Is that toy making your toddler smarter?

VTech is a brand that makes electronic goods. While one of their product lines involves toys for children in all age ranges, it in itself is not a toy.

The problem with citing the likes of Einstein and Bell, is that they were, essentially, a combination of freak genius and hard worker. The fact that they may or may not have had access to certain types of imaginary play at a young age has little to do with the work they went on to accomplish.

Einstein, famously, had trouble recalling routine information and did very poorly at formal school. He was a bored clerk when he began to put together his famous math equations and the theories behind them.

Both Bell and Einstein, products of a vastly different learning system than we have in N.A., would have known how to speak, write and read Latin as children. They would have read texts in highschool that only University majors are required to read.

Of course, by the time our children are adults, they will have more accumulative knowledge than either of these esteemed gentlemen gathered in their entire lives. And, more importantly, they will require that knowledge not to exel in science and learning but to get by in the day to day world.

Kids today are like oranges to the apples of yesteryear.

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Actually, there's quite a bit of evidence that electronic games are less helpful to your child's intelligence and knowledge-base than traditional toys.

You're looking for toys to play with, not things that just entertain.

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My daughter got a Little Leaps for her b-day. It's not so much the game controller that she likes but the animation on the DVD that accompanies the game. while I don't want to encourage TV watching of any kind, she pays rapt attention to Bun-Bun the foot-thumping, counting Bunny!

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Amen! As someone who sells toys for a living it's hard to figure out where the line is. While I think that some of these educational toys are great to purchase for kids ...I do think we forget how important imagination is.
I have often talked to customers and coworkers and we all have a strong belief that every single toy today does all of the stuff that we used to have to imagine. The children love the toy and then move on because they werent' really required to think. The toys that we remember as children were the ones that required our imagination.
I loved playing with little people toys and basic dolls but I also loved taking a blanket and putting it over the chairs in the living room to make a tent. If you were to tell a child of about 10 years of age today ..about making a tent with a blanket they would look at you astounded.
I think that imagination is so overlooked by everyone today. The ability to imagine something incredible is important in all aspects of life. New and creative and innovative ideas come from imagination ...and we should stress that children utilize this from an early age.
Buy your children the latest educational gadgets if you want to but keep in mind that your child should also be allowed to just explore being a creative and imaginative child.

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