Toyvilla's Blog

This is an exciting time for parents as the development of their child is rapid.  There are daily milestones and achievements that can leave the parents startled.

At this stage of a child’s life it is most important to provide the child with the correct educational device/ toy that will encourage experimentation and an increased awareness of their environment.  They should be working through small problems and showing pride in the solutions to these problems.

The sort of milestones that should be sought for a 3 – 4 year old are significant.  These include the following:

• Running and chasing without falling and a reluctance to be still.
• Competent hopping and jumping.  When jumping, bending the legs to cushion impact.
• Enjoyment, encouragement to participate in and competence in ball games.  Ability to catch a large ball when thrown directly into arms.
• Ability to draw images that the child will recognize as faces or people.
• Competence with dough; fashioning pieces into balls and sausages to be put together to resemble people.
• Dressing up and pretending to be other people.
• In touch with “love”.  Recognition that people love him/ her and the reciprocation of the emotion.  Enjoyment in knowing that he/ she is loved.
• Ability to contrast with others.
• Ability to empathize and sympathize with characters in stories.

Toys that are right for this age include:

• Learning toys
• Dollhouses and accessories
• Role play
• Simple hand puppets
• Dress-up clothes and props
• Picture books and story books
• Toys for learning shapes, colors, numbers and letters
• Intermediate puzzles
• Simple board games
• Sand and water play toys
• Pedal trikes
• Sports sets: basketball, tee-ball, golf, bowling, ring toss
  
• Simple computer programs for early learning
• Variety of sport balls, e.g., soccer, football, kickball, super bounce ball

The online toy store, Toy Villa recommends toys such as The Timbertop Toys Modern Dolls House as a great development toy for a girl of between 3 – 4 years.

The Timbertop Toys Modern Dolls House is a 3 storey wooden dolls house containing:- 4 x Dolls, 4 x Rooms of furniture (Complete bedroom, lounge room, kitchen + Dining and bathroom).

The recommended starting age for a toy of the caliber is 3 years so it is perfect and affordable as the child will not need the toy for much longer after they turn 5.

Now for the boys.  Yes, these recommendations are inline with what most of us have known all our lives.  Dolls Houses for girls and Building/ Construction sets for boys.

We haven’t differed here.  First and foremost Toy Villa recommends the SES – Carpentry Play set for a 3 – 4 year old boy.  This toy consists of 46 wooden parts used to create different models.  To achieve this the child will use a safe wooden hammer and plastic joints. All parts can be used again and again.

Reserve the Mechano set for when the child turns 5.

Toy Villa makes online shopping very easy for the consumer.  Recently positioned in the online community Toy Villa stocks a huge selection of toys for young children, under 5 years old, including babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

The team at Toy Villa pride themselves on the level of customer service they provide vowing to treat you as a special and valued customer whilst giving you the necessary tools and information to choose toys that are appropriate for your kids, in terms of age and development, and of course, fun.   They know that babies need to have toys that help with their grasp of early speaking and language, along with the development of social, gross and fine motor skill.