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Well, at one year old there was a spurt of brain growth &just in time for all that new learning that is starting to take place &now that he is able to toddle around by himself and explore like he couldn t before. It s important to remember that by 4 years of age the child will have developed 80% of his understanding of how the world works . So, as a toddler the child is completing his development of this worldview.
He is now in what child psychologist Jean Piaget called the pre-operational stage of development. This is the time when motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination are being perfected. It s also when language skills are being perfected &all by imitating adults. Now the toddler needs lots of experience of solid toys that require greater dexterity to play with - toys like building blocks are great for this.
The development of the child s imagination is extremely important at this age. Less T.V. and lots of fairy tales, stories and toys that provide the stimulus for fantasy are needed. An excellent educational toy for toddler is one that stimulates the child to imagine a situation &a nurse s uniform, a toy truck &these allow the child to imagine themselves as a nurse or a truck driver, etc.
Simple puzzles are great now too, but not puzzles or games that have lots of rules and regulations. Simple
jigsaw puzzles
are easy for them to understand and provide a nice challenge for their motor skills.
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