3-in-1 Sports Centre

Developmental Benefits

Hand Eye Coordination

Independent Play

Motor Skills

Developmental Benefits

3-in-1 Sports Centre

Aiming and concentrating on a target improves hand/eye coordination.
Humans have highly developed manual dexterity skills that distinguish them from any other species on this planet. This manual dexterity emerges during the infant’s first year and, with plenty of opportunities to manipulate and play with toys and objects, becomes a highly tuned ability. Babies will reach and grasp for objects in an uncoordinated manner from an early age. As they begin to gain control over their movements infants succeed in reaching for and grasping toys. The first attempts by babies to grasp toys in their hands involve using the palm of their hand with all their fingers around the object. As development occurs through physical maturation and plenty of opportunities to play with toys, grasping becomes more sophisticated. The use of the opposable thumb and index finger allows infants to pick up very small objects in what is termed a ‘pincer grasp’. This finely tuned motor skill emerges at the end of first year of life.
The development of hand and eye coordination skills continues throughout childhood where opportunities to play games that require children to manoeuvre objects, build tall towers or hit targets on a computer screen facilitate the development of finely-tuned hand and eye coordination.

Games and voice prompts allow children to control the pace.
Early play in infants tends to be solitary or takes place alongside other children. Young children learn how to interact with other children through play but they can also explore and learn independently. The initial play experience for infants is when they begin to explore through moving and acting upon the world. Many toys offer infants the opportunity to learn more about their world. Young children will sometimes act out some aspect of their lives e.g. going to the shops and then they involve their toys in these activities. These young children are playing independently but they are also reinforcing their understanding of the social world by acting out scenarios.
Young children can consolidate their existing skills by repeating actions whilst playing a game. Learning to play independently has its benefits, for instance, children using an educational game can control their own pace. Children sometimes choose to work independently in order to build up their confidence. Toys and computer games that facilitate independent activity at the right level for the child enhance problem solving skills and increase hand and eye coordination. Although cooperative play increases during childhood, children still spend the equivalent amount of time in solitary or independent play.

Encourages fine motor skill development.
An infant’s growth and development in the first year of life is rapid. Many movements that young babies make are in preparation for the next stage of their development. When young babies watch a mobile they are constantly moving their head, arms, legs and even their mouths in response to the movement of the toy. Sound and movement attract a baby’s attention; if a toy is placed almost within reach of babies their movements become more animated. Bath toys provide opportunities to develop and use motor skills to great effect. For example, a young baby has greater control over their leg movements than their arms. You will often see young babies in a bath reaching with their legs towards a floating toy and kicking. All these movements strengthen muscles in readiness for the next stage - walking.
As babies develop they become more adept at grasping objects. Young infants learn to grasp an object, for instance a cube. The grasping, at first, is quite clumsy but through repetition, and across time, infants become adept at grasping and develop fine motor skills. Infants first use the ulnar grasp where their fingers close against the palm when trying to hold an object. Within another month they are able to move the object from hand to hand. After the first year, infants adopt the ‘pincer grasp’ where they use their thumb and index finger to grasp even very tiny objects. Shape sorters help infants to fine tune their visual perception and hand coordination. Soon infants are building towers with two cubes; this also requires fine coordination skills. As the child grows computer games have been shown to help with hand and eye coordination. Spatial skills can also be enhanced when playing games that require concentration, quick responses and finely tuned motor skills.

Best for ages:

12 to 36 Months

Highlights

Win the learning game with the3-in-1 Sports Centre. Score a basket or make a goal and the smart sports centre responds with cheerful sounds and phrases to keep the fun going!

Description

Win the learning game with the3-in-1 Sports Centre. Toddlers get their muscles moving with a soccer ball to exercise their legs and feet, and a basketball to get little arms and hands working. Make a basket! It's easy to practice counting with a basket that keeps the score. One, two, three! Pull down the basket for a slam dunk. Score a goal! The friendly goalie will cheer you on with encouraging phrases. The animated LED scoreboard keeps the learning and the energy going. Little fingers get a fine-motor workout, too, with buttons to press, gears that turn and a trophy that slides back and forth. Learn about shapes, colours, numbers and good sportsmanship as you enjoy 65+ songs, melodies, sounds and phrases. Toddlers grow fast, and this sports centre grows with them with two adjustable height levels. Get your child a gift they'll be able to use for months to come. Count on it!