Parents often have a love/hate relationship with their children’s toys. They love how the toys can help them learn as well as how they can keep them happy and distracted for a few hours. They hate the mess and the risk of stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night. They also hate when their children’s toys become too good at distracting their kids, and instead of helping them learn, keep them from having more educational experiences.
If you’re not happy with the types of toys your child plays with, you should consider making some toys yourself. Making toys is actually a lot simpler than you may think. And even if you can’t sew or do woodworking, there are lots of great toys you can make yourself. If you’re still not sure if you should make your own toys, here are few other things you should keep in mind.
Toys Can Be Dangerous
Though we like to think that all of our children’s toys are perfectly safe, the truth is that is not always the case. Some toy companies, in an effort to lower costs, manufacture their toys in other countries and build them out of low quality materials. This can result in toys covered in lead paint and other dangerous chemicals, or toys that break easily and become hazardous to your children. If you examine all of your children’s new toys and do some research, you can get a better idea about their safety, but sometimes it’s just not worth the risk.
Some Toys Don’t Encourage Learning
The best types of toys are fun and educational; however, many of the most popular toys are not educational at all. This can be really unfortunate if your child falls in love with his video game system or other toy, and this takes time away from learning, spending time with his friends, and spending time with you. When you create your own toys and games, you can make sure they will actually teach your child something.
Let Your Child Make Toys
One of the best reasons to make your own toys is that you can get your child involved too. Creating toys can be an extremely fun and creative project for children of all ages. Asking them to think up and construct their own toys will engage the creative, artistic, and visual areas of their brains, and this is an excellent activity to do as a family.