Friday, March 04, 2005
Imaginative Play
This morning I watched Leelee with her tiny wooden horse. She was making it run along the window sill. It was so funny!
Which brings me to talk about my feelings on toys. I am proud to say that we are now 100% plastic free in terms of toys. No ghastly fisher-pricey or playskooly toys here. After reading about the Waldorf philosophy about children and toys, I knew it was in the best interest of Leelee to:
a) Get rid of ALL toys that made electronic noise or required a battery.
b) Slowly get rid of all plastic toys.
Children are inherently imaginative. It is a disservice to their imagination to give them a toy filled with preconcieved notions. A toy that will sing a song or say 'Well Done!' when you perform a task or press a button. Apart from that, they are plain annoying.
It is very tough to get rid of toys though. Many have been given by relatives and cost quite a bit of money. But it is very freeing to sell them, throw them or donate them. I know in Leelee's case, during one of her naps, I put away all her toys. She woke up and did not even miss them. She immediately started making toys out of other random things. Stacking books. Piling clothes etc.
I think too MANY toys is the problem. I truly believe that this is what causes such short attention spans in our children these days. From personal experience, when Leelee had her Incrediblock and Learning Table and her other noisy electronic toys, she would move from one to the next, in a frenzy. Her play calmed down immensly when we got rid of those toys. A child should be able to amuse herself with a stick and stones and a playsilk. But if they have only know toys that amuse them, their minds become lazy and they can no longer use their imagination for play. This is what I believe.
So, some good wooden toys. Very few. And there is peace in your home and in your childs mind. They will also learn the value of a toy if they don't have too many. Otherwise, they may not even miss a toy if it is broken or lost.
Ok, getting off my soapbox.
Which brings me to talk about my feelings on toys. I am proud to say that we are now 100% plastic free in terms of toys. No ghastly fisher-pricey or playskooly toys here. After reading about the Waldorf philosophy about children and toys, I knew it was in the best interest of Leelee to:
a) Get rid of ALL toys that made electronic noise or required a battery.
b) Slowly get rid of all plastic toys.
Children are inherently imaginative. It is a disservice to their imagination to give them a toy filled with preconcieved notions. A toy that will sing a song or say 'Well Done!' when you perform a task or press a button. Apart from that, they are plain annoying.
It is very tough to get rid of toys though. Many have been given by relatives and cost quite a bit of money. But it is very freeing to sell them, throw them or donate them. I know in Leelee's case, during one of her naps, I put away all her toys. She woke up and did not even miss them. She immediately started making toys out of other random things. Stacking books. Piling clothes etc.
I think too MANY toys is the problem. I truly believe that this is what causes such short attention spans in our children these days. From personal experience, when Leelee had her Incrediblock and Learning Table and her other noisy electronic toys, she would move from one to the next, in a frenzy. Her play calmed down immensly when we got rid of those toys. A child should be able to amuse herself with a stick and stones and a playsilk. But if they have only know toys that amuse them, their minds become lazy and they can no longer use their imagination for play. This is what I believe.
So, some good wooden toys. Very few. And there is peace in your home and in your childs mind. They will also learn the value of a toy if they don't have too many. Otherwise, they may not even miss a toy if it is broken or lost.
Ok, getting off my soapbox.
