The brain is a little like an engine, it deteriorates more rapidly through lack of use than regular use. There is nothing wrong with taking a bit of time out to merely sit and think, in fact this mild form of meditation is to be encouraged in our fast-moving world of hustle and bustle, but there is also a requirement for puzzles and educational toys that stimulate the brain whilst still being calm.
Puzzles and educational toys can actually be divided into two age groups - generally speaking: adult and children's games, although quite where you draw the line between these age groups depends on the aptitude of the child. A clever child can be playing chess at eight, nine or ten, whereas that same child may not have a wide enough vocabulary to complete crosswords until it is a teenager.
So, if you would like to provide adequate stimulation for a child, you could start off with baby Lego and continue adding to the set until the child considers it no longer stimulating (that is, no longer interesting) which could easily take ten years. There is also Meccano, which is for a somewhat older age group than Lego, but overlaps quite significantly. Fascination with Meccano could also last ten years.
At the same time, you could introduce draughts (checkers) and chess. You will have to decide whether Chess is too much for your child at the moment, in which case you can carry on with draughts and reintroduce Chess a year later. As the child grows into a teenager, the line blurs and teenagers may prefer adult games to children's games.
Adult puzzles and educational toys are fairly varied. Most hobbies could be called educational in some way or another, although for the purpose of this article, I will stick with adult puzzles and educational toys that can be played sitting down, say on a regular journey into work or during the lunch break.
There is the Rubik Cube and many variations on the theme. Plenty of people find that struggling to solve the Rubik Cube when struggling with a difficulty, assists them solve the problem. Some say that this works by distraction.
Crossword puzzles are good for distraction and will help keep words that you do not use often on the tip of your tongue. Some individuals say that you should not look words up, but I do not agree. If you look a word up in the dictionary a couple of of times, you will remember it and that has to do you some good.
Sudoku is a numbers game which is also played in a square like a crossword puzzle. Sudoku puzzles are rated on difficulty from one to five. One is very easy, while five is very difficult. They require a certain amount of lateral thinking and deduction to solve. They are very good because like a crossword, you can pick them up for ten minutes and set them down again.
If you like Chess or Bridge, these puzzles are also very good for improving your game or just helping you to maintain a degree of ability if you do not play so much any more. Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, Chess and Bridge puzzles can all be found in lots of the quality newspapers, so you can keep up with the news and invigorate your mind with puzzles and educational toys at the same time by purchasing a good newspaper.
