Games and toys

All children have ever played with modeling clay. If you have not done so, we recommend it because it is a very beneficial activity for the development of manual skills that at the same time stimulates the creativity of the little ones. One of the best known brands is Play Doh, from the Hasbro company, which has just patented the smell of modeling clay.

If our daughter asks us for a construction game or a ball, we run to buy them, happy to be educating her without gender stereotypes. However, if our child asks us for dolls or a cart, do we react the same? If the answer is that we would not be depriving our son of a very valuable experience, since these toys are a great tool to educate in equality.

Surely when we remember happy moments of our childhood, little moments of family games come to our memory. If I close my eyes I can see myself playing cards or parcheesi with my grandmother, "getting tangled up" with my brothers while playing Twister, playing a football game with my father or spending Sunday afternoons with my mother, in front of a bowl of popcorn and lots of board games.

There are many Lego-loving children who enjoy creating wonderful constructions with a few pieces (sometimes thousands!) Tiny and colorful. And there are many benefits that this hobby has for them, and of which we have already spoken to you on occasion. But a recent study just pointed out that these benefits would not only be short term, but could also affect brain development during adulthood.

The adventure that any child would like to live has become a reality for Ollie and Harry Ferguson, two eight and five-year-old Scottish brothers who launched their pirate ship from Playmobil to the sea that, although it seems incredible, has been sailing the seas of the world for a year. With the help of their parents, they built and dropped their pirate ship equipped with a GPS to have it located at all times.

We all know the rubber duck, that famous bathtime toy and accessory that is tender, fun, and that has also accompanied us to multiple generations. For many parents, they have been one of the elements that help us make our children's bath time more pleasant.

After it was declared bankrupt in September, we now know that the Toys'R'Us toy chain plans to close its more than 700 stores in the United States, predictably in April. According to The Wall Street Journal, the head of the company, David Brandon, informed the workers at the headquarters today, and the measure could also affect the business in France, Spain, Poland, Portugal and Australia.

The American firm Mattel has made public, through its #MoreRoleModels campaign, that the classic Barbie doll will now have three new additions on the occasion of International Women's Day. Thus, he wanted to pay tribute to those women who are a benchmark in history.

Some toy stores have already taken the step by withdrawing from their stores the sale of war toys because they are not suitable toys for children and encourage violence among children. It is the same thing that many parents think have a very clear norm: guns do not enter at home. Parents who have decided not to buy their children any toy weapons or allow them to give them away.

Do you remember your childhood? How much time did you spend running around the street? Now the reality is that every time children spend less time outdoors. Many times because of the crazy work schedules of parents, which entails a busy schedule of extracurriculars for children who end up spending all afternoon in school.

We all know the importance of free play in childhood and not conditioned by gender stereotypes. But it is not always easy to break the social barriers we see through advertising, for example, or deal with the comments and prejudices of some people. Therefore, the University of Kent, in England, has carried out a study that has recently published in the magazine Sex Roles on how it influences children's minds to see images of stereotyped games and toys.

Few toys have been able to last for decades with the success of Lego's building blocks. The iconic brick turns 60 years since Danish Ole Kirk Kristiansen patented it on January 28, 1958. We have played, just like our children do today with the same interest.

Either when you go to work or when you take your children to school, surely someone has crossed your path on an electric scooter. It is the latest fashion, in fact these holidays have been the star gift in many homes. Its motives are basically summarized as a means of transport more ecological than public transport or the car.

Your Majesties of the East have already accomplished their mission this year, and you will surely find yourself at home surrounded by new and old toys. Some of them are used daily, others less and others nothing. So, after the Kings, it's time to order toys to have them better organized. It will be necessary to decide which toys we leave, which we give, which we donate, which are not in conditions and we must throw them away or recycle them, and which, however damaged they may be, it is impossible to dispose of them.

The brain is a fascinating organ, complex and full of possibilities. Babies are born with an immature brain, which will gradually develop, forming new neural connections and gaining plasticity through stimulation, care and learning. One of the ways children have to learn is through play.

Toys are tools that push children to experience, explore, learn, socialize or create, enhance their imagination and teach them values. In addition, through toys, children represent and imitate the roles and characters they have access to both in the family, school, the street or in the media.

The holiday season is a time for family gatherings and among friends, where you should not miss a good board game to enjoy and learn with the children of the house. Whether you are thinking of acquiring a game to liven up the holiday tabletops, as if you are looking for advice to write the letter to the Magi, we leave you a selection of 19 fun board games for the whole family, cataloged by age.

We know what the children will ask of the Magi this Christmas, but do we know what they would ask us, their parents, if we proposed that they write us a letter? Weather. They would ask us to give them more time to play with them or to share a fun afternoon full of laughter and happy moments.

Excess toys are not beneficial for children's development. Too many toys overstimulate them, it does not value what they have, does not allow them to concentrate and reduces the chances of their imagination flying. This is corroborated by science through new research that reveals how young children respond to their toys.

Christmas is just around the corner and many are already thinking about what to give to their children, nephews, grandchildren and friends. If they have not already done so, they will soon be ready with the best gifts for 2017 and they will be full of the latest junk and electronic devices.