AGE
AND TOYS
|
GRANJA SORPRESA
CON SONIDOS
6 month + |
Much has been said about
choosing toys according to the age of the child who is going to
play with them. However, research has shown that age should only
be taken as a general guideline.
The development of play and, consequently,
of toys is a gradual process, with continuity as a common denominator.
This means that each stage of play is a consequence of the preceding
one and that towards the end of each stage, we shall find the
premises of the next one. In any stage we will find references
to the past, present and future stages of development of the child.
Therefore, to use chronological age as the guideline to choose
a toy can lead to serious mistakes in the education of the child,
in the development of his games and in the selection of toys.
|
MEGABYTE
BILINGÜE
5 years + |
Of course, we should not completely
ignore age when selecting toys, because, each age group has its
own typical peculiarities and features. In general, it is more
important that the toy is adapted to the mental and social development
stages of the child than to restrict the criteria just to age.
In brief, as the child grows,
the toy should reflect reality more exactly to foster a better
development of the child’s games.
Age is also an important factor
in choosing toys when they foster free initiative and creativity
in the boy and girl. The biggest mistake we can make when choosing
a toy is to select one that doesn’t provide any possibilities
of variation and does not lead the child to use his creative ability.
A last point on the topic of age
is the size of the toys. In their first years, children prefer
larger toys. For example, young children will favor larger balls,
because they can handle them better. The older they get, the more
interested they become in smaller, more detailed toys because
they are better able to handle and play with them.