Children’s Toys

 

Children’s Toys that encourage creativity do much more than preparing young learners to draw, sculpt, or star in the school play. They teach children to experiment and problem solve. “Kids are going to live in a world that’s changing and have problems that we can’t anticipate,” explains Julie King, co-author of How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen. “The way we’re going to solve them is by being creative.” The best toys show kids “hold information in their mind, think flexibly as things change, and to use self-control,” says Ellen Galinsky, author of Mind in the Making.

Finger paints and pint-size musical instrument

ents might be the first things that come to mind when you’re thinking of creative toys (and they’re certainly great options). But there is a much wider range of toys that inspire creative thought in children, including building blocks, magnetic doodads, and other more whimsical playthings. “Being creative is not just about being artistic,” King says. According to Laura Phillips, a clinical neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute, the best creative toys are “open-ended, with limited rules or guidelines and no correct answer or end goal.” Below, our panel of child psychologists and development experts recommend the best multi-use, open-ended toys to spark kids’ imaginations.