Toys are tools for play, and play is inseparable from toys. Play is a baby's innate nature, and toys are the material foundation for play—babies cannot play without them. Friedrich Froebel, the "father of modern kindergarten," regarded toys as "gifts of grace" and designed a series of toys specifically tailored to babies' developmental needs.
Unveiling the Secrets Between Babies and Toys (Public Health Network)
Renowned Italian educator Maria Montessori asserted: "The very essence of a child is work (activity). Work is play, and toys are the materials for a child's work. Without toys, their work remains incomplete; with toys, children's interest in work is sparked, enabling them to engage in focused learning and hands-on exploration. This, in turn, supports their self-construction and neurological development.The provision and application of toys directly impact children's learning outcomes."
Mr. Lu Xun once stated, "Play is the angel of childhood. To care for children's growth, we must care for their play; to care for their play, we must value the toys they use."
Indeed, a review of preschool education history worldwide clearly shows that all advocates of early childhood education emphasize the educational value of toys. Contemporary research and practice in preschool education also fully demonstrate that toys play an irreplaceable role in promoting infants' cognitive development.
Enhancing Perceptual Abilities
Perception is the primary pathway through which infants recognize the external world and acquire knowledge.During the middle years of early childhood, when verbal abilities are still developing, infants primarily acquire information through sensory-based visual and tactile experiences. Toys, with their vivid, exaggerated forms and bright, vibrant colors, stimulate infants to engage multiple senses. Through interacting with toys—seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching objects of various textures—infants strengthen their sensory responsiveness and observational skills, thereby enhancing their perceptual abilities.Parents should create a home environment rich with diverse toys. When selecting toys, consider factors like color, size, and shape. Provide toys with varied, high-contrast colors, and ensure toy sizes are appropriate for the child's height.Additionally, during playtime, parents should guide their child's sensory development. Encourage them to reach for an apple by stretching up. For example, prompt the child to touch plush, silk, and plastic toys, then describe their sensations. Observe how they notice color differences, letting them choose toys based on preferred hues. Compare shades to foster early color awareness.Lift and hold to experience weight. Have them compare a balloon and a large block, asking which feels heavier. Promoting Language Development Toys themselves serve as tools for babies to express themselves. Compared to socially established linguistic symbols, toys are a more intuitive "language" for infants.Toys are like a "wordless book," functioning more as a "curriculum outline" or open-ended "textbook." They provide ample space for learners to construct meaning and imagine freely, sparking the baby's desire to express themselves and creating a suitable environment for free language development. Babies develop their oral language skills through play. Exchanges of toys and sharing play ideas among babies subtly enhance their language abilities."May I play with your car?" "Can I join your building blocks game?" "Would you trade my piggy for your duckling?" "Sure." "Okay." "Let's play together." "I'm playing now, but you can have it later." These exchanges between two children demonstrate the appropriate use of polite language.
Babies engage in extensive "self-talk" while interacting with toys.
This "self-talk" plays a significant role in their language development. When my daughter plays "house" with her dolls, she'll pick up a cloth doll, place it on a little stool, and say with a smile: "The doll is dressed so beautifully, but not as pretty as Jiajia.Jiajia will dress the doll to be as pretty as Jiajia." Jiajia then began dressing the doll in a little dress. "Stretch your legs, raise your arms, zip up the dress—Mommy said that's how you behave. Now the dress is on." Through this dialogue with the doll, Jiajia not only demonstrates coherent and logical language but also applies the phrases Mommy uses when dressing her to her own actions with the doll.
In early childhood, pretend play allows babies to fully express themselves verbally without worrying about correctness or needing correction. When Jiajia "talks to herself," she can mimic her mother's voice, tone, and gestures from dressing her. She can believe it's her mother speaking, not herself.
Toys also foster the development of written language.
For instance, in the "Kitty Fishing" toy set, symbolic labels like "bait" and "fishing rod" provide infants with an initial grasp of word meanings. Toys focused on phonics or counting directly enhance their comprehension of written language.
Through playing with various toys, babies creatively transform language using vivid, concrete expressions based on tangible perceptions and actions. This process develops their cognitive understanding of the real world mediated by language. Therefore, parents should fully leverage toys to train their child's language expression skills.
Fostering Imagination Development
Toys inherently possess virtual or symbolic qualities, marked by "pretend play," which grants babies ample freedom and space for imagination. During toy interactions, babies often engage in object substitution or personification—treating toys as real-life objects or people. Parents should be mindful toy users, thoughtfully considering toy applications to spark their child's imagination.
Recently, I noticed my daughter was very fond of playing with "glow sticks," so I organized a "Magical Glow Stick" family activity with her friends. The activity mainly involved everyone suggesting what the sticks could be used as and then demonstrating those uses on the spot. My daughter said, "It can be chalk."They're so long, teachers wouldn't need to replace chalk." Dingding said, "They can be noodles. They're so thick, noodles could be much thinner." "They can also be little branches. Like bare branches in winter without leaves."... These were all ideas I hadn't thought of before.