Educational Toys - Why Soft Toys

Soft Toys are not normally taken to be educational toys. Nevertheless a visit to T&L - educational toys & soft toys shows that Toys & Learning take the view that soft toys do fit as educational toys in a support function.

Character soft toys such as the Beatrix Potter stories - Peter Rabbit & Jamima Puddle-Duck along with the likes of Paddington Bear - are soft toys that are linked to books and stories that parents read to their children.

With a little help from parents a young child can have a character soft toy as their "favourite" going to sleep comfort toy - wizzo - we then have a child who associates the comfort of a cuddle and settling down to sleep with a book and reading. It is then a natural step for them to become attached to the book and hence a simple effective way of encouraging early reading