Balance toy
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Von
Vanessa M.
How balance toys promote children's development
Jumping from stone to stone, standing on one leg, walking over a tree trunk, riding a bike or climbing up a ladder: these are just a few examples of physical activities where balance is extremely important. In everyday life, we often don't even realize how important balance is for our lives and for what our bodies can achieve.
However, we realize how important balance is the moment we lose it. For children, this essential skill, which is closely linked to coordination, motor skills and balance, can be promoted wonderfully with balance toys.
Wondering what that is? We'll explain it to you in this article and introduce you to some great balance games for toddlers.
What exactly are balance toys?
The term balance toy refers to toys that your child can use to train their balance. Accordingly, many different toys fall into this category. The types of balance toys available on the market include these toys:
- Children's vehicles: Various means of transportation for kids as balance toys for outdoors and indoors, e.g. balance bikes, scooters and scooter boards
- Rocking animals & seesaws: Rocking horses and other animal figures on which children can sit and seesaw
- Balancing boards: Boards with a semi-circular base that kids can stand on and then balance on
- Balancing beams: Beams of different widths for crossing
- Climbing arches: Rungs rising in a semicircle that kids can climb over
- Climbing toys: Various climbing toys such as climbing towers
All of these balance toys are typically made of wood or plastic and are available in a wide variety of designs and styles. If you want to buy a balance toy for your child, you should not only think about what type of product they like and what material it should be made of, but also pay attention to quality and safety. Because a really good, useful balance toy for children is high-quality, durable and, above all, safe to use. These are precisely the features that characterize BIG toys, which we manufacture in Germany in compliance with high quality and safety standards.
Benefits of balance toys for child development
Balance toys are real all-rounders when it comes to development. This is certainly one reason why balance toys are often offered in kindergarten - and they are also a must at home! When most people think of the benefits of balance toys for young children, the first thing that comes to mind is balance training. And quite rightly so, because balance can be greatly improved with these toys for children. But that's not all. Playing with the special games also allows your child to train their body awareness, practise their coordination and improve their gross motor skills. After all, they have to perceive their body parts precisely in space, coordinate their movements with each other and execute them precisely in order to balance themselves.
Speaking of movement: Balance and coordination toys are a reliable way to help little "couch potatoes" and give your child a real incentive to be physically active . By overcoming challenges through play, your child can experience that they can rely on their physical abilities and that it is worth persevering and practising. This boosts self-confidence, encourages courage and awakens the desire to take on the next exciting balancing challenge - perhaps even together with their peers! This is because many toys allow you to play together and also encourage your child on an interpersonal level.
Choosing the right balance toy
Are you wondering how to find the right balance toy for your child? The answer: By basing your choice on your child's age, individual stage of development and personal interests. Because the better it suits your child and their current abilities and needs, the better the balance toy can support their development. Bobby cars and ride-on cars, for example, are suitable for young children from the age of one, while pedal tractors are more suitable for children aged 3 and over. Below we take a closer look at two types of balance and coordination toys that appeal to different age groups:
Children's balance bikes & learner balance bikes: The first step towards balance
Balance bikes & learner balance bikes make kids mobile and help them to explore the world around them more independently. They help children to find their balance while providing them with sufficient support so that they can safely try out new movement patterns. As a result, even rather insecure children quickly gain the confidence to take their first steps on a balance bike and can thus optimally prepare themselves for riding a bike later on.
To ensure safe use, the balance bike of your choice should be as stable as possible and have handles that small children's hands can hold on to securely. These requirements are met, for example, by the BIG Sport Bike balance bike with sound module and abrasion-resistant, wide wheels that enable indoor and outdoor riding. The balance bike can be handled by children from around 1.5 and up to a maximum age of 3 years, making it the ideal companion on the first steps towards balance.
Rocking horse & co. - Training balance in a playful way
A classic baby and toddler toy for balance training is the rocking horse. When kids mount the rocking pony to trot through dense forests or gallop across lush meadows in their imagination, this stimulates their imagination and promises great fun. At the same time, balance and coordination are effectively encouraged.
Of course, it doesn't necessarily have to be a rocking horse for this valuable development effect. After all, there are a wide variety of rocking and rocking animals that are in no way inferior to the classic horse. How about our rocking elephant, for example? This cute trunked animal offers children between the ages of one and five a comfortable seat.
If you're wondering what could be cooler than rocking and swinging alone? Exactly, together with friends! The BIG Sammy Rocker offers space for up to three children and the dinosaur look guarantees 100% fun.
Does your child have a strong urge to move and prefer to be high up? Then we recommend the BIG Kraxxl products. Here you will find great climbing toys for children aged three and over, which require a certain amount of courage to climb.
Safety tips for handling balance toys
These tips make playing with balance toys a safe experience for children:
Check toys regularly
If toys are damaged, this often results in a safety risk. For example, your child could be injured by splinters on the wooden balance game or fall if a screw on the climbing frame comes loose. For this reason, you should regularly take a close look at your child's toys and check them for defects.
Supervise small children
Younger children often need support from parents or carers at the beginning to be able to try out balance toys safely. You can minimize the risk of injury by staying close by and giving your child a helping hand if necessary.
Take the age recommendation into account
Generally speaking, the safety risk increases when children play with toys that they are actually far too young for.
That's why you should consider the age recommendation for balance toys for toddlers in terms of safety alone. At BIG, we provide you with safe balance toys for kindergarten and at home, some of which are suitable for children from the age of one.
Create a safe play environment
When experimenting with balance toys, children can sometimes lose their balance. If this happens, a safe play environment prevents injuries. Always make sure that the toy is secure and that there is nothing in the immediate vicinity that could injure your child if they fall.
Conclusion: The role of balance toys in supporting development
Playing with balance toys, as you can discover in our store alongside many other products, promotes balance, motor skills, coordination and body awareness. They can also support the development of social skills and get your child moving. Toys of this type therefore support children's development, especially if they are ideally suited to the child's age and interests.
Regardless of whether you opt for an action-packed balance toy for outdoors or an indoor product that focuses on concentration and balance, the following applies: safe handling is essential! If you choose a suitable product and follow our safety tips, you will soon see the positive effects of balance toys on children for yourself.