Toys that Prepare Kids for their Future Professions

Remember the time when you were kids and you would role-play like you were adults? When sometimes one would act as a policeman while the other kids drive around in their cars pretending that you are on a busy street? Or the time that you would act as a mother busy cooking as your kid brother, pretending to be a father, arrives coming home from work?

Playing prepares children for the roles that they will do in the future. Although some of us did not become what we acted out in our games when we were kids, playing somehow helped us decide what we want to be when we grow up. It also developed our skills – physical, mental and social.

Toys designed to imitate our professions teach kids about our roles in the society. They help kids discover the importance of each profession and the work they entail.

Below is a list of toys that try to imitate our professions and what children can learn from them.

Toys for child architects often consist of building blocks that hone their design and planning skills. They are usually small scale buildings made up of several pieces that develop how they organize ideas to make structures stand.

These toys are usually made up of several pieces that either have interlocking joints or are loosely stacked to form figures. While there are those that form a single complex pattern, some of them consist of multiple pieces with simple shapes so the kids can mix and match. In the latter, for example, kids can make one big building or make use of the many pieces to form a small town with many houses.

Car makers design and make our cars; and these also are what car maker toys do; they promote creativity and ingenuity. Usually consisting of wheels, bumpers and other car parts, they teach children to assemble objects. These toys also expose them to the parts that make real cars run.

Toys for kid car makers comprise of different car parts that are assembled to form either a single automobile or a set of automobiles. For example, the Automoblox Mini S9/T9/C9 3-Pack consists of several parts for 3 different cars. The kids can make 3 cars that each have the same roof, door and wheel color, or they can mix the different colored car parts to form multi colored cars.

Computer specialist toys familiarize children with computers. They show them what computers can do and how to use them. They teach kids about the powers that lie at the touch of their fingertips.

These toys are relatively new technologically. Some computer specialist toys feature touch screens, keyboards and are foldable like real laptops. With the help of adults, they can be connected to other devices such as joysticks and computers. Aside from computing and gaming, they can also function as virtual drawing books, ebook readers or as electronic musical instruments.

The first sounds that kids will produce from these toys may not exactly be music to everyone’s ears but, in time, they will probably develop and make tunes that are nice and melodic. Who knows but maybe sometime they can dance to the tunes too!

Baby musician toys can be as simple as a little guitar or a combination of different musical instruments rolled into one. Most of today’s musical toys play different melodies, rhythms and styles. Drumbeats and sound effects can be added to our kid's favorite tunes to make them livelier. Some even have recorders to replay compositions.

These toys may not be able to cure patients in the real world but through them, children learn to value kindness and care for others. They become familiarized to doctors and health clinics. They also get to know what the doctor’s instruments do as well.

Child doctor toys are more suitable for role playing games. They have stethoscopes for monitoring breathing and heartbeat, a sphygmomanometer for checking blood pressure and some include gauzes and bandages for nurturing playmates. There are even toy sets that come with white coats and glasses to make the act more real.

As kids, we always wonder how our little battery operated toys move. Little electrician toys help explain those things to children. They may not fully understand the concepts behind how devices work but they will know that ‘this’ connected to ‘this’ causes ‘that’.

Toys for young electronics engineers consist of electronic parts that are assembled into gadgets. They have wires, resistors and switches that have to be connected to each other by following a pattern. When done right, they become functioning radios, lamps, alarms or doorbells. They are like jigsaw puzzles that make use of electronic parts instead.

Photography toys include things associated with pictures and cameras. From these toys, kids learn to strike a pose and how to be candid in front of the camera. They also learn to value unforgettable memories captured in photographs. They can even learn to sort similar pictures and make albums.

The toy camera is the plaything for the young photographer. Some are simple. They produce clicking sounds and flash every time a picture is taken. Complex toy cameras, on the other hand, function like regular digital cameras. They can take pictures and videos and store them as well. Some even feature simple photoediting tools to liven up those funny captured moments.

Painting toys develop children's creativity using colors, pens and papers. Through them they learn to appreciate and draw what they see. They learn to remember and put what they know on paper.

Toys for budding painters are the same tools Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh used – only they are made simpler. They can be simple coloring books and crayons, or mini professional tools with a stand for holding a drawing paper and a set of water colors or oil pastels.

Here’s a how to paint video by a 5-year old:

As kids, playing was always more fun when there are toys around. Toys make our kid's games more real. They become tools that help make their imagination come to life. They help children to be creative and help develop their skills. They prepare children for the world.

There are also toys that develop children's skills through physical activities.