Toys

[petrushka.googol]

What draws pre-schoolers to toys ?

 

Is it because they represent real world objects that can be manipulated in real time by kids, as if they were the original ?

 

Should we encourage kids to play with toys ?

 

 

[ajb]

What draws pre-schoolers to toys ?

I would say the inbuilt capacity to learn and the desire to explore the world.

 

 

Should we encourage kids to play with toys ?

I think so as it will help brain development in all aspects. Though I guess I should cite some reference on this... maybe other have a better idea what the latest thinking is?

[kisai]

 

 

Is it because they represent real world objects that can be manipulated in real time by kids, as if they were the original ?

 

Actually, I think its because they aren't real world objects. Toys have a distinct quality to them in color and texture that signal that they aren't usual; that they are especially there for the child. Toys are the first vanity possessions of children; the other items that are associated with them are for their well-being: bedding, clothing, utensils, etc.

[swansont]

 

Actually, I think its because they aren't real world objects. Toys have a distinct quality to them in color and texture that signal that they aren't usual; that they are especially there for the child. Toys are the first vanity possessions of children; the other items that are associated with them are for their well-being: bedding, clothing, utensils, etc.

 

Depends on what you mean by vanity; many kids end up preferentially playing with the box the toy came in rather than the toy itself. Not much vanity involved in owning a box. But if you mean non-essential, then yes — it's not food, clothing or shelter.

 

Playing with the box also lends itself to refuting the notion that they must think the toy is the real world object it represents. The box can be almost anything. It's fodder for imagination.

 

I was under the impression that children play (in part) as a form of imitation of adult behavior. They may play "house" and have one pretend to go off to work, even though they have no real clue what that means. A child plays with a tractor or truck, with only a minimal notion of what's actually involved with what a real truck does. And the kid can pretend and make that tractor or truck do things that no real one could do, such as fly. Imagination not constrained by reality.

[petrushka.googol]

Are toys then a means of simulation ?

[swansont]

Are toys then a means of simulation ?

 

Sometimes. The whole line of inquiry is overly broad and simplistic. The topic is no doubt more nuanced than this.

[arc]

Are toys then a means of simulation ?

 

It's about stimulation and interaction. A simple toy will often lose its attraction pretty quickly, the ones that can inspire imagination will develop an extended play life by having a storyline that becomes embedded in the child's mind. A very plain and cheap plastic car or horse out of a coin vending machine, can through imaginative play, hold the child's devotion well beyond what one would expect, ask any parent who while on a vacation road trip, has considered turning around and backtracking 20 km for a two week old toy they payed less than a buck for that was left at a roadside restaurant.

 

Toys are most interactive if they are matched not only to the child's age but the child's personality. Some boys like to play house and pretend to cook and I knew girls who only played with the boys and the trucks and army men that they all enjoyed the most.

 

Some toys themselves are capable of inspiring imaginative play in what seems like endless quantities. I received my first Legos starter set when I was around 6 and I don't think I missed a day with them for years after.

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

 

Toy Models .

 

I am pretty certain , many designers , fetch out toys from their children's toy box, or go down to the local toy shop , when first considering a New creative idea ( perhaps for a potential new product ) , before ever a prototype is made.

 

The concept can be easily tested or visualised , and often rejected at this very early stage in a products viability. Perhaps it looks ridiculous of just will not stand up , and is immediately rejected. On the other hand , a glimmer of hope may show itself , and a model prototype then commissioned .

 

Mike

[Phi for All]

Toy Models .

 

I am pretty certain , many designers , fetch out toys from their children's toy box, or go down to the local toy shop , when first considering a New creative idea ( perhaps for a potential new product ) , before ever a prototype is made.

 

The concept can be easily tested or visualised , and often rejected at this very early stage in a products viability. Perhaps it looks ridiculous of just will not stand up , and is immediately rejected. On the other hand , a glimmer of hope may show itself , and a model prototype then commissioned .

 

Mike

 

!

Moderator Note

Mike, let's stick to the interactions between toys and children, as per the OP. Toy makers/designers and their processes as you've described seems to be a completely different topic.

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

 

!

Moderator Note

Mike, let's stick to the interactions between toys and children, as per the OP. Toy makers/designers and their processes as you've described seems to be a completely different topic.

O.k.

Yes well I agree with the o.p.

 

When I was a little boy, and we had ' Dinky Toys ' . ( cars, lorries ,buses, trucks , etc...) We could go outside and scrape in the earth , a whole traffic system . With lorries, buses, and practice living life " but in miniature. As a model , but in our imagination , we were , there in a sort of imaginary-reality in miniature. I am sure ,in some way , it shaped part of my life.

 

Dinky Toy

 

 

Mike

Edited January 9, 2016 by Mike Smith Cosmos

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

It's about stimulation and interaction. A simple toy will often lose its attraction pretty quickly, the ones that can inspire imagination will develop an extended play life by having a storyline that becomes embedded in the child's mind. A very plain and cheap plastic car or horse out of a coin vending machine, can through imaginative play, hold the child's devotion well beyond what one would expect, ask any parent who while on a vacation road trip, has considered turning around and backtracking 20 km for a two week old toy they payed less than a buck for that was left at a roadside restaurant.

 

Toys are most interactive if they are matched not only to the child's age but the child's personality. Some boys like to play house and pretend to cook and I knew girls who only played with the boys and the trucks and army men that they all enjoyed the most.

 

Some toys themselves are capable of inspiring imaginative play in what seems like endless quantities. I received my first Legos starter set when I was around 6 and I don't think I missed a day with them for years after.

 

.

I must say , that I am inclined to agree with you Arc , about the imaginative story surrounding the Toy. When at this 5-10 year age I met a friend most week ends to continue our story ,around the cars , lorries , and buses of the Dinky toy range . We would scratch out the roads and garages in the 'unmade up ' road we lived on . If I was a mind I could dig my memory to bring to life the stories. I have other things to think about , so that is unlikely . However this idea of toys , acting as a stepping stone to reality ,is interesting .

 

Mike

[arc]

.

I must say , that I am inclined to agree with you Arc , about the imaginative story surrounding the Toy. When at this 5-10 year age I met a friend most week ends to continue our story ,around the cars , lorries , and buses of the Dinky toy range . We would scratch out the roads and garages in the 'unmade up ' road we lived on . If I was a mind I could dig my memory to bring to life the stories. I have other things to think about , so that is unlikely . However this idea of toys , acting as a stepping stone to reality ,is interesting .

 

Mike

 

I was always interested in watching my kids when they were first exploring new toys and how they showed more interest in some than others. The manufactures seem to put a face on everything they can, I wonder how a set of twins would differ at age 5 if one had played with all of the same toys as the other twin with the exception of the inanimate toys like cars and others not being humanized.

 

Their is a interaction component in there somewhere, in some of the preschool shows they put eyeballs on everything the can, their whole imaginary world is interactive in a humanized level, way beyond simple day to day objects simply having a function and we teach what they are. Babies are shown to be highly responsive to faces so the cynical side of me says they do it for commercial gain with limited benefits to actual learning.

 

Sort of a related thought, I watched a show about a hoarder who couldn't throw anything away because they humanized even a used hygene product to the point that it had feelings. They were overly compassionate to everyday objects due to childhood abandonment trauma.

[StringJunky]

What draws pre-schoolers to toys ?

 

Is it because they represent real world objects that can be manipulated in real time by kids, as if they were the original ?

 

Should we encourage kids to play with toys ?

 

 

They often the only things they are allowed to touch without supervision... they are conditioned that touching/playing with them is permissible and they are their first items where they learn 'ownership'

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

They often the only things they are allowed to touch without supervision... they are conditioned that touching/playing with them is permissible and they are their first items where they learn 'ownership'

.....and Cause and Effect.. without the real damage , that real life involves.

Eg . A vehicle ( dinky lorry ) can hit another ( say dinky car ) . They begin to feel the dismay ( their vehicle has been hit or tipped over, or scratched paint, ) without some real life consequence so not the personal physical hurt . Which could be argued ,is a good way to learn?

 

Mike

[petrushka.googol]

Although I don't really endorse the conventional view regarding IQ, I think toys are related to mental age. It is far more likely to find a child pre-occupied with a tricycle than with a quantum computer. (which even adults can't really fathom). Children love things which appeal to their sense of control and which give them a semblance of independence. (all part of growing up).

[arc]

.....and Cause and Effect.. without the real damage , that real life involves.

Eg . A vehicle ( dinky lorry ) can hit another ( say dinky car ) . They begin to feel the dismay ( their vehicle has been hit or tipped over, or scratched paint, ) without some real life consequence so not the personal physical hurt . Which could be argued ,is a good way to learn?

 

Mike

 

 

I was always scolded for taking my toys apart. Back then many were still being made of steel and were connected together with those little tabs that went through a slot and were bent over. I was about four or five and went after them with plyers and a screw driver from my dad's shop next to the house, my mom was so mad she took all of my Tonka trucks away.

 

They were also using machine rivets on both steel and plastic toys around then, those things really slowed me down . . . . . . until I got my hand on a drill.

 

They thought it was all about me wanting to break the toy, but it was really the uncontrollable urge to see how the darn thing worked!

 

So, I gave my kids things they could take apart. I would cut the cord off a broken toaster or some other appliance and set it out with some hand tools and my kid's were occupied for hours.

 

Okay, so we used more bandaids at our house, what's the big deal!

Edited January 15, 2016 by arc

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

I was always scolded for taking my toys apart. Back then many were still being made of steel and were connected together with those little tabs that went through a slot and were bent over. I was about four or five and went after them with plyers and a screw driver from my dad's shop next to the house, my mom was so mad she took all of my Tonka trucks away.

 

They were also using machine rivets on both steel and plastic toys around then, those things really slowed me down . . . . . . until I got my hand on a drill.

 

They thought it was all about me wanting to break the toy, but it was really the uncontrollable urge to see how the darn thing worked!

 

So, I gave my kids things they could take apart. I would cut the cord off a broken toaster or some other appliance and set it out with some hand tools and my kid's were occupied for hours.

 

Okay, so we used more bandaids at our house, what's the big deal!

If I look back on my pre school life . I am nearly certain ,that play , imaginative play , set me on a path , that I have had all my life . To take things apart !

 

Very similar to you ARC . Once people knew I loved to take things to bits , under the dining room table , with a couple of bits of broken devices . I would cobble them together ( even if only by position ) . It would be a 'control desk on a space ship ' or some other fanciful thing. All that happened up through life , the devices got bigger and bigger and more real .

 

 

Nowerdays , the things taken to bits are ideas , and other ephemeral things . And they continue to get bigger and bigger !

 

Mike

Edited January 16, 2016 by Mike Smith Cosmos

[petrushka.googol]

If I look back on my pre school life . I am nearly certain ,that play , imaginative play , set me on a path , that I have had all my life . To take things apart !

 

Very similar to you ARC . Once people knew I loved to take things to bits , under the dining room table , with a couple of bits of broken devices . I would cobble them together ( even if only by position ) . It would be a 'control desk on a space ship ' or some other fanciful thing. All that happened up through life , the devices got bigger and bigger and more real .

 

 

Nowerdays , the things taken to bits are ideas , and other ephemeral things . And they continue to get bigger and bigger !

 

Mike

 

It implies that the scale of the object (toy) is directly proportional to the size of the subject (individual).

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

It implies that the scale of the object (toy) is directly proportional to the size of the subject (individual).

Perhaps that's why , elephants play with trees, and organisations play with whole tracts of land ?

 

Mike