of life. Thus, today’s children and tomorrow’s adults “live spending their time using computers, digital games, digital music players, video cameras, mobile phones, and all other games and devices of the digital era”. There is no doubt that digital games are the first and most intensive children’s contact with the possibilities of digital technologies.
However, playing educational games can also contribute to the development of the following characteristics:
- fast reception of information from several different multimedia sources,
- parallel processing of several different tasks,
- greater interest in images, sound, and video than in text,
- random access to hyperlink and multimedia information,
- interactivity and spontaneous connection on the Internet with many other people,
- learning according to the model “just-in-time – here and now”,
- instant gratification and instant rewarding and
- learning only what is relevant, currently useful, and fun.
All of the above are abundantly offered to them by all versions of digital games.
If chosen carefully, educational games and toys can encourage the healthy physical and mental development of children
1. Development of social skills
From an early age, babies need to be prepared to explore the world and the ability to understand emotions. Educational toys teach babies to understand what it means to interact with others, share, and the importance of not interrupting others.
2. Advancement of cognitive abilities
Cognitive skills include memory, problem-solving, color recognition, etc. These skills are developed with the help of colorful toys, such as blocks or puzzles.
3. Speech development
Interacting with other people encourages children to convey their feelings. They must be able to use language and speak correctly, so modern toy manufacturers are increasingly creating advanced robotic toys. They can speak, so children imitate them, thus learning names and developing speech.
4. Growth and development of motor skills
Children develop muscle ability and balance as they prepare to explore the world. One of the best ways to develop this through play is educational toys that require their body parts to be moved, shapes to overlap, or placed in the corresponding slots.
5. Growth of logic and imagination
Toys allow children to use their imagination and imagination encourages creativity. However, children will need to use logic and critical thinking at the same time. When parents choose toys for their children, depending on a certain stage of development, they primarily mean fun, but also ensure healthy mental and physical growth and development.
Play also allows them to explore the world, practice adult roles and gain self-confidence. Through play, they improve social skills, where play helps them learn how to function in groups, to share, negotiate, resolve conflicts, but also how to represent themselves.
Given the great importance of play on the proper growth and development of the child, the question arises, how does the reduction of free play affect the child’s growth?
Along with the secondary message of high blood pressure that children receive from today’s world – that they must be the best at all times – children show a greater degree of stress, anxiety and depression. According to the world’s pediatricians, the key to helping a child reach their potential, without additional stress, is to find a balance between obligations and play and also: give them enough free time to be creative, encourage them to engage in active play such as running, instead of passive games (video games), buy them real toys such as blocks (LEGO blocks), or toys that stimulate imagination and creativity.
Final thoughts
Play is a precious part of childhood. By finding the right measure between obligations and play, the child will grow up happier, better adjusted and more ready to “conquer the world”. And when the whole family participates in that, it means hours and hours of fun and learning. You set the best example for your children, because they learn by example, not by what you tell them. Dedicate time to children, play with them, do something fun, encourage them to think. The children will be grateful to you one day for everything you have taught them, and above all for the unbreakable bond between you and them that you have built together.
