There is something special about children and their toys. As a child, I can’t think of a girl who didn’t posses a Barbie or a boy who didn’t run about the yard wielding action figures to conquer classic villains. Toy building sets were spread all over the floors of every playroom I came into as a kid, including my own. We would build astounding things with those magnetic building sets; towering buildings for our Barbie doll or stuffed toys to live in, a store where they would buy all of their groceries; the potential was only limited by our imaginations. While toys similar to these don’t perfectly fit into the category of educational toys, they have the ability to show children some valuable lessons.

Toys of all shapes and sizes and genres are important to children, even those that parents may not initially consider to be educational toys. This is as true today as it was decades ago when I sat playing classic board games with my sister. It is through play that children learn best, and they expand their imaginations and their critical thinking skills. While parents may think that only learning toys have the ability to teach a child anything, that would be a mistake. Truly, most toys are educational games when you realize that a child learns from free play.

Playing card games, while offering lots of entertainment, also work on expanding a child’s thinking talents as well as coping skills. Every player does not win when we play classic board games, and at times losing at something is as important for a child to learn as emerging victorious is. When a child wins or loses in a board game, one player is humbled while the other, hopefully, learns to be a corteous winner. With the aid of a thoughtful parent, children will develop these skills. So popular are certain board games that they are now being made in ways that they can be played in the car. Travel games may not be as energizing as the original board games, but it sure keeps a child occupied in the car!

Over several decades, children and their parents have spent hours building their relationships over magnetic building sets. The wonderfully colorful blocks in a Lego set bring forward the very best in a child’s imagination, and keep them busy for days. A wonderful thing about magnetic building sets is that just one set could make many of different items, from a animal to a gas station. Over the years, Lego sets have grown to where there are now sets just for girls, such as the Belville line. Of course, boys love Lego sets like Bionicles or Star Wars. But all children practice dexterity and imagination through Lego sets, and that’s what really matters.

Need convincing of the value of Lego sets as an educational toy? Studies show that children acquire new brain connections when building with magnetic building sets. By only playing with their Lego set, kids also learn spatial concepts, cause-and-effect, and fine motor skills. What a way to learn!