The Truth About Toys Only A Teacher Can Tell You
By Lisa Bradburn
My name is Lisa and I am a Toy Hunter. Yes, I’ve built a career and a business out of hunting down gifts for kids. I wanted to find the sort of presents you’re proud to give children, whether you’re a parent, relative or family friend. I found it so frustrating I was determined to make it easier for us all.
But before I became a Toy Hunter I was a teacher. And there’s a teacher’s secret to toys that I want to share with you because… I know, it will make the toys in your life – and your child’s life – so much better!
The Truth About Toys
Toys are such a crucial part of a child’s development. They can help develop emotions, social skills, imagination or values; build motor skills, dexterity and curiosity; they reinforce lessons, strengthen bonds and nurture creativity.
We all want to buy the right gift for a child, we hope that it will play one of these crucial roles and we want to find it easily and affordably. But how do you take a great toy and make sure it is and does all these things? These are my top tips on taking great toys and making them even better. Because the truth about toys is…
they’re only as good as the lessons they teach.
How to Make Great Toys Even Better
Back in my classroom days, toys, games and puzzles were (and still are) used widely in the classroom, especially with younger children, to allow them to learn, experiment and achieve. By planning and setting up an appropriate activity with a set of toys you can teach life lessons.
Let’s take the sandpit for example. Leave the kids with a random range of toys and you aren’t really teaching them much. Leave specific, connected or themed toys and you can direct the play towards development.
Buckets, spades and moulds can teach the different properties of dry sand and, by adding water, also the properties of wet sand. With this lesson in mind, that bucket and spade set you bought last summer becomes more than beach-side entertainment. It’s your child’s first science lesson. A lesson or goal when used in tandem with a toy increases its value tenfold.
When to intervene
Interacting and intervening with children at the right times is key to play being a worthwhile and educational activity. You’ll have heard the adage ‘presence not presents’. Well, it really does help take a toy to another level!
But there’s a contradiction here because too much adult intervention can prevent the child from getting ‘locked in’ to play. By that, I mean the magic moment when a child’s imagination takes hold and they’re in a world of their own.
This is very important. It’s at these times when children are able to establish their own values, decide on the intent of the play and improve their performance.
So, when do you intervene to make that toy ‘great’ and when do you leave kids alone?
Again, this goes back to the lesson you’re intending to teach.
If the focus of the day is imaginative play, then leave a child to play with a dinosaur and watch them set the world alight! (‘Quality not quantity’ at these times is never more true).
If you want to develop dexterity, take a ball and interact by playing a game of catch. One of my best selling toys is a ‘popper’ game that fires soft balls around the place. It’s great for developing aim and agility (it’s best to duck!) without the kids even knowing!
The list goes on: if you want to teach emotions get the crayons out and draw facial expressions, leading the child with requests for a happy face, an angry face and so on.
Toys are essential ingredients to child development and capable of far more than mere entertainment, but key to this is a clear goal and timely, appropriate interaction.
I’d love to hear how you’ve turned toys into lessons, and what you do to make them great.
Lisa Bradburn is the managing director of what2buy4kids – a place to find quality, unusual gifts for kids. Lisa built her business out of first-hand frustration at the lack of interesting and available gift ideas for children. Now, she hunts them down so you don’t have to and provides endless entertainment inspiration for children of all ages.
You can follow her on Twitter @what2buy4kids and Facebook at facebook.com/What2Buy4Kids
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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
I think it’s not just the toy but how you help a child play with it. Developing imaginative play is a simple skill every parent or teacher can learn
This is such an interesting post. I do sometimes feel a little guilty if I’m leave my children to play with their toys, without interacting. It’s good to know that it’s beneficial to do this from time to time!
Hi Nell, thanks for your comments and for being so honest. All I would suggest is to now and again observe your children when they are playing. It will be very rewarding (especially if they don’t think you are watching or listening).
I’d really like to take your comments and use them in a follow up blog. Would this be OK?
I do think the right toys can make all the difference 🙂
Great post. And also, toys are actually not always important, making do with what they can find to play with really feeds imaginations!
This is really interesting and useful as a nanny. I hadn’t really thought about expanding and challenging the use of toys other than what their initial purpose suggests. Great post,
Katie x
http://www.missenchanting.co.uk/
Hi Katie,
I’m really pleased you found the blog helpful. Try putting plastic dinosaurs in the sand for a completely different learning experience with the kids….
Lisa
Love the way you linked your past teaching experience to the review toy, well done!
I completely agree with toys being far more than just entertainment, kids learn so much from the right toys. I think it is also important to know which toys are best for free play and which ones need more supervision/direction to make the most of them x
Interesting post, thanks for sharing. Lot’s to think about to ensure they get the best out of all the stuff we buy them! x
My favourite kind of toys are open ended ones, like bricks, lego, playdough etc. Things that the children can take in lots of different directions and that can be used with lots of different themes.
I love watching my little one’s imagination come to life with whatever is to hand… a box, a stick, his own hand and a piece of fluff he found on the floor (oh to be that fascinated by a piece of fluff!!) but am also always looking for toys which can engage him in other ways. He is a very inquisitive little boy and so finding toys which enable him to explore new concepts is always fun but sometimes challenging. It’s good to know there are places to go where someone else has found toys they would recommend!
What an amazing job!
This is a great post and one I think I’ll look back on.
I love to sit and watch how the twins play with different toys when left to it.
What a great post, will be popping over to her site to have a look
We love toys that encourage imagination play
Toys can play such a vital role in education – it’s all in how you use them x
Interesting post. I believe a little of everything in equal measures so a decent toy but also a good book or film or forest or picnic, everything can be turned into a learning experience.
Hi Jenny, thank’s for your comment, I totally agree. It’s all about getting the right balance. The experiences kids get from a walk in the woods or a picnic in the park are just as important as a good educational toy.
Lisa
useful post as I work in a school
I value toys greatly for the development of my children. They learn a considerable amount from them. Thank you for this interesting post.
This is a really interesting read. Before I had children I just thought toys were toys, however, I have now started to buy toys that have an educational as well as fun value for both my children and others we know.
Interesting post. I think sometimes a toy’s perceived benefits can be a little prescribed and they may get benefits from them without even realising. My son can be a little stubborn and, if I try to lead him too much he will push against that and do something completely different. It’s amazing where their imaginations can take them.
I love nothing more than seeing Aaron use his imagination when he is playing. I am often in the room with him as a SAHM but I walk that fine line between intervening and watching him develop. He has a wide selection of toys and is great at concentrating and role playing with them. I hear him working through stories and often telling toys things that I tell him. Learning through play is so so incredibly important x
I love the look of dino popper, I am always on the hunt for toys that help develop the children as I am a childminder
I completely agree – as I am a qualified and experienced primary school teacher! (though a full time mum just now!)
Very interesting post , very good read .x
The dino popper looks like great fun 🙂
I love watching my children explore toys and watch how their imaginations take over.
My favourites are ones without batteries which can be dual purpose.
Interesting post – thanks for sharing. With so many early years specialists in my family, this is all very familiar to me 🙂
Great post! I love the open-ended toys – the ones you can use lots of different ways, like blocks. Sometimes I like to just sit and watch them play!