Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 19, 1993 TAG: 9311190340
SECTION: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PAGE: HGG-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BECKY HEPLER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
However, if there are particular lessons you want your child to learn, there are particular toys you need to stock beneath the Christmas tree.
Shirley Hammond, owner of Imagination Station in Blacksburg, has studied child development and is a mother, giving her pretty authentic credentials and the insight to know how to fill her toy store. She said that we have to think in terms of what kinds of adults we are trying to produce in our children.
"If you want a creative problem solver, someone who is self-confident and flexible, " she said, "and I do believe that's where our society is headed, you need to pick the toys that encourage those kinds of qualities."
Hammond said parents need to keep three questions in mind in choosing a toy:
Is the toy open-ended?
Is the toy appropriate for the child's age?
Does the toy empower the child?
An open-ended toy is one that can be used in many different ways. If a toy can only be used in one manner, a child will grow bored with the toy and go on to find something else that will fully hold his attention.
You've seen this in the kitchen, where a toddler will use the same pan to make a drum, a hat, a bed for a doll and a garage for a toy car.
Toys that encourage a child to stretch her imagination like this are open-ended.
Blocks are an excellent example of an open-ended toy. Hammond called blocks " . . . 10 percent toy and 90 percent child. They engage the child, not just amuse him."
Whether it's the classic wooden block or the plastic building block in the larger toddler sizes as well as the smaller older child sizes, these are toys that will keep your child occupied in creative play for a long time.
Developmentally speaking, most 3-year olds are good candidates for blocks because they are beginning to get a sense of building opportunities.
However, the soft cloth blocks can entertain an infant and even 2-year olds recognize the stacking possibilities.
For parents who might recoil at the thought of trying to keep picked up all those little pieces, Hammond reassured them with the thought that these are toys that will be used by the child over several years and that she will use them in concert with her other toys, like those simple wooden train sets that the child lays out to suit herself.
"If there is any clutter in the toy chest, it's all those toys the child doesn't play with, that are just taking up space and getting under foot," she said.
Art supplies are another good open-ended idea. Anytime a child is creating something, such as a painting, a drawing, a model from clay, he is using imagination and is free to explore the possibilities of the materials.
The appropriateness of a toy has two components, safety and frustration. If a toy is appropriate for an age, it will be safe for the child to use it. This is an important distinction.
Many toys that are listed as unsafe for 2-year olds are okay for 3-year olds because the child has gotten beyond the compulsion to put everything in her mouth.
So, checking the age limits listed by the toy manufacturer is a habit a parent must develop when toy shopping for a child. But beyond that, there is the need to check other aspects. If the toy is painted, is the paint lead-free? Are there any loose parts or jagged edges that can be swallowed or can cut? if it's an electric toy, is the product UL listed and are all the wires unbroken and in good condition? Are there any small parts that could get lodged in the windpipe and cause choking?
A toy is inappropriate if a child becomes frustrated or bored with it, another good reason for checking the listed age on a toy, although these ages are only approximations and the ultimate test is, does your child like it?
A child frustrated with a toy could come to avoid it, even when he gets to an age he might have enjoyed it had it not been for this disappointing experience with it.
"I think what happens is that parents think back to when they were kids and what they enjoyed, for example, a train set," Hammond said.
"So the parents buy their 2-year-old an electric train set and then wonder why the child doesn't like it. The fact is, we really don't remember much before we're 5 or 6, so we may think we played with trains when we were younger but we didn't."
The final question, does the toy empower the child to feel self-confident, builds on this frustration issue. A child who plays with a toy the "wrong way" and thus is unable to make the toy do what she wants it to do will not build any self-confidence, but will be discouraged.
Hammond used the example of giving a young child art supplies and plain paper rather than coloring books, because he is free to create and to explore the way paint and colors act and react to each other.
The coloring book, on the other hand, imposes "lines" and constraints on a child that is developmentally unable to stay within the lines, thus making the child feel bad about himself because he couldn't stay within the lines.
As a child gets older, the toys you buy can become more complex, but the same principles of flexibility, safety and confidence building continue to apply. Instead of building blocks, buy your 9-year-old an erector set.
Art supplies continue to be a creative gift, as are musical instruments. Try the mosaic coloring books that allow the child to create a colorful design.
Dramatic play catches their attention, so stock up on puppets, or props such as a collection of hats or a stick horse they can use themselves.
Dollhouses and magic shows all allow children to try on many different roles in the name of play.
Once a child is in school, there is pressure to make every minute meaningful.
Hammond said there were computer and video games that teach as well as entertain, such as GeoSafari ) or "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego?" and the whole family can enjoy them. Science kits are a classic and are totally safe these days.
Puzzles such as Back Spin and Spin Out, that challenge children to use a different perspective, are always a good bet, as are brainteasers such as chess, or board games that encourage creative problem solving.
In their zeal to do the right thing for their children, parents must be careful to not overlook a very important fact.
A toy can't teach if a child won't play with it, but forcing a child to "play" with something that doesn't interest her is equally pointless. The goal in play is to have the child absorbed in the process of play because he or she wants to do it.
by CNB