Toys and Games to Nurture, Educate and Inspire Your Child

Parenting is a journey of fostering growth, development, mutual respect and emotional connections in your child and this can all be a little overwhelming when you see it written down! Gentle parenting, a method focused on mutual respect and positive guidance, plays a key role in shaping children into creative, and resilient individuals, you can read more about the gentle parenting approach in our What is Gentle Parenting blog. At The Entertainer, we believe play is an essential part of supporting children’s development and we curate ranges of toys that supports these values, providing fun tools for parents and children – it never feels like learning when it’s fun!

Dolls: Building Empathy Through Play

Dolls are more than just toys, they can be gateways to imaginative play and emotional growth. By caring for dolls, children learn responsibility, empathy, and essential social skills. Activities like dressing dolls or enacting scenarios encourage critical thinking and receptive language development. This type of play also allows children to express themselves and practice following directions.

In the context of gentle parenting, dolls also serve as mirrors for positive behaviors. Children will often use dolls to emulate positive behaviours they have seen their parents demonstrate and begin to develop their own code of ethics. Baby dolls are a great opportunity for parents and caregivers to get involved at playtime. Playing together in this way can help adults understand children’s perspectives, how they relate to the world around them and how they process their emotions. This can strengthen relationships with children.

Arts and Crafts: Creativity and Calm

The Entertainer has an extensive range of arts and crafts sets that are suitable for a variety of ages, these products promote self-expression and can also form part of calming mindfulness routines. Crafting fostere creativity and imagination, promoting focus, building fine motor skills and boosting confidence. These types of activities can help children become patient and resilient as these projects take time and can involve making mistakes.

Inspire a creative journey with simple painting projects or more tactile modelling dough playsets for free play where children’s imaginations are able to take flight to more structured craft sets, with bead kits or food craft,  where instructions guide children to a final outcome, supporting the skill of following directions.

Books: Stories That Inspire

Books are a great educational tool that can be used as part of gentle parenting routines and can help to expand children’s imaginations.  Stories with diverse characters and inclusive themes can help develop children’s empathy and emotional intelligence at various ages and stages of development. Younger children will enjoy books with sensory elements, while older children can use books to develop their reading skills. Reading together is a great activity for parents or caregivers to take part in with their child.

Activity Books with stickers or flaps to lift, engage younger children in the storytelling process while reading together can be an enjoyable process for parents and children, introducing your own childhood favourites and seeing your children engage with those stories and characters is a wonderful bonding experience.

Outdoor Toys: Connecting with Nature

Outdoor play is vital for physical and emotional health. Toys that encourage gardening and nature exploration teach sustainability and responsibility while nurturing curiosity and confidence. Gentle parenting integrates these activities to promote mindfulness and family connection.

Gardening kits can give children a sense of responsibility as they create their own small environments to nurture, if they love this maybe allocating a small patch of your garden or a planter box is a great next step into a love of nature.

Encouraging Mindfulness

Toys and tools that encourage mindfulness help children manage emotions and develop constructive coping mechanisms. Activities like completing a diary or journal, solving puzzles, and sensory play provide outlets for stress and promote self-awareness. Fidget toys are also a great tool that can help focus busy minds with a physical interaction.

In Summary

Toys can do more than entertain, they can nurture emotional well-being, foster creativity, and support childhood development. The Entertainer’s range of educational toys aligns with gentle parenting principles, making them perfect for your child or as thoughtful gifts for friends and family. Explore our collection to inspire and educate your little one today!

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