TRUCE Guide on Infant & Toddler Play, Toys & Media

Soon after posting Throw Away the Script and Play, I received the Winter 2010 Child Life Council Bulletin. Imagine my absolute delight when I opened the publication and found a series of articles on play, toys and media in Child Life Focus. One article, reprinted with permission from www.truceteachers.org, validated and expanded upon the points I had made in my blog. That was an awesome experience.

With permission from the Child Life Council, I am sharing this most informative and thought provoking article, TRUCE Guide on Infant & Toddler Play, Toys & Media, with you, section by section. I am eager to know what you think and invite your comments.

Let’s start a dialogue on play. What is quality play? Why is it essential to a child’s development? Let us hear from you, and if we post your comments, we’ll send you a coupon for $5.00 off any order of $50.00 or more.

And now for the article:

You want to provide your little one with experiences that will enhance healthy play and development. This guide will help you understand why quality play is vital for your child’s growth and what you can do to support it.

What is different about play today?
Creative play is being challenged because:
- Infants and toddlers are spending many hours in front of a screen.
- Many toys are marketed as educational when in fact there is no evidence to prove it.
- The increasing number of electronic toys, games and DVD’s often turns our infants and toddlers into passive players whose main activity becomes pushing a button.
- Toys are often linked to popular media characters. Branding toys for the very young means that when they are older they often want an item simply because it is linked to a familiar character, not because of the quality of the toy.

to be continued next week…

With permission from the Child Life Council, we at Playworks are pleased to share this most informative and thought provoking article with you, section by section.  TRUCE Guide on Infant & Toddler Play, Toys & Media, reprinted from the Winter 2010 Child Life Council Bulletin.