Useful gifts for Christmas?
Children need far fewer presents and toys than we think. Many things in their environment can be used for playing, learning and discovering.
When we offer or give toys to our children, we as parents, grandparents, godparents or aunts should make sure that these toys are useful and promote development !
But what does that mean?
What are useful and development-promoting toys:
Useful and development-promoting toys should fulfill several important points:
- Toys for children should definitely be safe for the child
- They should be free of harmful substances
- They should be of high quality and therefore durable and also usable for the second child or cousin
- You should support the child in several developmental phases of play development (not just in one phase)
- It should encourage imagination and creativity and not only be usable for a single purpose/action
- They should be offered at the right time. This means that the child is automatically interested in them and thus their current play development is promoted
The general rule is: less is more. And if so, do it right!
We have compiled a summary of the most important phases of children's play development by age and supplemented it with useful ideas:
0-8 months
- Phase: Oral Phase
- Promotes: Learning about the properties of objects (with the mouth = oral)
- Toys : Teething rings , safe and non-toxic items
Examples of good first teething rings for your baby:
8-12 months
- Phase: "Means to an end"/causality
- Promotes: Recognizing cause and effect
- Toy : Pull-along animal
Examples of pull-along animals made from FSC wood:
From 15 months
- Phase: Representative Game
- Promotes: Imitation of actions, practice of everyday situations
- Toys : Dolls, stuffed animals
Examples of sustainable and pollutant-free dolls and stuffed animals:
From 18 months
- Phase: Vertical Building/Stacking
- Promotes: Spatial imagination/ learning the dimensions in space
- Toys : Building Blocks & Stacking Blocks
Examples of sustainable and pollutant-free building blocks :
From 20 months
- Phase: Categorizing
-
Promotes: Learning properties of objects and classification into groups (round, square, triangular etc.)
- Toys : Puzzle, shape cube
Examples of sustainable and pollutant-free puzzles and shape games:
From 20 months
- Phase: Horizontal Construction
- Promotes: Spatial imagination/ learning the dimensions in space
- Toys : building blocks, stacking blocks, Duplo, train
Examples of sustainable and pollutant-free stacking blocks:
From 20 months
- Phase: Sequential Play
- Promotes: Practicing action sequences
- Toys : Dollhouse, stable
From 2 years
- Phase: Crafting & Painting
-
Promotes: fine motor skills, creativity, imagination, handling of tools
-
Toys : colored pencils, coloring books, children's scissors etc.
Examples of sustainable and pollutant-free craft supplies: 
3rd to 7th year of life
- Phase: Role Playing
- Promotes: Social Learning
- Toys : Other Children/Parents, Costumes, Dolls, Fantasy
Examples of sustainable and non-toxic toys:
The most important thing is that children need people to play with. Play with your children as much as you can. Because playing means love, closeness and encouragement.
With that in mind, merry and playful Christmas ☃︎