Playing with magnets: the attraction for your child

by Joost Nusselder Updated on: October 24, 2023

Magnetism is a physical force. The ability to cause attraction and repulsion with other objects.

Magnetic toys are STEM toys because of the physics aspects. This attraction and repulsion makes it so interesting for children to experiment with. It's a strange feeling that you don't find with any other materials.

In this article I discuss what magnetism is and what makes it so much fun for your child to experiment with.

The most well-known effects occur in ferromagnetic materials, which are strongly attracted to magnetic fields and can be magnetized to become permanent magnets, producing magnetic fields themselves.

Only a few substances are ferromagnetic including:

• iron
• cobalt
• nickel
• neodymium (less common and more expensive)
• and samarium

The prefix ferro- refers to iron, because permanent magnetism was first observed in magnetite, a form of natural iron ore called magnetite.

It is also possible to demagnetize a magnet, which in turn offers interesting possibilities for physics experiments.

From toddler to toddler activity book collection

Educational games and coloring pages for 3 to 6 years

Your toddler and preschooler will love this e-book, along with the accompanying printables. He or she can play with it at every stage of development, together with mom and dad.

Buy at Bol.com

What makes magnetic toys fun?

The possibilities are endless. There are no limits to creativity, let your kids experiment with magnetic toys!

You can choose to start small and therefore purchase a slightly smaller set.

If you find that your child is fascinated by the effect of magnets, you could purchase a larger set later. Find one with a theme that appeals to your child!

Children learn to discover the secret of magnetism; they learn all about magnetic force, attraction and repulsion. While building, a child learns to use both hands so that they work well together.

Perfect for training hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills! A child also learns to recognize shapes, colors, and play together. They can let their imagination run wild.

By the way, playing is also important for adults, but instead of 'playing', adults are more likely to talk about 'leisure activities': something someone likes to do in his or her free time.

Doing fun things is necessary to continue to function healthily and to occasionally escape from those stressful working days and I genuinely enjoyed playing with my son with magnetic toysbecause you can make so many fun and crazy constructions with it :)

This way you can easily explain when a magnet attracts another object.

To further explain magnetism, you can start by saying that a magnet has 2 sides, a positive and a negative one and that these opposite sides attract each other.

Which play materials are good to use with magnets?

With magnets you can perform fun activities and experiments with various materials. Metal reacts strongly to magnets and offers opportunities for fun magnetic games.

Additionally, you can integrate magnets into paper, cardboard, wood, fabric and plastic to create creative craft projects and educational activities. For example, magnets work through plastic. The use of magnets with different play materials opens the door to various interactive possibilities.

Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.