Playing with toys will bring joy and happiness to a child. It is important that we, as parents provide toys for our children so they can experience the same feelings as we did. If we don't, we are robbing our children from the same fun, joy and memories that we had as a child. Another disadvantage of not providing our children with toys is that we are restricting their development of their senses, creativity and social skills.
So what are the disadvantages of not playing with toys?
Lack of social skills.
As a child they will have imaginary friends and will use toys as the object of their imaginary friends. They will interact with the toys as if they were real and will treat them as real people. Social and communication skills will be developed through this process. Without toys for the child to base their imaginary friends on, the child will have difficulty interacting with other children as they grow older and start preschool. In preschool the child may be withdrawn, quiet, and shy as they do not have the necessary social skills and confidence to approach other children thus affecting their enjoyment of school. The child will have little or no friends which may lead to resentment of attending school and possibly to depression. By providing toys for children at an early age, the child will have developed these important social life skills which will assist during school and throughout their life.
Lack of independence and confidence.
Playing with toys will make your child more self dependent and less attached to you. Discovering the world and expanding their imagination is a result of playing with toys. By not giving toys to your children, you are actually making them dependent on you all the time. If they don't have any siblings, friends or toys to play with they will look for you all the time. Total dependence, neediness, upset and anger are some of the consequences of not being there for your child. Thus, by providing toys for your child, they will learn to grow up with confidence and be more dependent on their own.
Lack of imagination, creativity and mental skills.
Children who play with toys will learn to develop their creativity and imagination skills. Research states in the process of playing with different toys, they will learn to develop their cognitive thinking, solve problems, expand their imagination and learn to use the creative side of their brain. These skills are shown to be developed at a faster rate than those who do not play with toys. As a result, it is important to provide toys for your child to play with.
Bad influences.
As a child, it is important that you keep your child occupied and playing with toys is one way to achieve this. Keeping your child engaged will distract them from any unnecessary and negative influences around them. Studies have shown that children will learn things quick whether it is good or bad. If their minds are not engaged with constructive and positive activities, they will pickup bad language or dreadful behavior from the surrounding environments. E.g. fights, bad language, arguments.
There are many disadvantages of not providing toys for your children to play with and may cause lifelong effects which can affect them throughout their life. Undeveloped social skills, self attachment, lack of imagination and mental skills can all affect your child by not providing your child with toys to play with. Thus, it is very important for every parent to encourage their children to play with the right kind of toys for their own personal growth and development.
When contemplating children toys, knowing the purpose for the object will make an appropriate selection easier. Is the article intended to promote the child's knowledge or spark creativity? It may be that the plaything's purpose is to engage the emotions or to satisfy a certain longing. Certain toys are appropriate to enable socialized play, requiring two or more children. Or perhaps the sole intent is to provide entertainment. There may be multiple or dual purposes to be fulfilled by the plaything. Insight into the purpose for the toy will make your choice of play item less difficult.
Another factor will be in the use of the children toys. Is the object planned for solitary play time? If the play item is for social periods of interactive play, a doll or teddy bear would not be a suitable choice. When determining which plaything would be best, consider the intended purpose and choose an age appropriate toy. It is usually unacceptable to provide a youngster will a toy that is outside of the child's developmental level. It can also be dangerous or life threatening for the smallest of children.
Educational playthings engage the child's mind and stimulate thought processes. For toddlers, selecting children toys that have them placing the correct shape into the correct opening will suffice. Another option is a plaything that encourages recognition of animals, sounds or colors. For the older youngster, an educational selection may be a toy that advances reading or mathematical skills. There are many handheld electronic toys that can develop reasoning ability and require use of decision making skills. Toys that incite creativity can include items like drawing sets, modeling clays or building blocks. All of these come in age appropriate versions. A plush animal or a doll to cuddle can be emotionally satisfying for a child. This is often why children in trauma situations are given a teddy bear to hold.
If you are looking to promote interaction with others, a toy requiring socialization skills is a proper choice of children toys. Board games or puzzles will be suitable to enable the group activity and aid in development of communication skills. Developing a platform for interpersonal relationships through play will impact the child's success at work and play later in life. Learning techniques to communicate effectively with others, to compromise and to share will enhance the child's social abilities. This can be a very important consideration for children who will be entering school or formalized group situations for the first time.
Multi-purpose toys combine several factors, such as a game that requires answering questions correctly would be both social and educational. When selecting your children toys, keep in mind the age appropriateness of the item and the underlying purpose during playtime. Providing a child with an item outside of their cognitive ability could lead to frustration. Safety should always be a consideration, so refrain from purchasing toys recommended for a much older child. The unbridled joy displayed by the child will let you know you have made an appropriate selection.
Both Tinh Nguyen & Hnomseo Gradea are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tinh Nguyen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health. Tinh Nguyen