Exploring the 3 Benefits of Soft Toys for Kids

Nowadays, high-tech kids toys come in all shapes and sizes and can have all kinds of bells and whistles. However, studies have shown that kids’ most favorite toys are soft ones. For young children, a soft toy, such as a teddy bear or a bunny, is an inseparable friend who they can speak to, who listens to them and goes wherever they go. Through them, children can express emotions and feelings they cannot otherwise with words. Here are the three main benefits your child will experience playing with soft toys.

Learn New Skills

Playing with soft toys allows children to practice the skills they’ve learned. For example, when the time comes to get dressed or brush their teeth, you can ask your kid to show his/her teddy bear how it should be done. Kids love role-playing – it is a way for them to imitate their parents and do what grownups do. Role-playing is essential in a child’s learning process as they start to understand the world they live in by playing.

Learn to Express Themselves

It is normal for two and three-year-old children to get easily frustrated and end up having temper tantrums. At this age, children still haven’t figured out why their emotions can become so intense. As a parent, you can help your child manage his/her emotions by giving him/her a stuffed animal. For example, if your child cries whenever you leave or you take him/her to kindergarten, try to reenact those moments at home. Take his/her teddy bear and pretend it wants to go to kindergarten. You can say something along the lines of: ‘What is wrong teddy bear? Why are you crying?’ This will encourage your child to answer for his/her soft toy and make him/her see that kindergarten isn’t that bad. You can explain to the ‘teddy bear’ that there are nice teachers and plenty of activities, toys, and other children to play with and that ‘it’ will be home soon to share all the fun things ‘it’ did in the kindergarten.

Learn to Separate

Being separated from their parents is one of the things kids fear most. Soft toys help decrease their vulnerability. Experts recommend parents to encourage their children to play with their teddy bear at least 10 to 15 minutes, several times a day. Aside from improving your child self-esteem, the very touch and feel of these toys helps reduce stress, regulate their blood pressure and produce endorphins – the happy hormones. Moreover, playing with soft toys evokes a sense of peace, security and comfort.