Your neighbor is about to leave for the toy store to shop for Christmas gifts for her children. You've told her about the information-processing perspective. She says, "Hey, that's great! In what ways can the right toys help the kids become good information processors?" Discuss

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Play is a major activity for grade-school children, especially for preschoolers. Parents can promote their children's development through a careful selection of toys. First, the toys should be age-appropriate; most packaged toys have a recommended age range stated on the packaging. Choose the right level of toy; if it is recommended for an older age, the child might not understand it or experience frustration while playing with it. Either outcome could extinguish the child's interest in the toy. The parent should not "hurry" the child toward false precocity. Second, the toy should capture the child's spontaneous interest and be really fun to use. If it is fun, then the child will use it often and attentively. If the toy is a boring "educational prop," then the child will abandon or avoid it. Third, solitary toys are okay, but if the toy invites social use among friends, it's even better! Having others play with it is a way to further the child's interest in the learning activity. The very best toys will be those that permit either solitary or social play. The parent should review the information-processing skills that are common for the child's age, and choose toys that will maximize those skills. For preschoolers, counting numbers is a major interest and skill, so an appropriate toy for a preschool would be one that encourages number counting. Memory toys or memory games are appropriate at various ages for preschoolers or grade-schoolers. Memory-based toys/games introduce strategies to children and let them experiment with various options. Many of the simpler board games for children encourage them to apply memory strategies, and some call for deductive or analogical reasoning. Language learning, such as vocabulary building, is promoted by word games such as Scrabble; rule learning, another information-processing skill, is facilitated by games such as Mastermind. Furthermore, there are computer software versions of many popular games, so children with computers may prefer those versions instead.