We can’t get away from the fact that the world of technology is part of our every-day lives and with that comes a change in personal needs and wants. So, are parents in general falling into the trap of letting their kids to play on computers, laptops, PlayStations, etc and have the latest gadget instead of a toy that is a little more traditional; an example being pogo sticks.
Getting the Right Balance
Technology for children isn’t all bad, as computer games are said to stimulate the imagination, which in turn enables the kids to be more creative. On the other hand, is it healthy if they spend the majority of their time playing on a computer console? Not really and one of the main issues with this is that they don’t get to play with their friends outside, whether that be in the garden, the woods, local park and so on. Therefore, missing out on being children and doing things those children can learn a lot from. Also, do parents see it as an easy way to keep children quiet and entertained, whilst their busy doing the housework etc. Not only is it very easy to sit children in front of the computer – there’s no mess and it keeps them quiet too. However, many parents that let their children play on consoles for long periods of time are becoming increasingly worried in regards to the time that children are spending on computers, laptops, IPads and technology generally.
Encourage Children to Play with more Traditional Toys
With Christmas approaching, I took it upon myself to find some amazing kids gifts and toys that don’t rely on technology, batteries or electricity. As I began to investigate the world of traditional toys I was totally amazed by the masses of choice out there; below are some examples:
Traditional Children’s Toys
To encourage kids to become more active I stumbled across the happy hopperz range. These toys are just fantastic. Best described as animal bouncy hoppers, kids will spend many fun hours bouncing on these. And for older kids we found the very much loved retro space hoppers. Bet you remember those as kids yourself!!
Outdoor Toys
Some other great outdoor toys we discovered were jump rocket launchers and flying saucers (a bit like Freezbies!) and we did have a soft spot for kites. There’s nothing’s quite as satisfying as a flying kite soaring way up into the air!!! Most children have very vivid imaginations and love to absorb themselves in the world of make believe. To develop children’s imaginations even further pop up play tents make great gifts for kids. There are so many great designs to choose from – you really would be spoilt for choice.
Creative Gifts for Kids
We discovered a wide range of gifts to get the creative side out of children, from a simple colouring book or art set to Friendship Bracelets Making Sets, Chocolate Pizza Making Kits and even Dinosaur Excavation and Model making sets. No need to panic if you are not creative yourself as the kits we found contained everything needed to create a fabulous work of art, (plus a full set of instructions.)
Grow Kits
We particularly liked the kid’s gifts that related to the real living world and as we explored these in more details we realized just how many great fun gifts were out there. We loved the Children’s Seed Kits. How wonderful for kids to watch little tiny seeds grow into giant sunflowers or beanstalks, for example. How super cool would it be to see butterfly eggs hatch into caterpillars and then eventually turn into beautiful butterflies. Well we managed to find a Butterfly Garden kit that does just that.
Building Models
For children who love to build and make models, then Construction Toys and Sets are great gifts for kids. Lego is still as popular as ever, but I would recommend ZooB as a great alternative.
Family Games
Family board games are a great way to encourage interaction, communication and co-operation between families and friends. I’m sure we all remember snakes and ladders, monopoly, ludo - timeless classics that have been around for generations. These are great games for children to play with grandparents, especially as Grandma and Granddad can probably remember playing them as children themselves. Can you remember the Beetle game with a dice? Well we found ‘build a Beetle’ - the new up to date version of that retro game…..
I can safely say that in our search to find toys and find toys and kids presents that didn’t involve computers, PlayStations. X boxes etc, we were not disappointed. What’s more we also discovered that you don’t have to spend a fortune when it comes to buying good quality traditional gifts for kids.
Lisa, the author of this article has worked in the industry for many years and has seen many changes to the children's toy industry.
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