Through play, children learn about themselves, their environment, people and the world around them. As they play, children learn to solve problems and to get along with others. They enhance their creativity and develop leadership skills and healthy personalities. Play develops skills children need to learn to read and write. Play in early childhood is the best foundation for success in school.

As a child learns to reach, grasp, crawl, run, climb and balance, physical skills are developed. Dexterity develops when the child handles plush toy animals or other objects.

Language increases as a child plays and interacts with others. A baby’s cooing games with parents evolve into the language skills of a child sharing stories. Learning to cooperate, negotiate, take turns and play by the rules are important interpersonal lifetime skills, all of which play fosters.

Positive play experiences develop positive emotional well-being. Through play and imagination, a child can fulfill wishes and overcome fears of unpleasant experiences. Play helps the child master the environment. When children feel secure, safe, successful and capable, they acquire important components of positive emotional health. Sharing play experiences also can create strong bonds between parent and child.

Parents are their child’s first playmates. Stuffed toy animals should challenge a child’s interests and abilities. They should match skill and maturity levels. With the right toy, a child will be neither bored nor unduly frustrated.

Both solitary and social play is necessary for a child’s development. A child can play with a building toy alone and in the process, develop independence, self-sufficiency and persistence. Playing with the same toy with others, the child acquires social skills such as sharing, empathy and cooperation. Quality materials, fine workmanship and simplicity of design will assure that a toy will withstand the rigors of children’s play.

Protecting children from unsafe stuffed toys wholesale is everyone’s responsibility. Careful toy selection and proper supervision of children at play is the best way to protect youngsters from toy-related injuries. Toys must be used, maintained and stored correctly to ensure that the safety built in at the factory continues in the home.