Three is a magical age for a child. At this age, his son begins to make the transition from “toddler” to “preschool age,” a huge leap in physical and mental development. As such, it can be difficult to select toys for a three-year-old that will help with their development while keeping them safe and adequately entertained. By following these simple tips, you should have no problem choosing a toy that will keep both you and your three-year-old happy.
Tip #1: Make it move
Toys that encourage your three-year-old to get up and move are always a good buy. Three-year-olds love to explore and be active. Plus, movement helps develop your child’s gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are those that involve large muscles, such as the legs, arms, feet, and torso. Running and jumping use gross motor skills. Fine motor skills, on the other hand, are those that involve smaller muscles, such as those found in the toes, fingers, and wrists.
Toys like balls are great for throwing, rolling, and catching, all of which help develop your child’s gross motor skills. Catching also helps your child work on their hand/eye coordination. Fine motor skills are also exercised with balls as your child grips the ball tightly with their fingers. Balls come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, so you’re sure to find at least one that your child will love.
Tip #2: Let her explore her artistic talents
By the time your child is three years old, they will be ready to start exploring their artistic talents. This includes finger painting, drawing with thick crayons, and cutting with blunt-tipped scissors. Of course, each of these activities can be quite messy. Therefore, it is important that you keep a close eye on your three-year-old as he explores this whole new world.
Giving your child the opportunity to explore arts and crafts helps further develop their fine motor skills, as cutting and drawing requires a lot of control of the smaller muscles. Also, her foray into art helps her open the door to the world of science as she discovers the effects of mixing various colors and cutting different types of paper.
Tip #3: Encourage him to use his imagination
Children have amazing imaginations that need to be developed and nurtured. Through imaginative play, your child can begin to understand the world around him. From pretending to be “Daddy” to being a construction worker or a doctor, your child understands her role in the world and how to interact with it when engaging in imaginative play.
You can encourage imaginative play by purchasing play clothes for your child. From capes to pirate clothing, from cowboy hats to crowns, the sky is the limit.
By following these simple tips, your child will love the play opportunities around them. Plus, he’ll help her take those important steps to become the success she always dreamed she would be.
