Choosing Wood Toys for Your Little Ones

Hi Everyone, Jesse here and I found this great guide for parents on choosing Wood Toys for your son or daughter.  Wood toys offer so many great benefits: durability, quality and safety.  We encourage each of you to visit The Imaginative Child and find the best wood toys on the market today.

Wooden peg puzzles, which are basically wood jigsaw puzzles with pegs or knobs on top of each puzzle pieces, are classic wooden puzzles. They are usually 1-piece puzzles, which mean there is only one piece per picture. One wooden peg puzzle can contain a few puzzle pieces.
For the littlest toddlers - around 12-24 months, get wooden peg puzzles which have pictures on the board which correspond to the pictures at the jigsaw puzzle pieces. This way, your toddler's job is just to match the pictures at the base of the hole with the ones on puzzle pieces, and then put the pieces back in the correct holes.
Hence, wooden peg puzzles are ideal starter puzzles which will enhance your toddler's picture matching ability, as well as fine motor skills.
You can see a decent selection of wooden peg puzzles made by Melissa and Doug here.

Once your toddlers are expert in completing wooden peg puzzles, it's time to move to wooden jigsaw puzzles which will not only challenge your toddler's fine motor skill, but also shape recognition ability and logic.
To increase your toddler's fine motor skills ability you need to get toddler wooden puzzles with no peg. Melissa & Doug makes wooden sound puzzles with no knobs or pegs which are ideal for toddlers this age.
When your toddler is ready for more challenge, get kid wooden puzzles which have no peg and no pictures at the base of the puzzle holes. This way, you challenge your toddler's fine motor skills and at the same time increase your toddler's shape recognition ability.
Magnetic wooden puzzle made by Melissa & Doug can be used to get your toddler to match shape of the hole and puzzle pieces. These magnetic puzzles are also good to enhance your toddler's fine motor skills because your toddlers are expected to take out and put back the magnetic puzzle pieces using either a tow, a bug catcher net or a fishing pole which come with the puzzles.

Updates from Jesse

Hi Guys,

We are working on so much good stuff here at The Imaginative Child that it is hard to keep up with it.  We have been working closely with some of the greatest toy makers on the planet and are really looking forward to forging some great partnerships with them.  I wish I could share more with you about who we are working with, but that would ruin the upcoming suprise.  Stay tuned and check back often to see who is coming to the party! 

Did you know we also make our own toys?  These toys are how the company was orginally founded and is the same criteria I use to evaluate the "Play Value" in each of these toys. 

Please share our toy website with your friends.  If one of your friends orders from us and adds your name to the comments section.  We'll send you a coupon for $10 off your next order.  Be sure they include your email address or phone number so we can contact you for the credit on your next order.

Don't forget to sign up at http://www.imaginativechild.com/ for the 20% off coupon as well.  All you need to do is submit your email address and first name. 


Happy Toy Shopping and Thanks for Reading,

Jesse
The Imaginative Child 

Hello from Jesse

Hi there friends!  My name is Jesse and I am The Imaginative Child.  My toy store brings you the best toys you can buy for your loved ones.  All of the toys at my store are tested for having a great play factor, durable and most importantly, FUN.  The Imaginative Child partners with only the best toy makers in the industry and we are constantly looking for new toys that we can share with our friends.  I look high and low, far and wide to find these great toys.  You may even see me really soon at the upcoming Toy Fair in New York.  I will be there scouting the Toy Fair for the new toys that we are going to feature at my store.  Please be sure to check in from time to time at my blog for updates on the new toys that we will have in stock. 

Happy Playing,

Jesse

Toy Fair Has Gone Green

Toy Fair’s gone green before. But this year, in addition to welcoming a slew of eco-friendly product, the Toy Industry Association is ramping up environmental consciousness everywhere from the press room to individual exhibits.
A buyer visiting a booth, for example, will be able to text a message with the show ID and document number for that exhibitor, then later retrieve the desired data sheet by logging in to his Virtual Totebag account. This free service for retailers — and complimentary for vendors uploading just a single document — is only one way Toy Fair is embracing eco principles, according to Stacy Leistner, TIA’s vice president of communications.
“Toy Fair Times,” he told TDmonthly Magazine, is just a single issue this year — as opposed to daily printings — though show updates will be accessible throughout the expo at ToyFairNY.com, where the Virtual Press Office also stores dozens of press releases from exhibiting manufacturers.

This year, for the first time, companies have the chance to identify themselves to buyers as “green” through the new Earth-Friendly Product Zone that joins 11 other product areas on the show floor.

Dandelion is one exhibitor taking advantage of the new section, which will boast 19 vendors altogether.

“There are a whole lot of stores now that are looking to bring in green and eco-friendly that didn’t have it before,” said Beth Saunders, marketing manager for the company. She believes many buyers at Toy Fair, motivated by customer request, will seek targeted opportunities to add “green” to their inventory.

TOY TRENDS SCORE AN “A”

Aside from the earth-friendly theme, “active,” “accessible” and “affordable” are three buzzwords for this year’s show. Those designations build on the exercise trend of 2009, the continued development of engaging and Web-connected toys, and the ongoing challenge of diversifying lines with lower price points, Leistner told TDmonthly.  “What we've been really impressed with is the technology and attention to detail” found even in value-priced products at $5 to $25, he emphasized.

The fourth big trend — "aspirational" — refers to products that inform children about their communities, involve them in charitable missions, and create greater awareness about important social decisions, such as eco-friendly product selection.
SAFETY TAKES THE STAGE
Of course, the one question that affects every product at Toy Fair regardless of trend is simply, “Does it comply with safety standards?”

Because the regulatory landscape doesn’t present an easy answer, CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and TIA representatives will take the stage for the annual Toy Fair Safety Update Seminar following Monday morning’s TIA business meeting (usually conducted at ToyCon, on hiatus this year).

In addition to continuing dialog pertaining to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, TIA staff will address present and forthcoming developments at both the federal and state levels.
State legislation can easily hinder efforts to streamline toy safety law. However, as Leistner pointed out, TIA’s work has contributed to the fact that out of “250 pieces of state legislation proposed in more than 40 states last year … none was passed in a way that would be harmful to the industry.”
Article provided by TD Monthly

The Power of Pretend Play

Many studies show connections between cognitive development and high-quality Pretend Play. Although, for many years, play has been an intrigal part of child development; latest research on the role of such play in children’s cognitive, social, and academic development has been increasingly visible. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that high-quality pretend play is an important provider of perspective taking and later abstract thought, that it may facilitate higher-level cognition, and that there are clear links between pretend play and social and linguistic competence.  Pretend play is not only an important part of a child’s development, but also a very enjoyable one. Many types and shapes of toys are developed for pretend play.

For more information on Pretend Play, go to: http://www.pretendplay.org/?p=1

Beau

Our New Store is Open!

We have been working diligently on opening a new online store for The Imaginative Child and it is finally here.  We are continuing to make improvements daily to enhance your experience with our online store.  Please feel free to contact us via email or call us to show your support.  We will be offering coupons, discounts and free shipping offers to all of our loyal customers.  Thank you again for all of your patience and please visit our site www.imaginativechild.com to see all of the great new products that we are offering.  Be sure to sign up for the monthly newsletter that will have new product updates, coupon codes, and other great offers.