The importance of play among kids can be best glimpsed from the fact that humans have the longest childhood among their closest primates. This prolonged childhood stage is very important for the developing the mental faculties among human children.



The human brain, as it is now a generally accepted scientific fact, takes very long to develop. Both the rational and emotional development of kids depends much in their childhood, making quality toy an important factor for kids' play.

Kids around two or three years of age have natural liking for role-playing and other creative play. Individually or as a group, creative plays among kids can be used as opportunity to induce learning while kids enjoy themselves.

Dressing up, including putting on make-up, are normally learned by girls from grown-up females in an household, while boys and even girls like to transform themselves into characters that the fancy. Kids' imagination, language facility, general social skill, ang overall emotional behavior can benefit immensely from these types of play.

Educational toys that can strengthen kids' learning during this creative plays include all types of dolls, costumes for their dressing-up games, and even assortment of materials that can be used for their games.

Kids up to five years of age however, can benefit from educational toys that need construction and designing. Puzzles are good example of the needed type of toy for this age group as these will help their cognitive development, including the problem recognition and decision making skills. After entering school however, this type of toys becomes less attracting to kids, as they learn new games, and consequently toys that go with it, in the school.

Perhaps the most popular of children's educational toys are those that deal with science. Children that hope to become chemists, geologists and doctors someday can now get themselves toy kits that simulate the experience. Future astronomers can get to practice their "profession" with telescope kits. Future vets are able to learn more about animals and how to care for them with animal kits.

There is a wide range of play sets and devices to tickle a child's hunger for exploration and discovery, which include the likes of microscopes, dioramas, binoculars, chemisty sets, insect and bug habitats, robotic sets, electronic devices, and others.

Whenever we say the term "educational" and partner it with "toys", it almost always has this boring ring to it. Without adequate knowledge about the value of educational toys, a lot of us would think that these products are just a waste of money because kids won't be able to appreciate them, and say it's for nerds.

This is where we are wrong. Educational toys foster learning AND cater to a child's creativity. These toys are so well designed and carefully developed that they insert "learning" into the picture without the child realizing that he or she is actually "studying". This doesn't mean, though, that educational toys are out to dupe kids into studying. It simply means that toys do not only stimulate kids' senses and motor skills, but also have the capacity to feed their intellects.

With the birth of educational toys, learning has transformed into an activity that is fun, and not just confined to the four corners of a classroom. Schools have started to incorporate educational toys to their teaching methods, especially to preschoolers, because of this.

It should be noted that both the intellectual and emotional development of kids are at stake while they are playing, or while they are playing with their favorite toys. The reason for this simple: both the emotional and rational sphere are both housed in the brain. Educational toys should therefore, serve the need to develop these two aspects of kids' brain.

As the kids grow, the need for games and toys evolves, but the need itself remains. This can take the form sports, or other endeavor and hobby other than work.