Top Educational Toys that Encourage Creativity and Brain Development in Your Toddler

Among other things, toys have traditionally been used as a way to encourage a child to engage in a meaningful activity that supports the development of many essential human skills. These days, manufacturers have created many different types of toys sometimes making the task of choosing the best ones for your child a difficult one. As a parent myself, I try to ensure that every toy I purchase will help contribute to my child's future in some positive way. In doing so, I have come up with my top favorite toys that encourage creativity and brain development.

What better way to stimulate a young child's mind then to let them create something on their own? With building toys, your child has the ability to construct and visualize anything and everything that they can imagine. Some of my best parental memories involve my son and I playing with Legos. We would literally play for hours making towers, airplanes, cars, and houses. In addition to having a great time with my son, I had the satisfaction of knowing that he had benefited from the educational value that these toys provided. Here are my top recommendations for building and construction toys:

Musical Instruments can stimulate a child's spatial reasoning skills by creating new pathways inside the brain. At least that's what a leading child psychologist told me. So whether your toddler is beating on some drums or clanging on some piano keys, you can rest assured that these toys do have some education value. And when combined with music lessons and/or parental involvement, the brain benefits can be even more significant. Here are my top recommendations for music related toys:

Like building blocks, the simple crayon can stimulate a young child's mind. When drawing implements are combined with an easel, it encourages to child to thoroughly and freely explore their own creativity. An easel will give your child a permanently designated space to draw, color, and paint that they can use on a daily basis. Hopefully this, and a nice set of refrigerator magnets, will give your child the push needed to dive deep into their creative spirit. Here are my top recommendations for art and drawing related toys:

How could a list about educational toys be complete without mentioning books? Books are still seen as one of the most educational toys that are available. Story time can be an educational occasion where you engage your child's natural curiosity to encourage them to learn some basic concepts of language, memory, and word association. In fact, according to a 20 year study conducted by the University of Nevada, just having books in the house has been proven to be a leading predictor of a child's future success. Here are my top recommendations for books for toddlers:

Sometimes the best toys are simply the ones that allow your child to play with them continuously without ever getting bored. Finding that perfectly stimulating toy that sparks your child's specific interests may take some trial and error (and multiple trips to the store). However, with a little patience and a keen eye for your child's smile, it can be done. After all, a toy that a child doesn't play with doesn't really have any educational value now does it?