Fiesta Crafts Interview
Fine Motor Skills - These help with the child’s coordination and control over small movements like picking up small objects or zipping up a jacket. Mental Skills - These include skills such
as memory, concentration and problem- solving.
Language & Conversation Skills - Children learn language through playing with toys. They also develop conversation skills when they’re able to play with others. Emotional Health - Playing with toys helps children feel confident and happy about themselves. They get pleasure from doing something that they can do, just like adults do when they get pleasure from their achievements at work or home.
Improving children’s development through play
Toy News sits down with Andrew Bacon, Director of Fiesta Crafts, to give his experienced insight into the toy industry and what trends are driving change and innovation
Could you give us background on Fiesta Crafts, when you founded the company and how it has developed since then? Fiesta Crafts was founded in 1990. We started producing just four fabric educational wall hangings, which proved to be very popular, and that gave us the ability (and need) to keep expanding the range over the years - we still sell some of the hangings today. Over time we added to our fabric toys with
wooden toys, magnetic educational charts, and crafts has recently been a big growth area for us. We now have a range of 250 products selling in over 25 countries. We’ve recently won several awards, including bronze, silver and gold in the Made For Mum’s Toy Awards. This was incredible to see as we went up against toy giants such as Smyths, Argos and The Entertainer.
8 | toy news | Jan/Feb 2022
How do children’s and babies’ toys affect a child’s development? When children and babies play with toys, they’re learning about themselves and the world around them. They learn new skills and discover how things work – all of which is essential for their development. Playing with toys also helps children feel confident and builds their self-esteem after successfully completing a task through play. As well as this, when children play with toys, they are often pretending to do things. Pretending helps them learn important skills needed for more complex pretend play later on. Some of the skills that are developed through playing with toys include:
How do they impact their motor skills? By physically doing activities with toys, a child learns through experience how things work and what they need to do to make it work. This may involve several attempts to get it right and eventually knowing how to use their motor skills to get it right. It can take a while to perfect using toy equipment but it is so satisfying when they get the hang of it. As children learn about how things work,
they’re also learning about themselves and discovering what determination and perseverance is. They may find that certain motor tasks are easier for them than others. Using toys is just one way in which a child will learn about their own abilities and skills. As they’re enjoying playing, toys can also help them feel confident and happy about themselves.
What changes and trends are we seeing in children’s and babies’ toys right now? There is a growing demand for toys that children can learn from. Craft kits are an ideal example of this - anything that a child can make and feel proud of their creation. These toys are incredibly important to aid in babies’ and children’s development. It is vital that babies and youngsters are constantly active to develop their muscles, senses and brains. Manufacturers are now realising the
benefits of learning toys for children’s development and many products on today’s market aim to help with specific aspects of a child’s development. Some examples include magnetic learning charts (ideal for fine motor skills), wooden toys (for hand eye coordination) and various tools with activities for children to learn from. In the past, there were many toys that promised to help a child develop with little evidence behind them, but now it has become common knowledge that
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