Question:

I am very confused about toys. When I was growing up my mother didn’t let me have any toys or dolls that talked or made any kind of sounds at all. She really valued creativity, and now I do too. Everybody’s favorite doll was a Cabbage Patch (R); and as you probably remember, those were as about as free-form as you could get. They had their own clothes and birth certificates, and we all loved them almost as real people. Each doll had her own personality, and playing with them was the best.

Now it is hard to find a doll or toy that doesn’t speak and respond in all different ways. It scares me to think that my baby might soon find more companionship from a particular doll or toy than from me, my husband, and some of the wonderful people in our family.

Answer:

No worries! As long as you are aware of this situation, you will be fine. You sense that the priority for your child is being with your loving family members and friends and playing as much as possible with real items. “Hands-on interactive play” is the very best kind. Computer interaction comes next and should be used in these two ways.

1. If family and friends are not available for one reason or another.

2. If you are interested in teaching a particular concept, providing enrichment for a special play area, giving stimulation for a specific delay, or you just love what a certain doll or toy has to offer.

Here are some of the wonderful things babies and toddlers learn through play – colors, letters, numbers, shapes, and reading. They absorb these concepts by experiencing textures, sorting, counting, and more. Through hands-on interactive play with simple materials they discover first-hand what is heavy, light, rough, smooth, big, little, and more. There is no end to learning when play is open-ended, free-form, and exploratory.

January! The Month of the New Beginning

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow’s a mystery. Today is a gift, and that is why they call it the present.”

~ St. Marher, 1225