Before a child starts school most
parents will want to give them a headstart and get them learning as soon as
possible. Of course, children are learning from the day they are born, and most
of this will simply come from taking in their environment and learning from the
adults in their lives. Children will learn to talk and walk around on their
own, they will learn what is safe and what is dangerous in their surroundings,
and also basic social skills.
However, skills such as reading,
writing and simple maths need to be taught and there are plenty of learning toys around which claim to do this. The toy industry is packed full of toys
which are designed to give your child a headstart and take some of the pressure
off of you to teach your child the skills they will inevitably have to learn.
But do these toys actually work?
On a basic level, yes the toys
work. This is because when children are young one of the best ways to get their
attention is with a new toy or an exciting and unusual gadget. Kids become
bored very easily of not stimulated and many of these toys will counteract this
with flashing lights, fun noises and pictures, meaning they hold onto your
child’s attention for longer and encourage them to learn in order to receive
the reward of flashing lights or noises.
Kids can even be quite
competitive from a young age, so will try to beat the toy in order to ‘win’
whichever game they are playing. As long as the set up is that the toy provides
a game and allows the child to be creative in their use of it you should find
that the child starts to pick certain things up.
However, the toys on their own
will not teach children much more than they will learn in their first year at
school or nursery anyway, and must be combined with teaching from an adult to
make them really effective. This means you as the parent giving your child
positive reinforcement whenever they get something right, and occasionally
helping them out.
Other ways of teaching children
can be as simple as reading to them and getting them to follow you along in
their favourite storybook. Because these books also have bright pictures (and
you can help by making funny voices and noises of your own!) you should find
your child stays interested in what you are doing and starts to recognise the
words as you read them. If you want your child to have a headstart before they
start school, educational toys can be a great way to do this, but you should
not underestimate the power of the older methods in teaching as well.
