Educational Toy
Toys may be used for a number of educational purposes. Some toys have incidental educational value, while others are known specifically by the moniker of "educational toys." Educational toys are typically built for and used by children. One could make the argument that an educational toy is actually any toy. Most children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world. This definition is ultimately too broad because one could make the same argument about a rock or a stick as it is not uncommon to see a child play with almost anything nearby.
The difference lies in the child's perception or reality of the toy's value. An educational toy should educate. It should instruct, promote intellectuality, emotional or physical development. An educational toy can teach a child about a particular subject or can help a child develop a particular skill. The key difference is the child's learning and development associated with interacting with the toy.
More toys are designed with the child's education and development in mind today than ever before. As parents and educators grow more sensitive to the real or perceived development needs of children, toy manufacturers seek to manufacture and market to these parents.
Wooden toys which tend to last for a long time serve to maintain interest and durability for the child especially if the toy becomes a favorite.
Read more about Educational Toy: Advertising, Educational Toys in Child Development, Examples
Famous quotes containing the words educational and/or toy:
“We do not have to get our children to learn; only to allow and encourage them in their learning. We do not have to dictate what they should learn; only to discern and respond to what it is that they are learning. Such responsiveness is at once the most educational and the most loving.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“As the creative adult needs to toy with ideas, the child, to form his ideas, needs toys—and plenty of leisure and scope to play with them as he likes, and not just the way adults think proper. This is why he must be given this freedom for his play to be successful and truly serve him well.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)