Keeping young children entertained is often a priority as a parent - an entertained child is a happy child and having fun children\'s toys around is a good way to achieve this. However, many parents don\'t think of the educational value toys can have; much of the time when a child is playing, he or she is paying close attention to what they are doing and this is an excellent time to bring in some didactic activity, ensuring the child develops their intellect as well as staying entertained.

Many studies dating back as far as the 1940s have stated that a child\'s IQ can be greatly increased during their first six years and using educational children\'s toys such as shape-sorters and flash-cards can be very helpful in this process, increasing language skills, memory and hand-eye co-ordination. Choosing toys which will help develop these skills in an entertaining manner can be a very helpful base for a child\'s education before they first begin school and this can hopefully be built upon in the years to come.

Choosing children\'s toys that are appropriate for the age of the child is also a very important aspect in helping with a child\'s development - picking something for a baby which is designed for use by a toddler for example, will most likely find the toy not being used to its full potential and could well be a wasted purchase. If the toy is intended for a toddler, choosing something which develops motor skills such as stacking or pulling, or helps with language development such as flash cards can be an excellent choice, whereas for a baby, something bright and colourful which develops hand-eye co-ordination will be more suitable.

Educational children\'s toys provide an excellent base upon which to aid in a child\'s development; they\'re certainly better than sitting in front of most television shows or video games, but they are still only half the battle. A parent being actively involved in the child\'s play, particularly with learning activities, is a very important aspect of aiding their development - they can encourage the child, help if they get stuck and praise them when they succeed, hopefully making their play both intellectually and emotionally stimulating.

Keeping a child entertained by sitting them in front of the television is an easy way to keep them out of mischief, but providing them with educational toys and spending the time to help with them can be an excellent way to both entertain and educate children at the same time, hopefully leading to a happy, healthy and well adjusted child before and during their school years.