Toys for Young Children

Any parent who has watched their toddler play with a box, or a wooden spoon and saucepan, can attest to the joy to be found in simple items. This feeling contrasts with the concern many parents feel as they watch their school-aged child stare into a screen as they spend far too long playing a game or passively watching a video . It's no surprise, then, that the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently released a reminder of the importance -- and joys -- of simple play in the development of children.

This Clinical Report, Selecting Appropriate Toys for Young Children in the Digital Era, was designed to guide pediatricians in speaking with parents, but contains important research findings and recommendations that parents will find helpful as well. The authors of the Report include Dr. Alan L. Mendelsohn, FAAP, who, like Dr. Yellin, is a member of the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, at New York University School of Medicine.

The report notes the importance of imaginative play, problem solving, and physical activity and especially supports the use of "guided play", where children use toys as part of an interaction with their caregiver. This can build social skills and language in a way that solitary play cannot.

Among other topics covered are the need to limit screen time. The Report notes, "there is presently no evidence to suggest that possible benefits of interactive media match those of active, creative, hands-on, and pretend play with more traditional toys."  The Report also discusses the need for toy safety, what to look for in toys for children with disabilities, and the importance of using books for pretend play. Especially in this season of gift giving, this Report is something parents should read, while incorporating its suggestions into their purchases and play with their children.

Toys for Learning and Development

In our last post we offered gift suggestions for teachers. Today we look at two sources for gifts for children with special learning needs. We hope you find these helpful as you do your holiday shopping!

Learning should and can be fun. Even if learning vulnerabilities exists, it is entirely possible to help develop your child’s skills in an engaging, play-based manner. Toys are an interactive, screen free way to develop and hone critical areas of child development. As a teacher, some of my favorite play-based learning materials came from Melissa and Doug and Plan Toys. This article primarily focuses on toys for special education purposes. However, it is important to note that all children will benefit from play-based developmental learning. So, although these resources are deemed effective for students with diverse learning needs, they will also be beneficial for the overall development of all children.

If you are looking to acquire play based learning materials for your home or classroom, the first resource to explore is Melissa and Doug, an award-winning American toy company that offers an array of toys designed for special needs students as well as typically developing children. The toys detailed in their special education section were selected from Melissa and Doug’s traditional toy line by Dr. Melissa Liguori, for parents and special educators to use develop their students’ unique skills. Melissa and Doug offers toys across a number of developmental categories, including, social and emotional, oral, gross and fine motor skills, cognitive skills, speech and language, life skills and sensory awareness. Beyond detailing each toy, each developmental skill category is also explained by Dr. Liguori and tips are offered on how to implement and utilize the resources available. For an even deeper analysis and more robust skill building tips I found that as an educator the Melissa and Doug Special Needs Toy Guide was an invaluable resource.

Your next resource to explore is Plan Toys, another award winning toy company that prides itself on designing green, sustainable and safe wooden toys for young children. On the Plan Toys website you will find listings of toys that promote learning across different key areas of child development. Many of the categories are similar to Melissa and Doug, and unlike the former there isn’t any additional material on how to implement the resources. However, the materials that Plan toys offers that I have found to be valuable are a variety of their toys for concentration, their sign language alphabet tiles, their braille alphabet tiles and their mood memo toy for helping express emotions.

Learning is fun, and it doesn’t have to look like traditional pencil and paper work. There are a variety of resources and methods to promote skill development while playing. Enjoy exploring all the alternative learning materials available.

Goldie Blox Makes Engineering Accessible for Girls

During her time at Stanford, Debbie Sterling, an engineering student, couldn't help but notice that she and her female peers were vastly outnumbered. Most other women just didn't seem to be interested in engineering, and her classes were dominated by men. Out in the workplace, the statistics were equally grim: Sterling learned that 89% of engineering positions were held by men. Sterling had a hunch that capturing girls’ interest in building through toys that develop spatial skills might lead more girls to become interested in technical fields down the road. She began to do some research and discovered that while boys tend to demonstrate an interest in building things, girls tend to like books and stories. Sterling decided to combine the two ideas, and Goldie Blox was born.

Each Goldie Blox set contains a toolkit and a book starring Goldie, a girl who loves to build. Girls read the book and build along with Goldie as she strives to build a simple machine to help her dog Nacho, who loves to chase his tail. From this basic idea, Goldie (followed by her avid reader) expands on the machine until all of Goldie’s friends are in on the action, too. The story prompts girls to experiment with the included crank and axles as they work to build a belt drive, all brought to life by the fun, zany plot in the book.

Goldie Blox

This Parents’ Choice Award-winning toy, best for girls ages six and up, is available in stores or from the Goldie Blox website. The concept is new and so far there is only one set available, but with publications like The Atlantic, NBC, Forbes, Time, Wired, Parenting, and The Huffington Post covering Goldie, it seems reasonable to look for sequels in which Goldie will put her engineering mind to work in other adventures.

You go, girls!