If you have ever been around parents, you may have heard them refer to their children as “sponges”, because of how they soak up loads of information from the world around them. This is particularly true during the early years of development. Children learn new things through constant interaction with their environment. One significant way kids learn is through play.

The article, Using Toys to Support Infant-Toddler Learning and Development, emphasizes how children’s cognitive development can be facilitated through carefully curated play toys and activities. For instance, simple house materials, such as cardboard, can be shaped into small blocks for children to stack. This assists children in learning about spatial relationships, shapes, and dimensions. Some of the many basic skills that children acquire through intentionally designed play include object permanence, hand-eye coordination, and perspective-taking. Implications for where this well-thought-out play could be used are in the classroom setting. Both parents and teachers are encouraged to recognize the stage of development children are in, to then be able to identify the appropriate form of play for the child.

It is important to keep in mind the significance that these toys play for children during their developmental years. Exposing kids to different kinds of play can be thought of as giving them the tools for the world that awaits them in the future!

Read the full article here!

 

Nolyette Verastegui

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

 

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