The Changing World of Toys and Toy Play by David Elkind
This article appeared in the November/December 2005 issue of Exchange.
 Sometimes when I read an article I am struck by a particular sentence and this is the case with this article.
“Comforting toys of wood, cotton, and wool are now made of synthetic materials.”
I don’t believe I ever thought of why I liked wooden/natural toys. If anything, I liked them purely becuase they were in direct contrast with the plastic technology driven toys being sold in most big box stores. David Elkind makes the case that too many of these technology driven, synthetic toys, deny children the joy of interaction.
I admit, I give my children toys just becuase I find them “cool”. However, I am pledging to cut back on these extra purchases. I do have trouble passing up a good find when at a yard sale but I will do my best to avoid these extra purchases beacuase I know that children can be the most creative when given “nothing” to play with. A very wise friend of mine who ran a co-operative school, said ,”children are the most creative when they have nothing to play with.” I have experienced this statement for myself, my own daughter can be very creative with twigs, rocks and nuts that she finds on the ground.
If children don’t really need toys to play, than what do they need? Well, it isn’t so much that children don’t need any toys but they do need toys that are age appropriate, open ended and safe.
I created the following guide to choosing appropriate toys.
Toy Guideline
Posted on January 5th, 2007 by karen
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