I love to share advice and tips gleaned from my own experiences.

A lot of the toys and books designed for children are created to be interactive and used as a learning tool. Many of them—like the Leapfrog Laptop, The Early Education Baby Xylophone and the World of Eric Carle, Around the Farm sound book—are good toys but the downside is that they can be loud and noisy.

This isn't a bad thing, but what if you want a toy or book that isn’t noisy but is also as fun and educational as these are? There are lots of different toys on the market like this so trying to find ones that fit the need of the child and the parent can be time consuming.

This is a list of five children's toys and books that don't make any noise, are a little bit educational and are lots of fun. The only noise you should hear from the child is them talking or laughing while they are playing with them.

Five Great Quiet Toys for Kids

The five items mentioned are:

1. Fingerprint Activity Books
2. Little People, Big Dreams Books
3. Kids: My Calendar
4. Kinetic Sand
5. Water Coloring Books

There are many different versions of these items available, so they can vary in regards to pricing. That also means that there is an option to suit most people's budget.

Two of these items (the Little People, Big Dreams books and the kinetic sand) are one of a kind, but the other items all have dupes that are similar to them. So the option is there to try one version before investing in an expensive version.

Sometimes it might not be such a bad idea to give these as a present to a child so that mom, dad or the child's guardian can have at least one quiet evening at home without noise.

A report released by The NPD Group saw 2019 sales in the toys industry decrease 3% in the United States, increase 5% in Russia and increase 3% in Germany and 2% in Brazil.

1. Fingerprint Activity Books

The first book that is really good for children is the Fingerprint Activities Book by Fiona Watt. This book has pictures that the child colors in using the tiny ink pad attached to the side of the book. The idea behind this book is that the child paints the book with their fingertips.

The child presses their fingertips onto the pad, to transfer the ink to their fingertips. They then color in the book using their fingertips instead of using a paint brush. You can wipe the paint off their fingers with a damp cloth.

The book comes in a range of themes. The author has released a few books in this range like one on animals, another on bugs and dinosaurs. She also has a book based on things living under the sea, one about Christmas and one also based around the garden.

There are other authors who do similar types of books like Sam Taplin and Klutz Ends.

Similar Style Coloring Books by Other Authors

2. Little People, Big Dreams Books

This next children's book is from an author named Maria Isabel Sánchez. She does a range of educational books that are titled Little People, Big Dreams.

Each book revolves around a different person from history, people who have contributed positively to today's society and finally book sets related to people from a specific industry.

Each book tells a story in a child friendly manner using pictures and words to teach the child about this person.

It’s a great way to start teaching children early on about people from history that have made a big contribution to society. As well as focusing on people from the past, she has also focused on famous musicians like Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton.

She has released a lot of titles in this range which include Little People, Big Dreams: Woman in Science, Woman in Art, Maya Angelou, Frida Kahlo, David Attenborough and Muhammed Ali.

Range of Books in the "Little People, Big Dreams" Series

According to The Bookseller.com, over 1.5 million copies of the Little People, Big Dreams series has been read since its 2016 release.

3. Kids: My Calendar

The next item is more like an educational tool but it could be considered a toy as its aim is to teach a child about various things. These calendars are interactive and educational and are used to teach children how to learn the time, their numbers, and the days of the week, the months and the seasons.

All the manufacturers of these calendars provide sets of stickers that are either magnetic or velcro that attach to the calendar in the relevant section.

These calendars also come in different sizes and different designs, so depending on where it will be hung there is one to suit a wall or even a fridge. The best place to hang them would be on the wall of a child's bedroom.

There are many brands who sell different version of these calendars like Fridge Magic who makes one you can put on your fridge. Fiesta Crafts also sells a similar calendar but theirs is made from cloth which could suit younger children.

So there a variety available that will suit any space.

Other Versions of Kids' Calendars

4. Kinetic Sand

Kinetic sand is sand that never dries out. It's made from 98% sand and 2% Polymers. You can purchase it separately in one, two and three pound bags. But the option is there to buy a set which includes 2 pounds of sand, a box, some moulds, a bucket and a shovel.

All that is required is some kind of tray or sand box to keep the sand contained in one area.

The sand remains wet throughout its entirety and it never dries. This means that a child can have hours of fun making sand castles in their own back garden or at the kitchen table.

At the moment it seems like Kinetic sand is only manufactured by one company, Kinetic Sand.

One warning that is on the box is that the sand is not supposed to get wet as this will destroy the chemical makeup. If it does accidentally get wet, they suggest setting it somewhere warm to dry. But with the prices they charge, it is better to avoid getting it wet if possible.

Type of Kinetic Sand Sets Available

5. Water Coloring Books

These coloring books are a little bit different to normal coloring books. First of all you don't color in the coloring book with markers or colouring pencils. Instead you paint the coloring book in with a water pen.

You fill the pen with water and this is what is used to color in the pages of the coloring book. When a page of the coloring book gets painted with the water brush, an image suddenly begins to appear on the page.

Obviously the book pages will now be wet, so you need to let them dry before storing it. But once it dries out, the images disappear and the child can reuse the book again and again.

There are different brands on the market like Galt and Melissa & Doug. There are also coloring books with different themes ranging from unicorns, to safari, to farm animals and even dinosaurs. So there is a book to suit each child's interests.

Other Brands of Water Coloring Books

Conclusion

This is only a list of five toys and books; there are many more children's toys and books on the market that again are educational but silent. Obviously some of these toys would require parental supervision or in the case of the books the assistance of mom or dad.

But unlike the toy laptops and the toy cellphones, these toys can be used collectively by siblings or as a family.

It's good to know that there are other toys manufacturers out there that produce silent toys. You just have to a lot of looking around to find them.

© 2020 Sp Greaney

Comments

Sp Greaney (author) from Ireland on June 26, 2020:

@ Liz Westwood, there has probably been similiar versions like these that have around over the years. Yes I noticed that too. It's like they aim to create a toy with as much light and noise as possible.

These are probably most suited to children aged 4 and above.

Liz Westwood from UK on June 26, 2020:

I recall using water on a paintbrush to reveal a picture. These are interesting ideas. What age ranges do they cover? A lot of noisy toys I come across are for the 0-18months age groups.

Sp Greaney (author) from Ireland on June 24, 2020:

@Vera Karimova, I'm not surprised. I think the quarantine lead to some unpredictable trends.

That's a great idea and I think that sometimes these type of toys are better than the tech toys.

Vera Karimova from Ho Chi Minh City on June 24, 2020:

There was a tendency predicted for the toy market slur after the quarantine bulk buys of toys and puzzles.

My favorite choice of activity for my son is busyboard. It can be either quiet or loud, depending on what you use.

Sp Greaney (author) from Ireland on June 24, 2020:

@Liza, thank you. Both of those options are also good choices. Here sticker books never go out of fashion as some kids show or films bring one out for children during the year.

Liza from USA on June 23, 2020:

Recently, I bought coloring books and animal sticker books for my nieces and nephew. The report caught my attention about toy sales decreased in the US. I wonder why. Voted. I have to share the list with my sister. Thanks for sharing!