Of late, toy makers have shifted their focus more and more onto educational toys. Nowadays, almost all toys have some educational element in them, whether they are meant for newborns, adults, or any age group in between!
The more interactive a toy is, the more it stimulates your kids and keeps them occupied. Educational toys are a great way to free up some of your time while your kids are kept busy. The icing on the cake is that these educational toys develop your children's minds and sharpen their intellect too! That said, here's a list of some really great educational toys for various age groups.
1. Fisher-Price Backyardigans Sing-Along Music Maker
Want to bring out the singer in your child? Get the Fisher-Price Backyardigans Sing-Along Music Maker complete with 10 songs and 5 music genres from the very popular Backyardigans animated series. Pressing one of the five buttons representing each of the show’s characters brings up a song and light show at the center of the unit. An attached microphone brings in the interactive element where your kid can join in the singing and can hear his voice through the unit’s speakers. Your child will feel like he or she is transported to the world of the Backyardigans with this wonderful educational toy!
2. LeapFrog Leapster Multimedia Learning System
Designed for children at pre-K through 2nd grade, the Leap Frog Multimedia Learning System is a must have educational toy for your child. This multimedia learning system not only enables your child to play games, read electronic books and watch videos but also helps bring out the creative element in your child with the delightful art creator. There is a huge library of Leapster books that can be purchased individually to teach your child basic reading, vocabulary, math, and logic. A touch sensitive stylus and a multi-directional control pad makes navigation easy.3. Playskool Peek 'n Play Dome
So, you have a play mat for your baby. Now, how about something which will help baby to actually learn and become more aware of his surroundings? Here's the perfect complement to play mats -- Playskool calls it the Peek 'n Play Dome. This fabric dome has bright colors, shapes, textures, and animal images that your baby will love looking at and playing with for hours. Activities include playing peek-a-boo, ringing the door bell (and opening the small door with the cute monkey image), and a phone that squeaks when pressed! This educational play dome grows with your child.4. LeapFrog Step Along Learning Band Walker
This educational toy from Leap Frog is great for babies who are learning how to walk. The LeapFrog Step Along Learning Band Walker is essentially two toys for the price of one - a walker and a floor toy. It functions as a walker with a "music" and "alphabets" play mode, and fun effects like colorful organ pipes moving up and down. It can also be folded and used as an activity station for playing music or teaching your child the alphabets and numbers. A word of caution - always monitor your child when he is using this educational toy as a walker.5. Anatex Deluxe Mini Play Cube
Remember those big activity centers in your doctor’s office or bank that keep your child occupied while you wait your turn? Here's a great educational toy built along the same lines. There are so many different activities to do on this educational toy that stimulate your child’s creativity, logical skills, counting ability and at the same time provide simple, harmless fun. The Anatex deluxe mini play cube doesn't come cheap, but it is well worth the price for all the challenges that it offers.6. Chicco Interactive Bilingual Talking Farm
Here's Chicco’s take on Old MacDonald’s farm! This educational toy farm is their own cute version of an animal farm. The bilingual talking farm toy from Chicco is one of the "press a button and the toy will respond" kind of toys. Press different animals for English or Spanish names of each character such as cow, dog, etc. Younger kids will enjoy hearing the sounds animals make and watching the lights flash on and off. Older kids will actually learn to associate various animals with their sounds. A fun way to introduce your child to the world of Spanish while reinforcing their English vocabulary as well.7. Hooked on Phonics - Learn to Read Kindergarten System
This list would not be complete without the revolutionary Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten System. With an emphasis on kids learning phonics, a multitude of activities such as listening to musical CDs, using flash cards, and storybooks are sure to grab your child’s attention. There are a total of 24 storybooks included in this starter system. Additionally, there is also a CD-ROM with 28 games and activities to encourage your child to better his reading abilities. This is one of the best systems to encourage or improve reading skills of your child!8. Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe Internet Updateable
There are other interactive globes around, but not even one comes close to the Oregon Scientifics SmartGlobe. You can ask the globe several questions about a country with the help of a stylus. The globe responds with information such as the currency, travel times to and from your region, language, and a multitude of other useful tidbits of information. And the best part - this educational globe is updateable via the Internet simply by plugging it into your computer by using the included cable and software.9. Casio LK100AD 61-key Musical Keyboard
The Casio 61-key keyboard has fully lighted keys and 100 built-in songs. There are also 50 rhythms, and a microphone for sing along capability. It also has a three step lesson learning systems where the instructions actually show up on the large LCD display which also instruct you on what key to press next from its included songs list. Although not technically a toy, this is a great educational product for your older children and can be used by adults as well.10. MGA Entertainment BRATZ Cyber Style Laptop
There are lots of good laptop-like toys available for the 4-8 year olds, but keeping in mind the ongoing craze for anything Bratz, MGA Entertainment's Bratz Cyber Style Laptop makes it to this list. It provides several educational fun activities for counting, alphabets, music and it looks really cool. It has a surprisingly powerful backlit LCD screen and looks and feels just like a real laptop full of fun sounds and sharp graphics. So, if you want to keep up with what’s hot, go for the Bratz Cyber Style Laptop.