NURTURE
The Science behind
Words Farhan Shah
Children’s Toys
We’re sure you know
how incredibly important
playtime is to your child’s
development. But, according
to the folks at Fisher-Price,
there are children’s toys.
And there are children’s
toys. We explore the science
behind children’s toys and
discover whether all toys
are made equal.
Researchers have emphasised time
and again the importance of playtime in
developing your infant’s cognitive, social,
physical and emotional development.
When babies are playing, they learn
about the world around them and develop
a wide range of important skills. The
more babies play, the more they learn.
Equally as important as play though is the
type of toys that babies play with, which
can significantly influence the speed and
direction of their growth. In an attempt to
shed light on this murky topic, the FisherPrice researchers have come up with a
concept titled Play IQ, “developed to help
parents, especially first-time mothers
and fathers, to navigate the complex
world of early child development”.
Deborah Weber, Head of Infant Research
at Fisher-Price, explains that Play
IQ is not actually a number-based
quantification system that parents have
to fret about. Rather, she says that it acts
as “a roadmap with signposts and arrows
that clearly mark developmental stages”.
1 MONTH
2 MONTH
She continues: “It helps parents know
what to expect and how they can best
support their child’s learning with the
right toys.”
A HISTORY OF
CONTROVERSY
The science of children’s toys is not
a new topic. A few years ago, a huge
controversy erupted regarding the
children’s toy preferences when a few
unrelated studies that coincidentally
came out at about the same time
claimed that, if given a choice, male
toddlers would choose male-typical
toys such as trucks and balls while
their female counterparts tended
to veer towards dolls. Researchers
came out to lambast the results,
citing shoddy methods and irrelevant
variables, while a few refuted the
conclusion with their own studies.
Until today, the debate is still
unresolved although new evidence
has emerged that babies before 12
months have no specific preference
for gender-type toys but begin leaning
towards one type or another after that
3 MONTH
He supports himself
on his elbows and
raises his chest while
on his tummy
Your baby can see
objects eight to 10
inches away
PLAY IQ MILESTONES
You can start developing your child’s
Play IQ from the earliest age! The
childhood experts at Fisher-Price
have developed important milestones
to help you continually develop your
child’s Play IQ at every stage of life. For
more Play IQ milestones, check out
play-iq.fisher-price.com.
He follows objects
slowly with his eyes
over very short
distances
His fists
are closed
Shows excitement
by waving his
arms and legs
He will turn towards
a sound from his side
but can only locate
sounds in front of him
He learns that
one event
follows another
He can start figuring
out how to make
things happen
He turns his head
towards a sound and
watches you speak
He grasps and waves
toys that are placed
in his hands
Does playing with gender-specific toys
influence a child’s future career choice
though?
Professor Becky Francis believes so.
“Different types of toys give different
messages about what’s appropriate
for boys and girls to do, and have
different educational content – both
elements are important and might
have a bearing on schooling and career
choices later,” says the academic from
Roehampton University.
LEGEND:
PHYSICAL
COGNITIVE
SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL
16
Family & Life • Christmas 2014
He mimics simple
facial expressions
and looks intently
when someone
speaks to him
He smiles at people
and coos
He recognises
familiar objects
He recognises you
and is familiar with
regular faces