Playtime Unplugged
Children who love playing with the satin tags on blankets or stuffed animals will love Taggies, a company that makes a variety of playthings covered in tags.
By ERIN ESMONT
For Smart
Fifi Spangler’s educational philosophy reverberates off the walls of the York Jewish Community Center five days a week.
The noise of children playing is just that — the noise of children playing: the clanking of wooden blocks or toy train pieces, the chatter of a child talking to her baby doll, the collision of play cars.
There’s no electronic gadgetry whirring. No talking dolls, no battery-operated beeping toys, no fancy learning systems with handheld styluses. No computers. No TVs. No DVDs.
Spangler, director of the JCC’s Early Childhood programs, won’t allow it.
There’s been the occasional teacher who’s tried to smuggle in the latest in electronic play, but Spangler’s been able to short circuit those attempts.
In her admittedly biased opinion of electronic playthings, she concludes: “It’s kind of a useless toy at best, damaging at worst.”
That’s a pretty harsh assessment in an ever-growing electronic age, when companies market the latest in products aimed at producing baby geniuses, and parents snatch up toys designed to give their little ones an edge.
“The marketing has a tremendous effect,’’ she said. “It hits parents hard — they could be losing an opportunity to have a smarter kid.”
When it comes to the youngest learners — infants and toddlers — child development experts recommend simple, basic toys that put the child in charge.
Sukhdeep Gill, assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State York, believes playtime with this age group comes down to safe toys that actively engage the child — soft balls, cloth books, items the child can see, touch, hear and taste.
“The best toys for infants and toddlers are the ones that cater to these senses,” Gill said.
These types of playthings develop sensory and motor skills, she said. “Can they touch it? Squeeze it? Manipulate it? Reach out to it?”
Sometimes, the best play sessions between parent and child involve no toys at all.
“They like human faces more than anything,” Gill said. “And a smiling face is the best of all.”
Peek-a-Boo, a game where adults cover their faces with their hands and then open them up, is a favorite. Gill said it’s a basic form of conversation between a baby and an adult. There’s a give and take, plus babies come to realize that even though the parent has gone away (by cover-ing her face), she’ll be coming right back.
Parents need to be aware that children have extremely short attention spans, so play sessions should remain brief. It’s important to time play sessions for when a child is fed, rested, alert and not overly tired.
When buying toys, evaluate how the child will interact with it. Does it require thinking skills? Does it engage the child in an active way? Or is it merely passive entertainment?
“Any toy that is going to make the child passive is not a good toy,” Gill said. She cites TV as the worst example of a passive activity for babies because they lack the eye coordination and focus needed to see at a distance.
Spangler believes that children, even babies, should be in control of their own play. They should be manipulating the toy, determining the sequence of events, seeing first-hand the cause and effect of their play.
Some electronic toys rob children of that control by requiring them to respond to electronic or musical prompts, she said. The toy directs the child, not the other way around.
Sit a toddler in front of a plastic milk jug with some clothespins, she said, and watch him learn.
He’ll figure out that the clothespin is small enough to fit into the larger jug opening. He’ll also quickly catch on to the sequence of events — first I put the clothespin in, then it falls to the bottom.
When a parent or teacher helps to identify and reinforce what’s happening — “Look, the clothespin is small enough to fit in the jug” — the child catches onto concepts faster, she said.
When a toddler plays with a doll, she is dressing it, feeding it, talking to it and practicing vocabulary routines. Playing with trains is a lesson in geometric configuration — how to build it, where to place the track. Playing with blocks is free-form play — there are different ways to position the blocks, but the toddler is learning about balance and symmetry. Playing with puzzles instills the concept that there is only one way the pieces will fit.
Rich Gordon has spent the past six years learning what toys appeal to children.
He left his job in the insurance industry and decided to open a specialty toy store, The Learning Express, a franchise in Exton, Pa., about 50 miles from York.
His children were 7 and 5 at the time, “prime toy-testers.“ As he watched his children and others come into the store and play, he came to the conclusion: “Give the right tools and let them create.“
Whether it’s dress-up clothes, or construction toys, or puzzles, children need playthings that ignite their imaginations. “We can provide them with toys with them not even knowing they’re learning,“ he said. “Those are the best toys.“
That also led to his decision to phase out most electronic toys, including Baby Einstein videos. He decided he didn’t want to contribute to toys that promote passivity. The electronic games he does carry are some Leapfrog products that require interaction from the child, and have self-correcting features so the child has to come up with the right answer.
Those who come into the store asking for PlayStation 3 leave disappointed. Gordon believes the media contributes to the frenzy surrounding video games and other must-have items that make it harder and harder for parents to resist.
“Parenting is not an easy job, and when children are constantly bombarding parents with requests for games and toys that breed inactivity, it’s very difficult for parents to say ‘No.' "
Childhood obesity is growing by leaps and bounds through the electronic age. It’s not a coincidence.“
PLAY THE DAY AWAY
Dr. Edgar Klugman, an expert in the area of children and play, identifies the different categories of play in his book, “Taking the High Road Toward a Definition of Play, Policy and Practice”:Functional Play: The child enjoys repetitive play with objects and gains motor and practice skills. Examples are dumping, filling, stacking, water play and outdoors play. Functional play characterizes infants and toddlers and, at age 3, constitutes 50 percent of a child’s play. Although functional play decreases as a child grows older, it remains important. Functional play can be either solitary or parallel (another child is involved in a similar activity at the same time). Children experience enjoyment, develop motor skills and achieve mastery through functional play.
Constructive Play: The child creates or makes something and solves problems. Examples are building with blocks; playing with arts, crafts and puppets; and doing puzzles. Approximately 50 percent of all activity for 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds is constructive play, and this type of play continues to be important through the primary grades. Children can play constructively alone as well as with others. This type of play develops thinking and reasoning skills, problem solving and creativity.
Pretend Play: Through pretend play, children transform themselves, others and objects from real into make-believe. Pretend play can be both a solitary and a group activity. It reaches its highest level at preschool and kindergarten age and becomes less important as a child grows older. Pretend play helps children process emotions and events in their lives, practice social skills, learn values, develop language skills and create a rich imagination.
Games with Rules Play: This play involves preset rules such as board games, ball games, chanting and skipping games. This type of play becomes dominant as children reach school age. Through this type of play, children learn and practice cooperation, mutual understanding and logical thinking.
SOURCE: “The Importance of Play,“ by Patricia Mikelson, president “Highlights-Jigsaw.“
TOYS TO CHECK OUTBest toys for babies
1. Taggies — Babies love to play with tags, so give them the ultimate sensory experience — a toy filled with tags. Available in balls, stuffed animals, etc. and stacking cups. ($24.99) www.learningexpress.com
2. Peek-A-Boo Blocks — Soft, colorful blocks with pop-up pals. ($9.99) www.target.com
3. Learn to Dress Bearemy — Zip, snap, button, tie — Dress a cuddly friend and practice fine motor skills. Ages 1-24 mos. ($14.99) www.learningexpress.com
Best Toys for Toddlers
1. Puzzles — Magnetic Animal Book — match the removable wooden pieces with their correct spot. Ages 2-plus ($14.99). www.fatbraintoys.com. Or, Pattern Block puzzles from Melissa & Doug, help with early color and pattern recognition. Ages 2-4. ($19.99)
2. Stuffed animals — any kind — helps with vocabulary skills and creative play. $7 and up www.toysrus.com
3. Dress-Up — Cast-off clothes of yours, hats, gloves, costume jewelry, old wallet, old suitcoat and tie.
4. Musical instruments — Simple instruments that let them experiment with sound while building fine motor skills. Band in a Box by Melissa & Doug Wooden Toys. Age: 3-plus. ($19.99). www.walmart.com
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