How Play Builds Cognitive Skills for Lifelong Success

What Are Cognitive Skills and How Can Play Help Develop Them?

At HABA, we've always been serious about play. Our earnest devotion to the benefits of play is best demonstrated by its role in nurturing the cornerstone of developmental skills—cognition. Cognitive development in early childhood is a foundation for future learning, reasoning, and decision-making abilities. Cognition encompasses a child’s capacity to think, understand, and process information, all which develop significantly during the early years. This critical developmental stage forms the foundation for essential skills like memory, attention, problem-solving, and language acquisition. So yeah, pretty important and heady stuff!

Engaging in moments of play is a simple way to develop these vital and complex lifelong skills. Playful activities help children naturally exercise their brains in fun ways. Through play children can experiment with different ideas, learn from their mistakes, and develop mental flexibility. Moreover, as kids play they feel safe and relaxed, an optimal brain state, which allows them to absorb learning. So while many types of toys benefit cognition, at HABA our goal is to create toys that allow for a variety of play opportunities throughout childhood. Here are a few of our most popular toys that foster cognitive development through play. 

Our Top 10 Favorite HABA Toys to Develop Cognitive Skills

Marble Runs 

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Problem-solving, critical thinking, and spatial reasoning.
• Why It Works: Marble runs encourage children to design, build, and test various tracks, promoting creativity, logical thinking, and the understanding of cause and effect.

Orchard Game

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Memory, attention span, and cooperative play.
• Why It Works: As a classic cooperative board game, Orchard enhances memory and strategic thinking while teaching children the importance of teamwork and taking turns.

Animal Upon Animal Game

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and strategic thinking.
• Why It Works: Children practice balance and strategy as they stack animal figures, improving dexterity and concentration.

Farm Sorting Box

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Imagination, storytelling, and problem-solving.
• Why It Works: This wooden farm sorting box allows children to create their own farm scenes, enhancing narrative skills and fostering creativity.

Number Maze Magnetic Game

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Number recognition, counting, and fine motor skills.
• Why It Works: This engaging maze helps children navigate paths to connect numbers in order, promoting early math skills and hand-eye coordination.

Clever Up! Building Block System 

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Spatial reasoning, problem-solving, and creativity.
• Why It Works: The modular design of Clever Up! allows children to build various structures, encouraging imaginative play and logical thinking through the use of geometric shapes.

Logic! CASE Sets

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Logical thinking, problem-solving, and concentration.
• Why It Works: This compact puzzle game challenges children with a variety of logic tasks, developing their ability to think critically and focus on problem resolution.

Little Friends Dollhouse

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Imagination, storytelling, and social skills.
• Why It Works: With a variety of characters and settings, the Little Friends Dollhouse encourages imaginative play and narrative development, as children create and act out their own stories.

Kullerbü Ball Tracks

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Cause and effect, problem-solving, and fine motor skills.
• Why It Works: With easy-to-assemble tracks and vibrant components, the Kullerbü Ball Track system fosters experimentation with gravity and motion in a playful, imaginative environment. 

My Very First Game - Here, Fishy, Fishy!

• Cognitive Skills Developed: Fine motor skills, color recognition, and early problem-solving.
• Why It Works: This game helps toddlers develop fine motor skills by using a magnetic rod to catch wooden fish. It also introduces them to color recognition and early problem-solving as they match the fish to their corresponding colors and figure out the best ways to catch them.

By embracing the power of play, you can lay the groundwork for a bright cognitive future for any of the children in your life. Whether it’s through strategy games that engage little brains with critical thinking and problem-solving, or imaginative play that sparks social skills and decision-making, we believe play is the ultimate tool for building strong minds and setting children up for a lifetime of learning and joy.