Choosing
Toys and their Role in Special Playtime
Children
have an abundance of toys these days. Have
you ever wondered how your children ended up with so many toys that they never
play with? Toy stores offer so many options that making decisions about what to
purchase can be overwhelming. Often your children’s wishes or desires are developed
based on clever marketing strategies rather than their true interests. But
there is a guiding principal that can support parents in making decisions and
it is simply this. Good toys help children to do the work of childhood, PLAY. Good
toys support imaginative play, offer opportunities for practicing relationships
and permit children to be themselves.
The toys of
a special playtime kit are specifically chosen to facilitate a unique type of
play that is nondirective and creates opportunity for children to communicate
their thoughts, feelings and experiences. A toy kit for special playtime
includes only toys that give children the ‘words’ they need to express a wide
range of emotions. It is important that these toys are nondescript meaning that
they are available to the child for whatever the child may wish to use them
for. Characters from a popular television show or kits that are intended to be
put together a certain way are highly suggestive and distract from a child’s
imaginative play.
When putting
together a toys kit for special play time I recommend that parents include toys
from the following categories: expressive arts, family relationships,
aggression and control, caretaking and nurturing, mastery, communication and
transportation. A special playtime kit includes toys that allow children to
explore relationships such as a doll house and family characters, a baby doll with
blanket and bottle. A real life baby bottle with some water in it offers
opportunities for regression within the context of play. A medical kit is an
excellent opportunity for children to express the give and take of caretaking
relationships. Toys such as army men, handcuffs, swords and aggressive animals
allow children to explore any aggressive feelings and desire for control.
Children can explore their feelings around food and mealtimes by using toy
dishes and food. Creative expression can be found in some simple arts and
crafts materials such as paper, scissors, tape, crayons, string and paper bags.
Children can play ideas of connection between their different worlds or
experiences through toy cars, trains, airplanes, etc. Having two phones in the
toy kit encourages communication play and allows some great insight into how
our children perceive the conversations they overhear us having. Mastery experiences
are provided through building and connecting toys that are not suggesting any
particular end product. Parents can be creative in how they put together the
kit and can add items that will allow their child a specific type of
communication that is unique to their experiences. Your efforts in creating this unique toy kit
will be rewarded when you hear the communication in your child’s play that
allows you a glimpse into their inner world.
Happy Playing!!
1 comment:
Every parent should take into account a toy's significance in their child's overall growth and development. Some toys are meant to augment a kid's logical skills. Others are epitomes of nurturing. It should be clear to parents that at a young age, our children's development will likely be affected directly or indirectly by what they experience in their surroundings. Toys give value—so, we as parents might as well be careful when we buy our children's toys or presents. :)
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