Playing is essential for children (Vialle, Lysaght, & Verenikina, 2000). It goes without saying that children like playing with toys. It is clear that toys contribute to cognitive and physical development of a child improving emotional, social, and language skills (Vialle, Lysaght, & Verenikina, 2000). There are a great number of various toys in my placement. There are career toys, model building sets, building blocks, construction toys, puzzles, dolls, art supplies, etc. 25 percent are self-correcting toys, 25 percent are open ended toys, and 50 per cent of toys require collaboration.
It is important to note that the learning outcomes with playing with these toys may be different. Open ended toys help children to be innovative. A child may return to an open ended toy a lot of times without getting bored. With an open ended toy a child learns to explore and to find out a new use of an old toy. These toys are very important for mental development of a child, because they enhance much thinking.
Self-correcting toys, like puzzles, help a child to enhance the confidence in their abilities when they successfully cope with a task. Moreover, self-correcting toys enhance physical development of a child. In a puzzle, a child has to put together pieces in a logical order that also develops “fine motor control and eye-hand coordination” (Maldonado). According to Maldonado, “puzzle-solving experiences help children learn math concepts such as sorting, classifying, comparing, sets, size, and spatial relationships”.
Toys that require collaboration also are important to the child’s development. When playing with friends, a child learns how to communicate with other children, control their own actions and emotions, and learn various problem-solving techniques. Moreover, a child watches how other children play and interact with each other, which contributes to the development of their social and leadership skills. All in all, toys positively influence the child’s development improving its emotional, social, and language skills.
References
Maldonado, Nancy. “Puzzles: Set the table for learning.” n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012.
Vialle, Wilma, Lysaght, Pauline and Irina Verenikina. “Handbook on child development.” Katoomba, N.S.W.: Social Science Press, …