Thaindian News

Washington, Nov24 (ANI): Psychologists at the Temple University have revealed that old fashioned toys allow children to experiment with their imagination and creativity, thus proving much healthier for them.

Researchers think that simpler toys like rubber balls and building blocks are healthier for the creative development of the child, as compared to expensive electronic gizmos.

gOld-fashioned retro toys, such as red rubber balls, simple building blocks, clay and crayons, that donft cost so much and are usually hidden in the back shelves are usually much healthier for children than the electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes and cost 89.99 dollars,h said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University developmental psychologist, the Lefkowitz Professor of Psychology at Temple and co-director of the Temple University Infant Lab.

She said that the overreaching principle is that the children are active creative problem-solvers and discoverers.

gYour child gets to build his or her imagination around these simpler toys; the toys donft command what your child does, but your child commands what the toys do,h she said.

Roberta Golinkoff, head of the Infant Language Project at the University of Delaware said: gElectronic educational toys boast brain development and that they are going to give your child a head start. But developmental psychologists know that it doesnft really work this way. The toy manufacturers are playing on parentsf fears that our children will be left behind in this global marketplace.h

gKids are not like empty vessels to be filled. If they play with toys that allow them to be explorers, they are more likely to learn important lessons about how to master their world,h she added.

Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, co-authors of Einstein Never Used Flashcards, have offered parents the following advice, guidelines, and questions to ask themselves when choosing the proper toys for their young children:

Look for a toy that is 10 percent toy and 90 percent childToys are meant to be platforms for playLook to see if the toy promises brain growthLook to see if the toy encourages social interaction

gThis advice is not about marketing, but about what we know from 30 years of child psychology about how children learn and how they grow,h said Hirsh-Pasek.

Golinkoff added, gThe irony is that the real educational toys are not the flashy gadgets and gizmos with big promises, but the staples that have built creative thinkers for decades.h(ANI)