Game And Toy

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Many adults believe that play is just entertainment that has nothing to do with serious activities in the child's later life: studying, preparing lessons, mastering a specialty.

Let's answer a very important question: why does a child need a game?

1. The development of a person takes place in his activity. For a small child, this is a game that determines the development of the child's intellectual, physical and moral strengths;

2. Creative imagination is formed in the game. Creating, inventing, transforming something, the kid builds, creates, changes not only the surrounding objects, but also himself;

3. Play is a school of voluntary behavior. ZLeave the child to stand still, he will not stand even for two seconds, but if this action is included in the play context, the goal will be successfully achieved. Remember: "The sea is agitated - one, the sea is agitated - two, the sea is agitated - three. Freeze!" After all, the most restless boys and girls freeze and stand, even on one leg;

4. Play - a school of morality in action. You can explain to a child “what is good and what is bad” for as long as you like, but only a fairy tale and a game are able to teach him to act and act in accordance with moral requirements through emotional empathy, through putting himself in the place of another. For example, a child is taught from an early age to eat neatly, not to crumble at the table. Our remarks are not successful. You can “call for help” a toy: “Masha, did Stepashka have breakfast with you? How sloppy he is! Look at how you crumbled it. Please teach him to eat carefully. After all, such dirt on the table is ugly? How do you think? . Most likely, your comment will not offend the child. Moreover, he will have a goal - to eat beautifully and purely not for the sake of fulfilling your request, but in order not to let down his favorite toy.

5. In the game, the child learns to communicate with each other, the repetition of social practice, understandable, can solve problems and gain experience in human relationships

Therefore, it is also of great importance what kind of toys to play for the baby, because through it he learns the world around him, masters new actions, seeks to solve new and more difficult problems.

The world of a modern child is saturated with a huge number of toys, and it is often difficult for adults to decide which toy is “useful” and which is “harmful” for a child.

Useful toys

The toy should bring joy and pleasure to the child, promote development, meet the interests of the child, meet his needs, be exciting and attractive. Compliance with the interests of the child himself is the most important requirement for a toy. However, when choosing a toy, the interests and tasks of an adult and a child intersect and they often do not coincide. Adults are attracted by external beauty, complexity, richness of details, or the developmental meaning described in the annotation. Children have slightly different "priorities". They may prefer this or that toy because they have seen a similar one from their friends, or because it looks like a familiar fairy tale or television character. What then says about the “usefulness of the toy?

Enhancing children's activities

Only if the toy makes you want to act with it (disassemble and assemble, move various parts, carry, extract new sounds, the doll can be both a child and a mother, it can sit and stand, it can be put to bed), the baby wants to take it into your hands and start the game. The optimal combination of novelty and recognizability, the availability of a task and guidelines for its solution are an important quality of a toy that stimulates children's activity. As an example, we can cite such well-known toys as pyramids, nesting dolls, inserts, which themselves "suggest" the correct way of action. Subjects that are completely new, unfamiliar and incomprehensible to children, which have no analogues in their personal experience, do not provide "clues" for independent actions and are more likely to get bored than arouse the desire to play.

Simplicity and affordability

Sometimes it seems to adults that the more different properties and qualities a toy contains, the better. For example, a plastic dog on wheels, which is both a car and a telephone. It would seem that such a universal toy opens up a wide variety of possibilities for a child's activities. But - such a "variety" only disorients the baby. He doesn't know what to do - to drive the dog, feed it or talk on the phone. Moreover, it is impossible to fully perform all these actions. You can't transport anything on such a car - you can't put anything on it and you won't put anyone, the telephone receiver keeps falling down, and it's not entirely correct to consider it a dog, because it's still a phone, and on wheels. It would be much more useful in this respect to "separate" the functions and offer the child three objects that are different and understandable in their purpose and mode of action. Such universal and popular at all times toys such as balls, wheelchairs, cubes, dolls, due to their simplicity, are extremely plastic, admit endless complications, thousands of new combinations and cannot bore a child. Openness to a variety of actions, flexibility and simplicity are important requirements for a good toy.

Encouraging self-reliance

The possibility or impossibility of the child's independent action depends on some insignificant and imperceptible details for adults. For example, a very interesting box for small children with a surprise: as soon as you press the button, a kitten jumps out of the box. But where is this button located? If it is on top (and you need to press down), everything is in order, the baby will play independently with pleasure and rejoice at the sudden jumping out of the kitten. But if this button is placed so that the help of an adult is needed, who holds the box or himself causes the appearance of a kitten, then independent play becomes impossible. The same goes for huge lions, bears and other stuffed animals. They can serve as a decoration for a child's room, but it is difficult for a child to play with them.

Thus, toys and play materials that give an impulse to cognition of the surrounding world, to independent and free creative play, which enrich the personality without distorting the child's idea of the world, can be considered "useful".

"Harmful" toys

Observations show that modern girls and boys of preschool age have changed the very quality of children's play: it has become monotonous, aggressive, individualistic, so it is important for adults to know about toys that inhibit the development of a child, distort the emotional sphere and form negative character traits.

These are numerous electronic transport, musical toys. They are all united by the illusion of their own activity. I pressed a button - the car drove off, pressed another - made a turn. It is important for a small child to learn objects, trace patterns, and understand processes. In this case, pressing the buttons deceives understanding. The paradox is that with the apparent variability of actions and freedom of choice, the child is a prefix to the toy. The toy manipulates him and sets a program of action. There is no place for the child for activity, for his presentation, fantasizing and transformations, which means that the development of the child is also inhibited.

Up to 5 years old, the child identifies with the doll. Dolls such as Barbie, Cindy are not allowed to imitate their mother, which distorts the girls' attitude towards motherhood. Therefore, it is better to postpone acquaintance with them until 5-6 years.

Scary toys such as monster dolls, monsters, freaks can directly affect character formation. The child, as it were, becomes infected from a toy, he adopts the image of a doll and can become withdrawn, distrustful, and spiteful. Early impressions for kids remain for a long time, and at the age of 2, 5 to 5 years, children have many age-related fears, why add new ones to him?

The distorted development of the sphere of emotions and feelings of the baby is facilitated by interactive dolls (and animals), which in their arsenal have many responses to interaction with the child. In the process of playing, rocking and stroking, such toys can respond with crying, then with dissatisfied sounds, for long inattention or aggression, respond, then with hugs, then with joyful remarks.

It often happens that a well-bought toy is the one that adults like. And before buying a toy for adults, you need to think: “Will the next toy be able to interest the child, cheer him up? Is it appropriate for the age and ability of the baby? What can she teach him? Is there any hint of aggression or some other negative aspect in it? etc. In short, choosing a toy is a responsible business.

Much later, growing up, the child will freely realize himself as an independent, active, courageous and adequate figure. Is this not the main task of parents? Therefore, look for good toys that first of all encourage the child to act and create.