I am often asked  "Is there really a problem with thinking skills today and do educational toys make a difference?”  Well I believe that it is a real problem and that exposure to good educational toys in early childhood has a big impact. 

One of the most complete studies I have found is by Michael Sayer of London's King's College completed in 2008. He found that "high level thinking skills" of 14 year olds in 2008 were EQUAL to those of 12 year olds in 1976. In another study he concluded that 11 year olds today were 3 years behind those tested in 1975. He believes that most of the downturn has occurred in the past 10-15 years.

This contradicts most league tables which show results increasing - I know which results I believe. The problem is for both boys and girls - it’s just worse for boys. The educational toys and games that on our site were chosen because they develop the higher level skills such as problem solving, logical thinking and spatial reasoning.

My advice is to have fewer toys, choose more fun educational toys and games and start them young. Starting young means it is easier to make neural connections and you make more of them - you have fun at the same time.