Healthy Toys For Healthy Minds - Minimalist Toys Encourage Creativity And Healthy Brain Development Compared To High-Tech Toys

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 13 Nov 2007 - 12:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

INQUISITIVEkid says today's parents are inadvertently crushing their children's imagination and undermining their creative thinking by using inappropriate toys.

"Minimalist products that are pure in form and colour, such as traditional wooden building blocks, are far better for children's learning than high-tech educational toys and videos," says Peter Emmenegger, founder of INQUISITIVEkid.ca.

"These natural toys encourage free play, which is important to healthy brain development," he says. "It is through these toys that children engage and interact with the world around them; allowing them to create and explore, conquer their fears, learn empathy and compassion."

"In contrast, video games and passive plastic toys restrict children's progress by stifling their creativity and imagination, and hindering their social skills."

The large influx of "licensed" toys, based solely on television shows or movies, tell children how to play and direct them into playing particular themes in particular ways - merely using the toys to try to imitate what they see on screen. As a result, their imagination, creativity and ability to find interesting problems to explore and solve can all be undermined.

"A large number of toys hide behind a promise of educational value, yet they do more harm than good," he says. "Most of them have a predetermined way to play - looking for a single, correct answer to a problem. Today's children do not need to be fed information through toys that have a hidden agenda. They need toys they can play with in innovative ways to become creative problem solvers."

Peter states that, "Today's toys should be simple enough to be understood intuitively by children of all ages. They should support independent and creative play without being educationally insistent. They should be solid, simple in design and construction and in consequence top in quality, durable and long lasting."

INQUISITIVEkid.ca launched their store this fall after searching the world for toys such as this - high quality, multifunctional, natural toys. Their carefully selected products encourage creativity, instill independence and a desire to accomplish, and help foster a sense of self.

After all, a good toy is 10 percent toy and 90 percent child. The child's imagination is the engine of healthy play.

http://www.inquisitivekid.ca