Hobbies And Interests
Touch
One of the most effective ways of telling the difference between educational and developmental toys is the feel of the toy. Toys meant for development will often have multiple textured surfaces or plush surfaces constructed of several fabrics. Developmental toys also tend to have soft, rounded corners. Educational toys will often be made of strong plastic or other durable materials to withstand a toddler's heavy usage. Toys meant for education will be more focused on handling the toy for a more elaborate purpose.
Appearance
Educational toys are often much more complex than developmental toys. Developmental toys may have mirrors and simple buttons to press to create sounds. Educational toys will often have multiple complex parts that toddlers need to utilize to achieve a particular problem-solving goal, such as using a net to catch bugs for a bug box. Developmental toys are often much more straightforward, such as pressing a button to make a sound or placing objects in pockets.
Sound
Developmental toys will often produce simplistic tunes and noises or no sound at all. Often, the sounds produced by developmental toys will be conditional to pressing a button or simply ambient sound for the child to relax by. Educational toys will often have complicated soundtracks, often with linguistics or some form of dialogue. Sounds for educational toys are also much more complex and may even request the child to identify certain sounds.
Interaction
While interaction can be a hard thing to discern, it is important to remember that developmental toys are for developing the way the mind perceives the world, while educational toys are to teach things about that world. For example, a mobile with brightly colored animals and gentle music helps form a child's ability to see and hear. An electronic reader assists a child in using her newly developed sight and hearing to learn how to read.