Visual Toys

Visual development

Many children are captivated by visually challenging toys. For example, babies see little color at first, they perceive the world in dark and light tones and you notice that toys with clear contrast in color such as black / white are very popular. Later they start to distinguish colors and you see that they prefer bright colors instead of pastel shades.

Vision development skills

In order to see well, as a child you must be able to:

• Focusing on an object as you crawl/walk/cycle towards it
• Keep your eyes on a moving object such as a ball in order to act in time (catch)
• Understanding what you see (visual perceptual skills) to perform tasks such as reading, writing, drawing, and puzzle-making.
• Seeing your father/mother in a large crowd
• Tracking a moving object with the eyes (horizontally, vertically and in a circular motion).

Visually challenging environment

Children’s play is strongly influenced by the visual environment. Play areas feel fun and ready for action when the walls and playground equipment are painted with bright, but not over-stimulating colors. Large, easy-to-read boards help everyone find their way around a play area.

Visual learning through play

Children also develop their visual sense through play. They refine their coordination and learn cause and effect as they explore toys and the play area. Just think of the first time painting and discovering what happens when 2 colors are mixed up. But describing someone’s environment to others is also a good exercise for reading, writing and creative arts.

Boosting visual skills

Toys that rely on visual learning, strategic thinking skills, visual memory, spatial awareness and visualization are always a good idea, as they play an important role in problem solving.

Visually challenging toys

The three major categories of toys that I usually promote are those that appeal to the :

• Eye-hand coordination
• fine motor skills
• visual perception/thinking

Eye-hand coordination

Stimulating eye-hand coordination can be done with the following games/materials

• Lego
• Building blocks
• Knex
• Playing with Beanbags
• Letterspelmat
• Rainbow arches

Fine motor skills

• Stringing beads
• Making clay foam / play sand sculptures
• Point to point drawings
• Punctures (punch block)
• Geostix
• Rainbow Stones

Visual perception/thinking

• Memory
• Rush hour
• Dobble
• SET (game)
• Making mazes

Related Articles

• Motor skills toys Top 5
• Stimulating sensorimotor development
• Stimulate gross motor skills

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