Posted on 11/24/2007 11:18:46 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
WASHINGTON: Psychologists at the Temple University have revealed that old-fashioned toys allow children to experiment with their imagination and creativity, thus proving much healthier for them.
Researchers think that simpler toys like rubber balls and building blocks are healthier for the creative development of the child, as compared to expensive electronic gizmos.
"Old-fashioned 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 usually much healthier for children than the electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes and cost $89.99," said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University developmental psychologist, the Lefkowitz Professor of Psychology at Temple and co-director of the Temple University Infant Lab.
She said that the overreaching principle is that the children are active creative problem-solvers and discoverers. "Your child gets to build his or her imagination around these simpler toys; the toys don't command what your child does, but your child commands what the toys do," she said.
Roberta Golinkoff, head of the Infant Language Project at the University of Delaware said, "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."
"Kids are not like empty vessels to be filled. If they play with toys that allow them to be explorers, they are more likely to learn important lessons about how to master their world," she added.
Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, co-authors of Einstein Never Used Flashcards, have offered parents the advice, guidelines, and questions to ask themselves when choosing the proper toys for their young children.
"This advice is not about marketing, but about what we know from 30 years of child psychology about how children learn and how they grow," said Hirsh-Pasek.
Golinkoff added, "The irony is that the real educational toys are not the flashy gadgets and gizmos with big promises, but the staples that have built creative thinkers for decades.”
I always laugh when parents buy fancy electronic gizmos for toddlers and the little tykes play with the box instead of the gizmo!
Rocket Science Mentality Ping.
Less lead is always good.
Thanks for posting this- just sent it to my daughter-in-law :) (I’m not a subtle grandmother!)
The elusive obvious, a learning tool does not always come with batteries required.
Simple linkin logs can teach spacial relationships, creative thinking, and can be chewed on....
Heck with all the fancy electronic gizmos, gimmie back my Jarts.
Let’s see, there are also games such as Jacks, jump rope, board games, Phase Ten, Dominos, unrevised history books on our founding fathers, and the classics.
This isn’t good news for “baby einstein”
The best part about wrapping presents are the sword fights with the empty paper tubes....who needs toys.
Yup! and they make great “durder’s”
Place one end to the mouth and “durt durder!!”
Buy them a BB gun.
A rock and a stick in every child’s Christmas stocking!
“Lincoln Log / Lego” BUMP
Tinker Toys come to mind also.
And also adds a Darwinian element to this phase of their life, thus ensuring that only the strongest and smartest children will emerge...
Got my son a BB gun when he was 8. Taught him about safety, what he can shoot, what he can’t, etc, etc.
Other parents in the neighborhood were aghast when they heard about what he got for Christmas.
He’s 11 now. Never shot an eye out, never shot a bird or a window, and he only target shoots cans in the backyard when he’s bored or wants to blow off some steam.
This is usually a solo sport for him when he wants to blow off steam (but sometimes with Dad), and he keeps the gun up on the wall over his bed (in case we are attacked by Black Bart).
He tells me he would never think of letting his friends shoot with him, because they (his friends) just wouldn’t be mature enough to behave properly.
Funny how that works, eh?
Au contraire.... A bit more lead in the pencil is far better then little or no lead at all.
The lead in toys scare is almost as stupid as Gorebal warming.
All of us over 40 grew up with lead in everything from house paint to gasoline.
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