Toys that last
RAPHIEL KURIYAN
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It is the good old fashioned toys that encourage creativity and spatial skills in children.
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The toy market has gone through a revolution in the last 20 years. Toys are highly advanced and kids are savvy. Children read Nintendo magazines, browse web sites for tips on solving game plays and play for long hours.
Computer games are exciting, and traditional games like Snakes & Ladders, Monopoly, Chess, Chinese Checkers and Ludo are far too slow for them. So do the latter stand a chance? Consider the primary concern that increasingly realistic special effects and vivid computer graphics entail violence. Some parents and teachers blame aggressive behaviour on media violence. Computer games can also alienate a child and cause withdrawal syndromes, for they have no real-life experiences.
Encourage involvement
Interestingly, it is amazing how little benefit these advanced toys can have in comparison to the classic toys that encourage the child's involvement and are child-powered. These toys can help develop motor skills, increase confidence, raise spatial awareness, enhance social skills, stimulate imagination and creativity, and introduce emotions to children.
The Creative Play ranges of toys like Play Doh, Cool Candles, Picture Frames and so on create a natural urge to discover something new. The Kraftime and Mould and Paint toys stimulate creativity as well as build a child's sense of colour while painting.
Toys forever
Some games have been around for generations, and have given children not only hours of fun but also promoted educational values. Classics like Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit teach kids the importance of social interaction.
At an early school age, the Memory Games build a child's memory and improve hand and eye co-ordination. There are other fun games like Trivial Pursuit that get the child learning facts and trivia about the world at an early age. The puzzles help improve the spatial skills of children.
It is important for children to have a varied leisure schedule combining different types of play, and these toys provide an effective and refreshing change from computer games. The classics have helped to mould the imagination of kids for many generations, and will no doubt continue to do so in the future.
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