But take heart. Even if you don’t own every toy in existence, your baby is going to be just fine. I promise. In fact, you need not look beyond your own four walls to find plenty of items that will occupy his interest and stimulate his brain. Here’s a list of 10!

1. Paper
Give your infant a single sheet of paper, and he might amuse himself for minutes on end waving it around, laughing at the funny flapping sound it makes or trying to tear it into a hundred tiny pieces. The activity can help him both practice his dexterity and become familiar with an everyday object. Infants’ movements aren’t smooth enough for them to get paper cuts, but you do have to watch out that they don’t try to eat a torn-off sample. They’ll probably be more interested in waving it around anyway. (Note: While regular paper makes for a fun toy, avoid letting your baby play with newspaper, since the chemicals in printer’s ink can be hazardous.)

2. Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
These offer several fun advantages. One: They’re shiny and reflective. Two: They’re fun to bang on. Three: They make an interesting noise when rattling against the ground. And four: They’re fun to bang on!

3. Computer Keyboard
Most of us have an obsolete keyboard collecting dust somewhere just because we never bothered to get rid of it. Now is your chance to make it useful again. Babies love rapping (OK, pounding) on the keys and enjoying the clacking sounds they make. Your first step is to secure the loose cable to the back of the keyboard with duct tape. Then you’re ready to hand over the keyboard to your infant and watch him pound away to his heart’s content!

4. Piano
If your baby enjoys banging on a computer keyboard, he’s going to positively love banging on something that produces music as a result! From the age of 5 months or so, he’ll probably be thrilled by being placed on the bench – with you holding him for support, of course – and given free reign to compose whatever piece he wants. Benefits of this great activity include practice with hand-eye coordination, learning about cause and effect (he learns that by hitting the keys, he’s the one making those sounds), and, best of all, a developing ear for, and appreciation of, music.

5. Balls
Plastic balls, rubber balls, ping pong balls – any ball large enough not to be swallowed is a good, engaging toy for an infant. Plastic and rubber balls are best, since they aren’t dangerous to chew on. Tennis balls are OK, too, since your infant will probably discover fairly quickly that chewing on fuzz is less fun than playing with the thing instead. By the time your baby is 5 or 6 months old, you’ll start to derive a whole new level of joy from teaching him to play “catch” – passing the ball back and forth with you (even though you’ll probably have to take the ball from him when he passes it to you, since infants learn to grasp objects before learning to release them).

6. Television Remote
While watching TV is a passive activity and therefore not ideal for infant development, the remote itself can be a useful toy. Babies love pressing buttons wherever they see them, and this provides them with a self-contained panel of lots of different buttons to press. If you have a remote with an LED (red light) that goes on whenever a button is pressed, the toy becomes even more fun and educational – your infant will be spellbound by the relationship between his effort and the light appearing.

7. Empty Plastic Bottles
One of the few good things about our society’s obsessive consumption of soft drinks is the enjoyment infants get from the bottles they come in, once emptied. The smaller the bottle, the better for little hands to manipulate. The larger ones can provide lots of fun, too, by being rolled back and forth or knocked ahead only to rotate back. Empty shampoo bottles also work well.

8. Used Toilet Roll Tubes
Part of me thinks the toilet roll tube came first – as a wonderful infant toy – followed by the invention of toilet paper rolls to place around them. These tubes have lots going for them as baby toys. They’re an interesting cylindrical shape, but open at the ends and thus easy for little hands to grasp. They’re stiff, so your baby won’t destroy them in five minutes. They don’t look like something that would be interesting to eat, even to an infant. And they can be banged against other objects without harmful consequences.

9. Watches
The faces of most watches, combined with the texture of their bands and their silver or gold buckles, make them fascinating objects for infants. They may serve you particularly well at the changing table when your baby reaches the age at which he prefers to flip over instead of waiting for you to finish the job. Dangling the watch above his eyes for a moment or two and then allowing him to grab it might keep him interested just long enough for you to complete the crucial task at hand.

10. You
No matter how many pilgrimages you make to the local toy store, your baby’s favorite toy is you. And why not? Just think how exciting a thing you are, with so many interesting parts for a baby to enjoy, including fingers that move around in captivating ways, a nose that sticks out from the rest of your facial plane, features capable of endless amusing expressions and feet that are fun to shuffle after when they walk away. When you think you’re at a loss trying to keep your infant entertained, turn to yourself as the toy most likely to get results. Do an elevator walk, clap your hands under your knees, play peek-a-boo, play a hambone tune on your thighs, do a pratfall or just jump around and sing. Your baby will appreciate the effort you’re making for him, and he may just reward you with a few of those giggles that you’ve come to live for.

From 0 to 2 months
In order to develop movements, the child will not need plastic rattles. Sew some balls from fabric scraps of different textures (knitted, flannel, silk, wool). The size of these balls should be small.

You can fill the ball with synthetic padding, foam rubber and wool threads. The details should be well secured.

Games with rattles in the period up to two months should not be frequent and active. It’s enough to show them.

From 2 to 4 months
During this period child’s feelings, emotions and will are fused together. His/her perception of the world is based on the collective image of who appears before him/her. That is why the baby likes to allocate from an object a toy, mother and brother.

At this time, a great toy for the baby may become even an ordinary handkerchief!
For the development of hearing, vision, tactile sensations you can play hide and seek with your child. This game also helps him/her to distinguish himself/herself from the surrounding (mother, father).

Put a sheet onto the floor, put on it the child, and lie nearby. For a while talk with the child. Then show him/her the handkerchief and cover your face with it saying: “Cuckoo! Where are you?” Remove the handkerchief from your face and cheerfully say:” Oh, and here you are!” Touch the baby so that he/she realized that you talk to him/her. After a few days, you can change the rules of the game. Cover his/her face with a handkerchief, and then rapidly rejoice that he/she is “found”. Do not forget to hug and kiss the baby at this moment!

Another useful toy for 2-4-month-old kids is a ball. Put your baby on his/her stomach, lie nearby. Put the toy in front of him/her, and then roll the ball. Your task is to encourage the baby to make a simple action. The child sooner or later will try to get the ball with hands. Help him/her: creating a support for his/her legs with your arm. This game develops the baby’s neck.

From 4 to 6 months
At this age, coordination of movements is actively developing. Emotional and psychological relationship with their parents is also formed at this period. Finally – the time has come for active use of rattles and rubber toys! And you can play with them in the following way:

Put the colorful toys of different sizes in a box. In advance, make sure that there were no items that baby can insert into the nose or ear, swallow.

Sit on the floor with the child. Shake the box in front of him/her. After the child starts showing interest to it, ask him/her to look inside. Most likely, the kid tries to get the toys out of the box. Help him/her along the way telling what kind of object it is, what color and shape it has, etc. When all the toys will be outside, begin to collect them back.

For convenience, keep a notebook of observations. You can record all changes with the child. These records will help you in studies. Let your baby grows clever and healthy!

Toys for 1-2 year-old children
First you need to revise the arsenal of toys that are already available at home. It is necessary to remove those toys with which the baby does not play quite as well as those which are already not suitable for his/her age. Do not be afraid to do it, because you always have the opportunity to get them, believe me, the child often perceives them as entirely new.
Now let’s talk about those children toys, which should be purchased. For convenience, we have combined toys into groups by type of activity.

Handling objects
You have probably noticed yourself that after 1 year your child has become much more self-sufficient: he/she learns to use everyday objects, manipulating them in every way, trying to imitate adults. Therefore, to maintain and develop those skills they need such toys, which are small-scale analogues of real objects:
- Children cooking utensils, clothing, combs;
- Toy food;
- Dolls;
- Shovels, rakes, watering cans, fishing rods;
- A toy phone, bag or backpack.
While playing with these toys, the child learns not only to manipulate them, but also develops the skills of using them.

Visual-effective thinking
A child learns through visual-efficient thinking that is, using his/her hands. Therefore, for the development of this field the toys for children should be of different sizes and shapes that have common features. While playing with these toys, the child learns to compare their size and color, resulting in a presentation to the properties of objects. These include:
- Pyramid;
- Cubes (including soft);
- Mosaics;
- Nesting dolls.
We draw your attention to the fact that these toys should be diverse in color, shape and size. For example, if your child likes to collect a pyramid, buy him/her plastic and wooden, small and large ones.

Cognitive Activity
As you know, a child by nature is very, very inquisitive. Offer him/her toys that encourage experimentation and self-discovery.
- Boxes and jars with a secret;
- Small bowls.
Again, we note that the boxes, jars and molds should be of different sizes, colors and shapes.

Language development
Language development takes place in the process of direct communication with older child, so you need to stock up various toys and materials that encourage this communication. For exaple:
- Pictures of animals;
- Figures of animals;
- Audio recordings of children songs and poems;
- Slides (as a harmless alternative to cartoons).

Creativity and perception
For the development of creative abilities of the child he/she needs such toys as:
- Pens, pencils, paint;
- Clay;
- A set of colored paper (for applications).
By using these materials, the child will develop creativity and create the concept of colors (paint) and forms (clay).

Musical toys are designed to develop the perception of ambient sounds. These include:

- Rattles, whistles;
- Children’s musical instruments (maracas, tambourine, drum, xylophone).
Note that you should not pay much attention to electronic musical toys, because they produce sounds which do not contribute to the development of musical perception in due measure.

Physical development
Physical development plays a very important role in the overall development of the young child. For this we offer the following toys:
- Balls of different sizes (ball game);
- Mats with various surfaces;
- Slides, ladders.

Conclusions
So, we have listed the toys that a 1-2 year-old child needs for the harmonious development of all spheres of his/her activities. Of course, we encourage you to buy all these toys but do not guarantee the results. Returning to the beginning of this article, we’d like to say that a child should play and communicate, and toys are only the helpers in this game.

What to build from plasticine?
Building and designing is a very important lesson for a child who develops the creativity of hand movements, spatial thinking, the concept of color, shape of objects. In addition, modeling (not necessarily from plasticine) has beneficial effect on the nervous system. In general, the benefits of modeling studies are enormous.

What kind of plasticine is better to choose?
You should choose high quality plasticine; it should be neither too hard nor too soft and stretchy. If it sticks to your hands, it will be difficult to work with it. And if it’s too hard, the children find it difficult to stretch, and parts can fall apart.
Young children in any case should not be given plasticine with a fruit odor. If the yellow clay smells like lemon, orange – orange, and red one – strawberries, then the child will not model, but lick it, but it’s not what we want him to teach.
How to start plasticine building
First, remember that during teaching you have to be near the child, not only as a “guard” (to avoid eating it), but also as a designer (to model yourself, together with the child).
Secondly, do not overdo it with the complexity of tasks for your child; do not ask him/her too much. Remember that child is only familiar with the properties of plasticine, studying them and experimenting with methods of modeling.

What can a two year-old baby do with a plasticine?

• pinch off a piece of plasticine;
• flatten plasticine throughout the palm;
• poke a finger in rolled out layer;
• roll out of it “sausages”;
• a ball that the mother rolls, а little finger to make tortillas.
• cleave it to the paper or table;
• roll large balls of palms;
• cut “sausages”.

These actions are а basis of building classes. Develop these skills, expand and improve them.

How and what to design with your baby?

Select Color
Start by selecting the color of plasticine: suggest baby to choose, for example, from two colors (you should not just offer the whole box of clay). Do not select yourself – your preferences may strongly disagree.

Warming up
When color is selected, you can not expect that the baby will start to model something. First of all, each of you “train” a little bit and then start modeling.

Main activities
Show your child how to knead the plasticine, nip off a piece for him/her and make a cake … In general, follow the basic steps described above. For the first class execution, a simple manipulation will be enough to interest the child.

”Sausages” and balls
Rolling “sausages” and balls from plasticine: two palms and one palm on a piece of cardboard or paper. The “sausage” can turn into a ring or a snake. Small balls could crush fingers.

Imprints
One of the most fascinating lessons for kids is making imprints on plasticine. You roll a flat cake of plasticine, and the baby pokes him in every way possible (or rather all that you offer him): a toy fork cap from the pen, his own finger, a spoon.

Modeling
Suggest your child to stick plasticine to a cup or any other capacity, which you can then decorate with beads or any other material – get a great bowl. For younger kids you can cut out a pattern of different figures and stick them on plasticine.

Plasticine and other materials
In plasticine modeling you can (and should!) use other materials: peas, beans, buckwheat, pasta of different shapes and colors, buttons, etc.
Roll out a cake from plasticine and ask the child to cleave small objects to them. Make sure that all these remarkable objects were placed on the plasticine, but not in his/her mouth.

Playing in facts and numbers

”If you have a chance to play or be occupied with your child what will you prefer?”

18% of mothers and fathers prefer “playing”. Why? Because:

Child is interested in it – 10%

Child likes that – 8%

82% of parents prefer “being occupied” with their children. As:

It is necessary – 62%

It is interesting for me – 13%

Child asks – 7%.

Concluding the sentence, ”If my child, in five – seven years, will play a significant part of the day, then …”, parents have expressed such views:

They will have problems at school / they won’t be able to compete with their peers – 46%
If the games are educational, you can study and play at the same time – 18%

Child will study in the evening – 17%

I will be satisfied – 15%.

So, the game, according to the parents, is nice, but not the most necessary thing that must deal with every self-respecting child of preschool age. Parents must prepare their child for the upcoming adult life.

What, then, according to the parents, do they need to teach their children?

To be independent – 61%.

Obtain good-paying jobs – 53%

Be prepared for difficulties – 32%.

Making their own decisions – 22%.

Mom, play with me!

However, modern parents have difficulties to play with dolls or to drive cars around the room. They prefer “developing” games, because it requires them to lower the emotional effort. Fortunately, special educational games are invented now. But the problem is that this is not a game that your baby needs now. Of course, playing logic games is a very worthy and useful occupation, but they develop only one side of its personality. These studies in no case should not be a substitute for conventional well-known children games. Moreover, they give you a unique opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a child, taught him/her his/her system of values.

Mothers and Daughters

This name is a bit tentative. Not necessarily to play “Mothers and Daughters”, although the classical model of the family is very important – while playing children (by the way, not only girls but also boys) learn to build family roles. But in such games, kids determine not only their place (and, incidentally, a place of their parents) in the family, but also try a variety of social functions, professions, even social positions.

If your child is 2-3 years old, the basic functions of you should take the boss on you. The younger the child, the easier should be the doll. Show your child the toy, study it together, what she wears, what eyes, hands she has, etc. Be sure to name the toy. Now try to play a little scene from your own life – how you feed your baby, put him/her to bed or go for a walk. To begin with a scenario will be sufficient. Even if you don’t have any acting skills, try to “enter into the image” – change the tone and timbre of your voice, when you talk in the places of different characters.

Here you’ll need many useful accessories – a table and chair, to feed the doll, a toy bath, to bathe it, a carriage, in which it can be carried, etc.

By the way let’s about accessories. If you have not looked into the “Children’s world” in the department of dolls and doll economy yet, you’ll have a shock. Modern industry seems to have decided to recreate in miniature adult life to the last detail. You can, for example, find a toy kitchen unit with a “brand” inscription, operating electric vacuum cleaner and a plastic grilled chicken.

They are rather expensive and initially cause a tear of grudging affection – ah, if we could have such things in our childhood! But in fact, children do not need such detailed toys. Moreover, it is not useful. They close the road of fantasy and imagination. After all, only in childhood, the same stick can be a spoon, a pen, a mobile phone. This use of objects is common among children older than three years which shows that their development is on the right path.

Hide and seek

Our ancestors, from whom we inherited these games were not stupid. In this way they taught their children cope with fears of darkness and confined spaces.

All the children love to play hide and seek. Nothing can compare with joy when a child discovers the beloved parent, strung on the beck and call of the curtain or curled up in a three-destruction in the wardrobe. And by the way, this love is not accidental. After all, hide and seek helps to cope with the feeling of loneliness. And during the game he/she should some time be completely alone, even in a secret, secluded place. If your child is afraid of darkness you can turn off or even extinguish the light in one room during the game. Turning off the light, loudly say that you are there, then your son or daughter will just not go there. And hide in a dark room yourselves.

They do not only learn playing games, they live in it. And if your task is to show him/her real life, it is easier to do it with the help of the game. Do not be afraid of “simple” games – they have a profound meaning.

EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD
In the development of children’s musical abilities the first years of life are particularly important. The earlier you’ll start working on the development of musical abilities of the child, the better the results will be. In each period of the development of babies, they are especially sensitive to external influences, including – music. These so-called sensitive periods are from 1,5 to 3 years. The most important thing is to awaken the senses, because the child perceives and knows the world around him/her with the help of senses. It is important to remember that the overall mental development of children is related to this period, primarily with the development of senses.
Among the various means of influencing the feelings of the child, one of the most effective is the musical art. Even at the time when the baby is in its mother’s belly it begins to perceive music. From the first days of musical art the child tries to imitate the sounds of her mother’s speech echoes the height of her voice. A game with rattles – is not the rhythmic development of the child, the experience of the first children’s perception of noise instruments!

EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD: THE IDENTIFICATION OF TALENT
So it is clear that early musical development serves primarily to the task of the overall development of the child during this period – the development of the senses. Replying to a question, how an early musical development should be, let us first of all clarify what we mean by the very notion of “musical development”. Musical development – is an ongoing process of certain qualitative changes in musical abilities of a man. The most important criterion of musicality is an emotional response to music.

Of course, the impetus for the development of skills, including music, is the identification and development of thedeposits. Music lessons should be filled with active forms of propulsion, full of emotion and create a nice atmosphere. Such exercises should support the development of fantasy and imagination, emotional and sensual spheres of the baby. It turns out that the general and musical ability develop in a holistic relationship.
Early musical development is primarily associated with the formation of sensory abilities, i.e. ability to distinguish pitch (high – low), timbre ( “voice” of children’s musical instruments), dynamics (loud – quiet), tempo (fast – slow), as well as the beginning of the formation of musical thinking and musical memory.
In addition, the child just begins to learn listening to music. Therefore, developing the musical thinking, we form the ability to hear the character, the mood of music. Note that systematic training just involves the systematic development of the child.
All of these components must be present in class. Above all, we start with the emotional and sensory impressions of what he heard, then – go to the approbation of various types of activities: echoic exercises of accompanying, music-making, active games. And only then on the basis of accumulated experience and sensory, motor experience, we, along with the baby, can improvise. I would like to clarify that the planning and conducting of such exercises must be systematic and consistent. Parent or teacher should clearly represent the final result, which directed lessons on musical development.

EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD: specifics of the lessons
Each lesson of the early musical development of the child should include all the mentioned types of musical activities that are realized in active music-didactic games. In the classroom should be a reasonable combination of vocal, musical-rhythmic, musical and visual exercises. We should not forget that the transition from one to another component of the musical work should be implemented step by step, gradually complicating the task. Of course, that active consideration at this age is given to the development of small and large skills. Therefore, a necessary component of each exercise should be finger games and music and rhythmic exercises, conducted under the music.
Now let’s clarify some features of music lessons for children. Vocal development in early childhood is closely connected with the phonemic, so at the start of singing exercises, begin with the elements of onomatopoeia (e.g., syllables, representing “singing” animals – “wow”, “meow”). Then we turn to imitate voices of the teacher or parent and singing certain syllables, words in the song.
In the development of a sense of rhythm we recommend starting with a game of rhythmic exercises, where, while repeating the words of the poem, the children perform certain movements. Then perform the same movements, but together with the music. This should ensure clarity and consistency of movements, the coincidence with the pulse of musical creation.
Developing musical sensory abilities of the child, we stress its perception in bright contrast between sound (loud – quiet, high – low, fast – slow), not forgetting the sound relationship with the visual images and pictures.
Projected results of early musical development of the child may be as follows: the 3-year-old baby:
- Emotionally reacts and recognizes familiar melodies;
- Is able to distinguish between contrasting features of sound (high – low, loud – quiet, fast – slow);
- Together with the teacher echoes musical phrases from the song;
- Moves in accordance with the nature of music;
- Performs sound motion: tapping feet, clapping her hands;
- Distinguishes between calls and music instruments: rattles, tambourine, bell, etc.
We wish you a vivid, emotional discovery in a magical world of sounds with your child!

Why leaves are green?

Here is the first question of your young biologist. And indeed – why they are green in summer and yellow in autumn?

Materials:
a piece of foil;
Scotch tape;
diluted alcohol;
cup with thin walls.

What should you do?

Take a leaf of any plant or tree and with the help of scotch tape attach a piece of foil which can be cut in the form of a star or a circle). A week later, you can see the result: an “image” on green leaves. In the place where foil was attached, where the light couldn’t penetrate, leaf has become yellow.

The green leaves have a special substance called chlorophyll. It captures solar energy. When autumn comes, when sun-light becomes less, leaves cannot “receive” feeding, they become yellow, and leaves fall, because they can not feed themselves. “And can we see this chlorophyll?”, – your child asks. You can!

What should you do?

For this experiment you need to put a green leaf with thin walls in the glass and fill it with diluted alcohol. Then, boil some water in a bowl and carefully put this cup in it (something like a water bath). After a while, get the help of tweezers. You’ll see an amazing transformation – the leaf has lost its color, but the alcohol became green, because it dissolves chlorophyll – the green pigment of plants.
By the way, if you conduct this experiment with edible plants (for example, salad or spinach), the result will be a natural coloring (dye) – it can be used to color the cream or sauce. The process can be accelerated, if you crush the leaves, and shake the glass from time to time.

How do the plants drink water?

Perhaps the child has cut some flowers and forgot to put them into water, they’ll fade very quickly as they need water. But to confirm this idea will help a beautiful experience.
Materials:
colored ink (red, blue, green);
several glasses (according to the number of colors);
a few white carnations or celery stalks.

What should you do?

In each cup you need to pour ink of one color, about two centimeters from the bottom. Add water. Flowers or celery stalks should be cut to a length that they are able to stand steadily in the glass. Now, leave them for four hours. What has happened? As always, a miracle: the flowers have become colored. If you look carefully, you can see a thin streak: water color painted them, so they become visible.
If you use celery stalk with flowers, you can make a cut on the stalk with a razor or a sharp knife. There will be visible points of color – they indicate the capillaries – the finest tubes in which water rises from the bottom up.

What is a volcano?

This question was raised my friend’s son after he saw the painting of “The Last Day of Pompeii”. Of course, you can tell that the volcano is formed in the earth’s crust above the magma. When the hot gas pressures on it, magma pushes upward, rocks molten on the road and the explosion erupts at the surface. But all these explanations are not very clear to the child. What if you show it?

Materials:
Plasticine;
one tablespoon of drinking soda (sodium hydro carbonate);
vinegar 3-9% – 40-50 ml;
a few drops of red food coloring (can be replaced with beetroot juice);
one tablespoon liquid for washing dishes.

What should you do?

First divide the available plasticine in halves: roll one half like a round pancake, and another – in a rectangle, which then collapse the cone with a small hole on top and connect it at the bottom of the “pancakes”. To verify the tightness, you should pour the water through the upper hole. The size of the cone should not be very large – 100-150 ml is enough.
Prepare “lava”: mix the liquid for washing dishes, dry soda and dye, pour all of this into the “throat of the volcano”. Now add vinegar. As a result, kickback with allocation of carbon dioxide will begin and what a miracle: boiling foam will come out from the throat.
At the same time, you can tell your child that this model is applied in very peaceful purposes – for example, in the kitchen when his/her mother mixes dough. It makes the dough luxuriant, forming bubbles and tracks. These make old friends – soda and vinegar.
As you can see – nothing is complicated! But how much joy, creativity and discovery…

Disputes concerning the advantages and disadvantages of computer games are conducted at all social levels.

Scientists are conducting studies on the impact of computer games in person, children argue with parents, parents – with teachers, and so on.

We hope that the following facts will help you make the right choice.

Advantages
Computer games develop:

• fast reaction
• visual perception of objects
• memory and attention
• logical thinking
• visual-motor coordination

Computer games teach children to:

• classify and summarize
• analytical thinking in a non-standard situations
• achieve goals
• improve intellectual skills

The child, who relies on a computer from childhood, feels more confident because he is open to the world of modern technology.
Games on the computer develop the same skills, but the child is always easier attracted by the game than learning the alphabet, or numbers.
Playing computer games, the child gets into a magical fairy tale, where he gets his own world. This world is so similar to a real one.! When the heroes of the computer games offer the child to repair the wall of the house, or to arrange numbers in order to get to the treasure, the children feel important. And if at the end of the job he said “Well done, you have done excellent”, the child is delighted.
Well-drawn, funny and good children computer games are very interesting, smart, funny and focused so that the kids develop and improve their skills.

Disadvantages

The bad news is that with no schedule the computer turns from friend to enemy. Good games, that are so useful for children may become harmful to them.
Parents should remember that for every child there is a limitation on time: 3-4 years – the child may be at the computer for 25 minutes, in 5-6 years – 35 minutes, 7-8 – 40 minutes.
Sitting in front of a computer for too long may lead to poor vision, as well as the psychological dependence of a child from the virtual world.

When can parents buy the first constructer for their child? Of course it is not easy to give precise answer to this question. Kids are very different: in character, temperament, and even in their physical abilities. Therefore, remember, buying a constructor for kids you should first take into account his/her needs and opportunities. When child already sits well, that is, at the age of 6 – 8 months, he/she is most likely ready to be engaged in new activities: connect, collect and arrange.

Of course, first he/she does it with difficulty, but the more he/she plays the constructor and trains, the better and more confident become his/her movements. At this time the child needs constructor with fewer and smaller details, for him/her to hold them easily. This may be block cubes that kids like to add one to the other, building towers. And no need to get upset if, immediately after construction, your kid breaks the hard-built house.

First, you need to familiarize your child with a new toy. Let him handle one piece, and the remaining parts arrange around him/her. Tell your child what material it is made from, what color is his/her piece, and what color are pieces on the floor. Then show the child that placing one cube on another or connecting one to another he/she can build something. But don’t expect that your child will begin to build and skillfully use the toy at once. The period between introduction and when he/she starts to consciously build something, can last even several months.

Another option of constructor toys may be special kits for kids which consist of two magnetic blocks that need to be connected with each other. But in such a constructor, the child would make little effort to separate the details. This toy can also be difficult for some children who are under the age of one year.

Generally, you should choose the simplest construction for children up to three years. Having more complex and dense constructor child can quickly lose interest in the obscure and complicated toy. Remember, it’s very important not to buy toys taking into consideration only the age of the child. No matter how controversial it may sound, but this is a statement. It is better to give preference to those games, which your kid will be able to learn using right now.

As a rule, manufacturers specify a minimum age at which this toy may interest and attract the child. Besides, the constructors for older children may contain small parts, which are dangerous for the health and life of your child. Such a story occurred in my family.

We bought our 3,5 years son a magnetic constructer, which consisted of sticks and balls. It was written on the box that the toy was for children older than 6 years. “This constructor does not seem that difficult for my 3 year old boy. He will play with it easily” – I thought and bought it. Indeed, nothing complicated was in the constructor. On the contrary, everything is very simple and very entertaining. But a week after beneficial purchase, I ran out from the kitchen, as I heard that my son was throttling. It turned out that he had played, and swallowed the ball of the new magnetic constructor. Fortunately, now everything is alright. But I gathered the constructor and hid it away. That’s why it was written on the box that it was for 6 year old children.

There are two types of constructors for kids: wooden and plastic. For older children there are wooden, plastic, metal, polystyrene, glass constructors and this is not a complete list of materials that are used in the production of constructors.

Constructor is a universal game, which is entertaining and useful for children of any age. They can never be annoying. Do not forget that constructor is not only an exciting game but it is also very useful! After all, they contribute to the development of intellectual and creative abilities of the child. Your child will learn to focus, train small motility, memory, plodding, dexterity and ability to coordinate their movements. Do not deprive your child of the pleasure, and get for him/her such a wonderful toy, as a constructor as soon as possible.

Suggest your child to «welcome to the sun» in the morning. Turn on a light and pleasant music. Lie down on the floor together with the baby. Then close your eyes. Ask your child to imagine the sky with white clouds and bright warm sun. Then try to imagine other beautiful and kind things, for example animals, or kids playing with the animals. This is such kind of a game that makes you closer with your kid.

Children learn to play primarily from their parents or other adults. Play often provides a training ground from which a child learns to develop skills that will be useful later in life. Although modern sports tend to have fixed rules, children generally prefer games that require less-specialized equipment, preparation, and playing area. Hopscotch, leapfrog, and marbles are particularly popular games, as are the various improvised games that involve running, chasing, and catching. Many games—primarily guessing games, quizzes, and games that test physical coordination—are played by children and adults together.

Share time together with your child; recognize what is most important; see the big picture. All of those other things you do, you do to spend time with your children; maybe you forgot that. Play helps a young mind grow. Every minute of play is a minute of rapt attention at learning something; if it’s not a new task or new information, it is learning that closeness and laughter are possible in this world.

Children crave time with parents.  It makes them feel special.  Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis.  This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home.  If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

In pretend play, let the child develop the theme.  Get into their world.  Let them go with it.  Ask questions.  Play along.  Be silly along with them and have fun.  Avoid over-stimulation.  Know when it is time to stop.

Possible games:

• Play outdoors.  Throw balls.  Push kids on swings.  Make mud pies.  Go on a hike around the neighborhood.  Take a nature walk in your backyard.
• Play games – card games – board games – silly and wacky kids games.  Help them learn to take turns, how to win and how to lose.  Praise them.  Encourage them.  Laugh with them.
• Get involved in a craft project together.  Build a jigsaw puzzle as a family.  Bake cookies.  Paint a picture.
• Listen to music together.  Sing along.  Play rhythm instruments along with music.   Get out the guitar or keyboard and make music.
• Read a book together.  Ask questions.  Ask them to change the story or make up a new one.
• Watch a movie together.  Find out what they liked – how they felt.  Discover the child’s interests.  Comment on and discuss any bothersome content either words or actions.
• Play kid games like:  Follow the Leader – Guess What I Am? – Hide and Seek