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Children in Key Stages 1 and 2 begin to learn according to the national curriculum, whereas in earlier years, they learned through play and exploration. Baby Brands Direct have a great range of educational toys that help to teach key lessons in Maths, English, foreign languages and geography.
From electronic toys from VTech that teach counting and spelling while children play, to wooden puzzles from Janod that show the map of the world, there is something for every classroom. As well as products for early years, Baby Brands Direct offer toys suitable from 5 years to 12 years, covering the first two stages of school life.
Many of the toys available are great for fine motor skills development, which is the ability to use the small muscles in our wrists and hands. Construction toys, puzzles, small figures and musical toys such as those from Janod and Halilit are perfect for developing these essential skills. Children can improve their dexterity by handling these small items. Threading the shapes around looping toys is a perfect way to get small hands and fingers working! Musical instruments for children are not just great for developing dexterity, but are also beneficial for aural and sensory development. By playing with musical toys, children's ears become attuned to different melodies, sounds and tones. It also stimulates their senses!
Toys with moveable and stackable parts are also great for developing hand-eye coordination. Baby Brands Direct have a great range of stackable toys with different shapes for kids to feel and explore, which will also help with problem solving as they'll need to work out the best way to stack each layer! Peg boards and shape sorters are also great options for boosting dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
For the development of gross motor skills, which involve the larger muscles in the legs, arms and torso, Baby Brands Direct have a great selection of ride on toys and bikes that will encourage movement and exploration. These larger activity toys are great for teaching kids how to balance and move effectively, as well as getting them to play outdoors in the fresh air.
Children also love creative play. Modelling clay, modelling tools and Plasticine are a great way to allow children to be creative and use their imaginations, as well as encouraging them to use their hands to create. As it never dries out, Plasticine is perfect for large classrooms where it will be handled a lot. Baby Brands Direct offer different Plasticine sets and kits, so you'll be sure to find the perfect product for your class. Also available are Aquadoodle mats and Spirograph kits, to further encourage creativity in the classroom!
With the creative freedom they offer, Schleich and Playmobil playsets are a wonderful way to introduce role play, as well as teamwork, to playtime. Kids will love to explore new worlds with their imaginations and their classmates. Hot Wheels cars and racetracks are always a popular choice, particularly with young boys, as they offer fun and excitement With the introduction of figures and playsets and other role play toys, such as kitchen sets from Janod or supermarket and shop toys, children are able to develop their social and emotional skills by playing with others. Emotion toys, such as Barbie playsets that encourage caring for small babies, also help support healthy emotional growth and empathy for others.
With over 40 years experience, Baby Brands Direct have a wealth of knowledge and expertise within the children’s toy industry. The company has been accredited with numerous awards by industry professionals for our service across the UK and worldwide.
We aim to be a one stop supplier for primary schools and other educational facilities, with over 2500 products available under one roof. As well as toys, we have a great range of hygiene products from Milton and Vital Baby. These products are perfect for ensuring that all surfaces are kept clean and free from germs, which is very important in these unprecedented times. We also stock toddler cups and weaning products for younger children, which give confidence in self feeding and help encourage healthy development.
Our online B2B portal means orders can be placed 24/7 at your convenience. Baby Brands Direct also offer volume discounts, loyalty credit, weekly promotions and fun competitions to win free stock for your class. If you manage a primary school or other educational facility, please consider Baby Brands Direct as your distributor of choice.
Why comfort soothers will always sell wellAny object that will help to send littles ones off to sleep – often a pretty tricky task – is going to be loved by parents. Strokable textures, soothing sounds, soft sounds and gentle music are all features that can achieve that parent nirvana – a calm, restful bedtime. And if the object doubles up as a much-loved toy, what could be better? Sometimes these toys continue to be our friends right into adulthood. Do you remember
the scene in the Christmas film Love, Actually when Sarah, played by Laura Linney gives her teddy a quick kiss and hides it under the bed before she invites in the man she has secretly loved for years?
Emotional attachmentResearchers at the University of Bristol have found that children can get emotionally attached to a comfort object because they believe it has some sort of special property – in fact when they were offered a new, yet identical replacement, they decided to stick with their old comforter.
This attachment to a toy is a good selling point for retailers – encourage parents to buy two, in case one gets lost! There is nothing worse for a parent than realising at bedtime that a favourite comfort toy has gone missing on a day out! Having a spare that can be kept out of sight in a drawer or wardrobe will save the day.
Transitional objectsThese objects used at bedtime are referred to as ‘transitional’ objects. As well as helping small children and babies get to sleep, they may also accompany a child when their parents aren’t around – going to nursery or a staying at a grandparent’s house, for example. They are called transitional objects because they help them move between two states; from awake to asleep or from home with parents to a different place with less familiar surroundings and people.
Experts say that transitional objects help to ease the stress of separation, (even if that separation is because they are going to sleep) and can offer comfort and soothe a child. They also help children to explore emotional relationships and help them to learn independence – they can become particularly attached to them around the age of 18-30 months. They can make children feel safe, calm and happy.
Healthy habitsComfort soothers are not just about getting off to sleep at bedtime. They can help to establish healthy sleep habits too. Learning how to resettle yourself if you wake up in the night is an important skill to learn – for babies and small children and their parents! Our audio and light soothers can become an important part of a bedtime routine, providing a sensory experience that soothes and relaxes a baby while offering gentle stimulation of their visual and auditory sense.
Gentle lights and patterns can offer gentle stimulation of visual senses, which helps babies to relax and settle, ready for a good sleep. Of course, safety at bedtime is paramount, another reason why we at Baby Brands Direct carefully select the best brands for our comfort soothers selection, so that retailers can in turn feel comfortable recommending them to their customers.
