On Choosing Toys

It's the quality of a child's play that grows a child, not the quantity of their toys.

Choosing toys for children in our care is part of nurturing them. The playthings we provide, whether bought , handmade or improvised, have such a major influence on their development

To a very large extent, play is what makes our children who they are and what they become. If their playthings are trivial, unsatisfying and prescriptive - in other words, they can only be played with in a limited way - as decreed by the manufacturers and marketers of the toy then the play derived from them will be likely to be much the same: trivial, stereotyped and unrewarding.

Play can meet a child's inner needs in a whole range of ways, but if their tools are inadequate, not in terms of quantity , but in the quality of the play they lead to then that play will be inadequate to feed the child's inner person. Just as there is good food and junk food, there are good toys and junk toys. Good food nourishes and builds healthy children, good toys do the same.

On the subject of choosing toys -

too many toys can be worse than not enough!

Having masses of toys can fragment a child's play and tempt them into flitting aimlessly from one thing to another. Fewer toys available at a time and the others temporarily out of sight, helps a child to concentrate on their play in a more focused way. The play things in reserve can be a stimulus to new ways of playing with them. An "old friend" can be welcomed back with delight, after a temporary absence.

Practical ways of storing toys are another contributor to satisfying play.

"Put your toys away" can be a tall order for a small person, in more ways than one. They really need our help in making this daunting task possible, even enjoyable! Most playthings seem to involve hundreds of small parts, and if everything gets mixed up, it's impossible to play with them properly next time. Boxes or containers of the right size and shape to sort them into are a must, .preferably stored on open shelves, where they can be easily found when wanted next time. The big toy box is a recipe for disaster, unless it's for things which are all in one piece - balls, soft toys and the like. Small children simply don't have the stamina or the stickability to cope with the tidying themselves unless we help them and make it practical.