Dinosaurs Toys - Why You Should Encourage Your Child to Play with Them

If your kiddo has a dinosaur obsession, you should be thrilled. Science calls this an “intense interest” and says it will drive a child’s learning as well as help foster lifelong curiosity.

In fact, above-average intelligence is not unusual for kids who are enamored with dinosaurs, or any subject that generates a natural strong interest.

The same thing goes for a focus on cars, trucks, trains, dolls, drawing, etc. If a child shows an incredible fondness in something, it can be a very good thing.

In this post, I’m going to talk specifically talk about dinos because it’s such a popular interest among kids.

WHY A DINOSAUR OBSESSION IS SO GREAT

“When we’re interested in what we’re learning, we pay closera attention we process the information more efficiently; we employ more effective learning strategies…” – source

That’s precisely why boys and girls who are fascinated with dinosaurs can tell you the names of so many of them. They find them incredibly interesting which makes them want to seek out new information about the prehistoric creatures.

Dino fans want to know what a particular dinosaur ate, how it sounded, and how its looks differ from others.

Any parent who has called a dinosaur anything other than its proper scientific name knows how happy a 4-year-old will be to correct you.

“That’s not a Mosasaurus, Mom! That’s a Spinosaurus!”

PS: I can’t pronounce either of those things and I had to Google to be able to spell them. A 4-year-old would wipe the floor with me in a dinosaur recognition contest.

Researchers have found again and again that when a child is excited by something, like dinosaurs, their attention span is better, they learn better, and they often have above-average intelligence.

FUN WAYS YOU CAN PROMOTE CURIOSITY ABOUT DINOSAURS

There is so much incredible content online that you can use to engage with the little dinosaur-lover in your life. I want to share some of the most interesting, fun things I’ve found. Including these awesome Dinosaur finds HERE.

HAVE A DARING DINO DINNER

Invite some other dino-obsessed kids over and throw a party they’ll never forget.
Here are some tips for a party featuring an easy dino-shaped cake. Add a DIY dinosaur excavation game and kids will love it.

FOLLOW #DINOSAUR ON INSTAGRAM.

Open up your Instagram to get a TON of cool dinosaur info. Your kid will think you’re the most brilliant dino mom ever.

You’ll uncover interesting dino pictures from museums and exhibits across the world. You can tell your kiddo about new discoveries and show them how a newly uncovered bone looks, or what a real fossil looks like. (Moms can even find cute inspiration for dino birthday cakes and party inspiration.

YOUTUBE

There are some virtual reality videos that are fascinating, even without VR products. This video is one of my favorites (too scary for very little ones though.)

You can show them a dino museum in Japan, or they can take a trip to a dinosaur children’s museum with YouTube’s RyanToysReview.

GAMES

Jurassic World Alive is generating a lot of buzz. Dinosaurs are running free in the world and it’s up to game players to prevent another extinction. They’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot and to have a blast doing it.

PBS Kids has dino games that are perfect for small kiddos.

Teachers Pay Teachers has oodles of printable dinosaur games.

 

IN CLOSING, BE GLAD YOUR CHILD IS CRAZY FOR DINOS

So long as you don’t turn their dinosaur obsession into work, they’ll continue to learn without any help. If you can gently add to their love of the prehistoric creatures by showing interest yourself, that’s even better.

Does your kiddo soak up everything there is to know about dinosaurs? What kinds of things do you do to encourage it? Have you found books or toys that you’d recommend?

Please share!


Source: Kitchen fun with my three sons