Retail Stores @ 118 Maling Rd Canterbury (Near Canterbury Train Station) Open Monday-Saturday 9:30am-5pm Call 130 000 3126 | Chadstone Shopping Centre (near Baby Bunting )
Retail Stores @ 118 Maling Rd Canterbury (Near Canterbury Train Station) Open Monday-Saturday 9:30am-5pm Call 130 000 3126 | Chadstone Shopping Centre (near Baby Bunting )
As a primary school teacher with over a decade in the classroom — and a mum to a curious five-year-old at home — I’ve spent countless hours evaluating toys not just for fun, but for learning impact. In recent years, the concept of executive function skills has become an increasingly important lens through which I assess play.
Executive function skills — such as inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning and self-regulation — are the invisible foundations of successful learning and everyday life. They’re the skills that help a child follow instructions, shift between tasks, stay organised, and think before acting.
So when I came across Fat Brain Toys, I was genuinely excited. Not for the bright colours or quirky shapes (although there’s plenty of that), but because the design philosophy behind these toys mirrors how the brain learns. Over time, observing my students and my own child interact with these toys, I’ve come to see them as some of the best executive function toys and educational toys on the market.
Before diving into specific toys, it’s worth briefly defining what we mean by executive function skills — and why they’re so critical.
At its core, executive function is the brain’s control centre. It’s what allows children to:
Plan and organise their actions towards a goal.
Hold and manipulate information (working memory).
Switch tasks or adapt when plans change (cognitive flexibility).
Control impulsive behaviour and stay focused (inhibition).
Self-monitor and regulate emotions and behaviour.
Strong executive function skills are linked to academic success, emotional resilience, and positive social interactions — yet they aren’t innate. They develop with experience, challenge and intentional play.
I first encountered Fat Brain Toys in a professional development workshop that emphasised play-based learning. My colleagues — both teachers and occupational therapists — raved about how these toys naturally encourage problem-solving, persistence and focus.
At first glance, the toys are vibrant and engaging (which is essential for capturing a child’s attention). But it’s the thinking required to use them successfully that makes them real standouts as executive function toys.
Whether it’s manipulating shapes, predicting movement, adjusting to feedback or sequencing actions, these toys demand thoughtful engagement — the exactly kind of challenge that builds executive capacity.
Here’s where things get real. I’ve had the joy of watching my own child — a busy preschooler — interact with these toys in ways that surprise even me.
The Air Toobz set became an instant favourite at home. My kid adored watching scarves whoosh through the tubes… at first. But pretty quickly, play shifted from passive observation to active experimentation.
Rather than just launch and watch, he started to:
Predict where the scarf would exit.
Adjust tube angles if it didn’t reach the target.
Problem-solve when the airflow slowed.
This is working memory and cognitive flexibility in action — testing a hypothesis, evaluating outcomes, and adjusting strategy.
What surprises many parents is how quietly complex the learning feels. My son thinks he’s “just playing”, but he’s constantly monitoring cause and effect, planning adjustments, and focusing attention to reach a goal.
Another favourite at home and in class is the Tobbles Neo. On the surface, it’s a stacking toy. But as an educator, I see something deeper.
Children quickly learn they can’t just plonk pieces anywhere — they have to:
Strategise the order of stacking.
Predict how their choice affects balance.
Stay patient as they adjust small differences to avoid a toppling tower.
The calm concentration I’ve seen around this toy is remarkable — even in students who usually struggle to sit still. It’s a gentle way to practise inhibition (stopping impulsive stacking) and working memory (remembering balance patterns from previous tries).
There’s a real buzz whenever my students get access to a block and ball run set. As an educator, I often observe:
Collaborative planning (“Let’s build the path together!”)
Role assignment (“You place the blocks, I hold the connectors”)
Heuristic play — planning, testing, adjusting, repeating
Children learn to cope with frustration when a track collapses, to communicate ideas clearly, and to adapt their plans — all hallmarks of strong executive function.
At home, this has become a shared family challenge — pacifying sibling rivalry and encouraging teamwork.
From both classroom observation and home play, a few common threads stand out:
Unlike single-solution puzzles, Fat Brain Toys rarely have one “correct” outcome. This means:
Children must plan and choose their own strategies
They learn to tolerate uncertainty and experiment
Play becomes richer and more personalised
Open-ended toys like this are some of the most effective educational toys for deeper learning.
Kids don’t need instructions to know when something isn’t working — the toy tells them. A falling tower, a scarf stuck in a tube, or a ball that doesn’t roll the way they predicted all provide immediate feedback.
This teaches children to:
Pause and reflect
Adjust their actions
Try new approaches
These behaviours underpin strong executive function.
Executive function isn’t just internal — it’s also social. When children build together, they practise:
Sharing resources
Negotiating roles
Explaining thinking
Compromising and collaborating
These are everyday life skills, and they’re perfected through rich, playful interactions.
Here are practical ways I encourage deep learning with toys like these:
Instead of “Did you finish?”, try:
👉 “What will you do next?”
👉 “What do you think will happen if we change this?”
This develops reflection and planning.
“Fantastic design!” or “You showed real patience” is more effective than “Good job!”
This encourages persistence and resilience.
Simple tasks like “Can you make the scarf go through the longest path?” create purposeful play without limiting creativity.
It’s okay for kids to struggle — that’s where the learning happens. What matters is supporting them through it, not rescuing them instantly.
As both a teacher and a parent, I value toys that work quietly in the background — strengthening cognitive skills without feeling like “work”. Fat Brain Toys have been some of the most reliable tools I’ve found for building executive function through meaningful, joyful play.
These toys are far more than pretty colours and durable plastic — they’re invitations to think, focus, experiment and grow. And in a world that demands more self-control and creative thinking than ever before, that’s a gift worth investing in.