Research conducted by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission offers insights into child development and the types of play toys and games that are appropriate for kids at different levels of development. Having moved beyond the preschool years, kids in the 6-8 age range have new abilities which affect the kinds of play toys that interest them. Understanding this stage of child development can help parents make better toy selections for their children. Physically, large muscles have increased strength and coordination, resulting in significant improvements in gross motor skills. With these new skills, kids are ready to venture into new activities such as jump-rope, hopscotch, climbing, ice skating, roller skating, bicycle riding, water sports and playing with balls. Small muscles abilities have also improved, resulting in improved fine motor skills. These skills allow kids to take on new activities such as drawing with pencils, simple sewing, simple carpentry, weaving, braiding, stringing small beads, cutting out paper dolls and assembling jigsaw puzzles. Mentally, kids in the 6-8 age range have developed skills in reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. These new skills help them explore new frontiers such as more advanced board games, simple math activities such as games using money, time, calendars and weights. Kids are more interested in nature and simple science activities. They have increased interest in collecting things, in taking on hobbies, and in the discovering the line between fantasy and reality. Their capacity for creative play is expanded to include playing real musical instruments, reading music, and larger arts and craft projects. Socially, kids in this age group are more interested in belonging to their peer group than they were in the preschool years. They have become less interested in playing with kids of the opposite sex preferring friends of the same sex. They have developed increased skills in cooperative playing with groups of kids, so they get more enjoyment from group activities. They are at the beginning stages of being able to participate in competitive team sports. They have an increased sense of fairness and in living up to standards, both for themselves and for the groups they belong to. They continue to grow more interested in dramatic plays so they get increased enjoyment from producing shows and plays. They have entered the beginning stages of showing interest in the bigger community. With their new skills, kids are eager to find new ways to experiment and explore. Providing them with age-appropriate play toys can help them continue to grow and develop these skills.
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