cruizergal4 37yo Elkview, West Virginia, United States

15 great gifts for young kids that don't flash or make noise

BUY quality bulk Yahoo Twitter Hotmail Google Voice Facebook Accounts
GoddessCoko 40yo Looking for Men New York City, New York, United States

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Over the past few decades, more and more toys made for young children have incorporated flashing lights, sound effects, speech, and songs into their design. These noisy, vibrant toys may be great for distracting a child, but many fail to truly engage the youngster, challenging them in ways that can foster neural development and help build fine motor skills.

While a set of building blocks can help a toddler with spatial reasoning abilities, dexterity, and other important life skills, a flashing, screeching cube covered with lights and buttons serves only to pass time and might even do a disservice by reducing a child's attention span and interest in more challenging activities.

Yes, kids will naturally gravitate toward toys that light up, sing, speak, and those that have moving parts. These toys do a lot of neat stuff, but they're not doing much for a kid's developing brain or body.

Another way to put it would be this: The more a toy does for a child, the less it does for the child. The best toys are those that an infant, toddler, or young child can play with in their own way; those with open-ended possibilities and that are open to various interpretations of use.

If you have children of your own or there are young kids on your gift-buying list, consider a few toys without all the whirling, flashing, and buzzing.

We have assembled a list of 15 kids toys that don't beep, shine, speak, or flail about, but that are nonetheless go-to favorite playthings of millions of kids worldwide. There are both tried-and-true classics that have delighted generations of children and plenty of newer toys just now gaining recognition with parents and appreciation from children.

Having trouble finding a gift for everyone on your list? Check out all our 2017 holiday gift guides on Insider Picks.

Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board

Amazon

We got our son this very Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board well before he turned one. Shortly before he turned three, we donated it, thinking he had long since outgrown the thing. Big mistake: Once he realized it was absent, a mix of tears and spoken protestations sent me to the toy store to re-buy a new one ASAP.

The Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board is lots of fun for infants even if they can't operate all the hinges, levers, and locks — the colors and charming images are still engaging. And even well after a child has mastered the fine motor skills to open and close all the many parts of this engaging board, it's still fun to find the characters and even to hide a child's own little drawings behind the six doors.

Buy the Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board on Amazon for $21

BRIO My First Railway Train Set

Amazon

The best thing about BRIO trains may also be the worst, in some ways: There are so many different accessories to collect that your child might never have them all. While this can lead to a hearty outlay of cash over the years, the good news is that these basic, charming wooden trains are perfect for fostering everything from the imagination to spatial reasoning skills to dexterity to cooperative play.

The BRIO My First Railway Train Set comes with enough track pieces for a youngster to assemble a loop track and a bridge and with two brightly colored train cars. One-year-olds will thoroughly enjoy BRIO trains as will four-year-olds and beyond. (Trust me, I have dozens of hours of firsthand experience here!)

Buy the BRIO My First Railway Train Set on Amazon for $40

Baby Colors Chunky Board Book

Amazon

This book skirts the line between tome and toy. Each of its thick, sturdy pages has a section that flips open to reveal a hidden image, from an orange crab to a green dinosaur (who likes to roar, by the way) to a blue trumpet. A child will quickly learn to identify each character or object and, in the process, learns many of his or her colors.

Flipping the pages of the Baby Colors Chunky Board Book requires a bit of effort on the part of a small child, but that's part of the point. The book is durable enough for the onslaught of teething and for occasional flights across the room. It's also low enough in price to be replaced if ever needed.

Buy the Baby Colors Chunky Board Book on Amazon for $7

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

more on Geo altCom
hunnybunny11757 40yo Lindenhurst, New York, United States

ILOVEBIGCOCKS63 45yo Louisville, Kentucky, United States