Toys that teach

No mystery: Many people believe that a good education is the foundation for success. Child-development experts laud educational toys for helping to promote early learning while fostering an entertaining and enjoyable playtime. This idea holds true today, as toys continue to play an integral role in the intellectual development of children around the world.

The importance of the link between toys and education was first discussed in the February 1968 issue of PLAYTHINGS. In his article entitled "Toys as Textbooks," author Philip Phillips discussed the relationship between toys and early learning. According to Phillips, toddlers acquire most of their knowledge "via direct exploration and the exercise of imagination." He thereby came to the conclusion that "toys are the equivalent of textbooks" to toddlers because they assist in preparing them "for the demands that await them after they begin their formal schooling."

As evidence of his argument, he refers to toy cash registers and play money as "the textbooks of social mathematics," noting that they help to instruct children about "number values, the function of money, and buying and selling." Similarly, Phillips notes the importance of blocks and construction sets, as they help toddlers to "develop coordination and understand something about group activity and cooperation." Other examples include dolls, which "aid in the study of family relationships;" tricycles and wagons, which "instruct preschoolers on the subject of safety, both individual and public;" and a set of toy dishes, which help toddlers "learn some basic social graces and something about group cooperation." Phillips believed that the use of these "right toys" was extremely beneficial "to the intellectual, psychological, and emotional development of the preschooler."

Today's toy manufacturers continue to speak to the development of a child's education by offering a range of playthings that they believe will help to jump-start a child's education before they even step foot into a classroom. Toys such as the Teaching Cash Register from Learning Resources, Let's Pretend Dishes Set from Educational Insights, and Folkmanis' My First 1-2-3 Puppets book are all modern-day versions of the products that Phillips referred to as educational "textbooks." Each item offers hands-on learning in a medium that is colorful and appealing to the child, while teaching them basic fundamentals such as simple arithmetic, social skills and reading capabilities.

To this day, early learning remains an important first step in providing a solid education for young children. By creating a playtime atmosphere that both educates and entertains, and selecting appropriate product that accomplishes these goals, parents have the ability to show their children that learning can be not only rewarding, but fun!