TAG Toys

The Times, They are a Changing

TAG Toys — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:28:27 +0000

How often have you heard someone (or yourself) say, “We didn’t have all these educational toys when we were little but we developed okay.” We did, for our generation, but each new generation evolves into a “species” of its own according to environmental demands. Such evolution is imperceptible within a given generation but cumulative over several generations and truly recognized only in hindsight. Every element of the universe is in a state of flux and as each element interacts with another, change occurs. So it is with the development of intelligence whereby the mind is in constant contact with a changing and more complex environment requiring higher levels of intelligence as well as new and different kinds of intelligence.

A young child benefits from early intellectual stimulation as this is the most formative period of biological growth which includes the brain. With more and earlier stimulation thinking abilities will develop more completely and in diversified ways as a response to current environmental demands. The key is early and diversified stimulation.

Learning Machines

TAG Toys — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:49:30 +0000

If you observe a child’s daily activities from infant through toddler you will notice that each day is filled with one learning situation after another. Children are “learning machines” and they welcome any new stimulation. A parent is a child’s first teacher with a responsibility to provide a rich learning environment. This is not a difficult task as it consists mainly of presenting new and different types of visual, auditory and tactile stimulatiuon followed with praise and adulation for each new accomplishment.

The Clock is Ticking

TAG Toys — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:09:07 +0000

According to “The Yale Child Study Center Guide to Understanding Your Child” (Linda C. Mayes, M.D. and Donald J. Cohen, M.D.) “…timing is crucial. There are prime times for acquiring certain kinds of knowledge, skills and capacities.” The study points out that in the first three years connections among neurons increase exponentially and by the age of two, a toddler’s brain is as active as an adult’s. A three-year old’s brain is super dense with connections and is nearly two and a half times as active as that of a college-age adult.

From this and other research studies we learn that neural connections activated by repeated experiences tend to become permanent, and connections that are not used often or not at all tend to be pruned away. For some regions of the brain, if essential stimulation does not take place during a particular time, that region’s function is lost and cannot be regained (Mayes, Cohen).

This is why an enriched environment for young children is most important as this will influence intellectual development. TAG Toys are designed to stimulate specific kinds of thinking abilities during this critical period as outlined by our Chart of Abilities at www.tagtoys.com.

Hello world!

TAG Toys — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:57:07 +0000

There are many different kinds of intelligence. Research has identified more than 120 distinct types of thinking abilities. Our challenge with children is to develop as many kinds of intelligence competencies as possible. This is most successfully done during the first, formative years of life.

Educational toys that are based on educational research and learning theory will stimulate a child’s thinking processes. When the brain is stimulated, its natural response is to form the neurological connections needed to imitate, perform and perfect an activity. The more a child’s mind is stimulated, the better the neurological wiring and thus a more intelligent child. Abilities not cultivated will not develop.