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What is it that girls' dolls and boys' figurines have in common? Admittedly, they both have heads, arms and legs and look vaguely, but not entirely, human. Girls' dolls tend to be about a foot in height at least, whereas most boys' figurines are around six inches tall. There doesn't appear to be any particular reason for this height discrepancy apart from the physical needs that girls' dolls have,as sometimes the have capability of crying, weeing, etc, whereas boys' toys tend to carry guns, which can be made in miniature and sometimes they tend not to work, requiring the boy to produce the necessary sound effects and create explosive consequences.
Personally I have always had a fascination with ants, and although I have never owned an ant kit, I have longed for one for many years! I am most envious therefore, of those children whose parents have purchased one of these kits.
In case you haven't come across an ant kit, it is basically two tall pieces of transparent plastic fixed together so that they are very close, but not quite touching, and then sealed all round the edges.
When I was young I had a tree house at the bottom of the garden. It had two small rooms, a little table and stool, and a window at both the front and the back. I used to love that tree house, and made it my den, eating meals there, playing games, and watching out of the back window at the road which ran along the back of the garden, watching people who didn't know I was there.
It's very easy for parents to become wistful about the simple old toys of yesteryear, when toys demanded real imagination, and everything wasn't done for you. It's certainly possible to be quick to jump at toys today that do some much, labelled as interactive, and as far as your concerned, that means that they're taking away the opportunities for imaginative play, and that this is likely to be detrimental to the child's development and happiness.
Go into any toy shop and you'll almost certainly see fake food. Whether it be plastic vegetables, plastic chickens, plastic platters of dinner or plastic bananas, you'll see it scattered everywhere. Sometimes this comes in net backs, alarmingly similar to those found in supermarkets, and sometimes you can buy it as part of a bigger set - either a shop till and basket, a miniature home cooker complete with plastic saucepans and a couple of spoons, and sometimes as part of a tea party.
One of the things that you may notice about toys for very small people, such as babies and toddlers, is that they all seem to include a variety of different materials and textures. They are likely to also include a range of bright colours, and also to make a variety of sounds. It is clearly important that small children are stimulated as much as possible, and it seems that a full on assault on their senses is the best way to do this!
Children's brains are hard wired to learn, but that's about all there is wired into their brains to begin with.
There is hardly a boy in the world who isn't fascinated with creepy crawlies. Although many girls are also fascinated, generally this seems to appeal more to small boys. They will gather admiringly around a beetle that is haplessly crawling across the playground, or pick up rocks at the back of the garden in the dark and shady places and admire the range if black and slithery beings as they writhe and scuttle their way from the blaze of daylight to burrow back within the safety of another dark and damp place.
What is it that girls' dolls and boys' figurines have in common? Admittedly they both have heads, arms and legs, and look vaguely but not entirely human. Girls' dolls tend to be about a foot in height at least, whereas most boys' figurines are around six inches tall. There doesn't appear to be any particular reason for this height discrepancy apart from the physical requirements that girls' dolls have, in that they tend to wee, whereas boys' toys tend to carry guns, which can be made in miniature as they tend not to work, requiring the boy in question to supply the necessary sound effects and explosive consequences.
Not long ago it was my little boy's birthday, and he received a fair mountain of exciting looking toys. Everything seems to be interactive these days. When I was his age I was the active one, but it seems that today there is an expectation that the toy will be every bit as active as the child playing with it. His happy face gleamed as he looked eagerly at the spectrum of shiny plastic with flashing lights and happy faces, large shiny buttons calling out to be pressed so that they can leap into action and start performing feats certain to dazzle and amaze.
There is no question at all that children love to draw. They love to paint, draw, sketch and scribble, with pencils, crayons, paint and fingers dunked in gloop - it's a natural tendency, and should certainly be encouraged. But why do children enjoy the artistic process so much, and is it really so valuable?
From the earliest age at which a child can hold a crayon, they will delight in seeing coloured lines appear on paper.
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