Definition 
History
Characteristics
Advantages
Disadvantages
Selection
Evaluations
Storage and Care
Management Issues
Web Pages
Bibliography
Toy Libraries
Classifying Toys

Characteristics:

  • Educational ...
“Play is not relaxation, for children it is the very essence of
life the only means whereby the child can learn anything.”
Tudor-Hart
  • Amusing 
  • Mobile:  Many toys do not need special cases, they can be picked up and taken anywhere. 
  • Developmental  usage:   At each stage play is an important  part of a child's growth and development...
“The human child, as he develops, adapts to a succession of environments and with increasing complexity of action. "
Jean Piaget
Piaget considered that as children's ability to play increases their imagination develops to the point where they no longer need to experience everything, but can develop a mental picture of the results of certain actions. -Jill Hewitt
  • Fun 
  • Challenging 
  • Competitive 
  • Toys can be can be simple objects such as: a ball; blocks 
  • Can bring people together of different ages, races, and developmental stages 
  • Can be tools for communication... 
What children may not be able communicate to others in words  can often be communicated through dolls, puppets, and tools such as flannel boards.
  • Toys can develop self-esteem... 
Learning simple concepts such as color names is important for children.  The child's self-confidence grows when they identify colors and do things by themselves with toys.
  • Encourages imaginative play 
  • Rehabilitation use 
  • Encourages the awareness of others 
  • Help to develop social skills... 
“Just as the personalities of adults develop through their experience of life, so those of children through their own play” --Wincott
  • Stimulates the mind 
  • Develops responsibility  
  • Develops problem solving skills 
  • Therapeutic 
  • Stimulates sensory skills 
  • Can be adapted to more than one purpose, more than one child, and age group 
  • Helps develop reading/writing skills 
  • Develops and strengthens  hand-eye coordination 
  • Provides both social and independent activities 
  • Arouses wonder, imagination, and creative thinking 
  • Suggests experimentation 
Pound A BallLacing ShoeFarm Puzzle