Remember when you got the big flashy toy? And the box it came in was much more fun to play with, right?
Simpler just might be better, say two child development experts.
“Old-fashioned inexpensive retro toys, such as red rubber balls, simple building blocks, clay and crayons, that don’t cost so much and are usually hidden in the back shelves are generally healthier for children than the electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes and cost $89.99,” says developmental psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek.
Children are creative problem solvers. They’re discoverers. They’re active, says Hirsh-Pasek, co-director of the Temple University Infant Lab.
“Your child gets to build his or her imagination around these simpler, more inexpensive toys; the toys don’t command what your child does, but your child commands what the toys do,” she says.
As Roberta Golinkoff, head of the Infant Language Project at the University of Delaware says, “Electronic educational toys boast brain development and that they are going to give your child a head start. But developmental psychologists know that it doesn’t really work this way. The toy manufacturers are playing on parents’ fears that our children will be left behind in this global marketplace.”
Toys That Make Kids Think
Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, co-authors of Einstein Never Used Flashcards, offer parents the following advice, guidelines, and questions to ask themselves when choosing the proper toys for their young children:
Look for a toy that is 10% toy and 90% child. “A lot of these toys direct the play activity of our children by talking to them, singing to them, asking them to press buttons and levers,” Hirsh-Pasek says. “But our children like to figure out what is going on by themselves.”
Toys are meant to be platforms for play. “Toys should be props for a child’s playing, not engineering or directing the child’s play,” Golinkoff adds. “Toys must awaken the child’s imagination and uniqueness.”
How much can you do with it? “If it’s a toy that asks your child to supply one thing, such as fill-in-the-blank or give one right answer, it is not allowing children to express their creativity,” says Hirsh-Pasek. “I look for something that they can take apart and remake or reassemble into something different, which builds their imagination.”
Does the toy promise brain growth? “If the toy is promising that your child is going to be smarter, it’s a red flag,” says Hirsh-Pasek.
Does the toy encourage social interaction? “It is fine for your child to have alone time, but it is great for them to be with others,” says Golinkoff. “I always look to see if more than one child can play with the toy at the same time because that’s when kids learn the negotiation skills they need to be successful in life.”
Does the toy have staying power? “Is the toy or the box more interesting?” asks Hirsh-Pasek. “If a toy is good, children revisit it again and again. If it’s not, the box will be more exciting than the toy.” |
