It is a known fact that after a government initiative five years ago, the selection of toys available to children in kindergarten and early schooling has become less fun orientated and more dominated by educational toys. There is nothing wrong with this in principle as we all want our children to learn to the best of their abilities, but recent reports have shown that the most recent educational toys may not be as beneficial to our kids learning as first thought.
A study by the Federal Education Department has found that children are engaging with toys a lot less in school and are finding other ways to spend their free time, often leading to disruptive behavior. Experts are blaming the formal nature of the toys on offer, most of which have a focus on numbers or letters.The schools board spokesman Tim Penchant stated that in their opinion, “children should be able to relax and enjoy themselves in their break time and it should not be used as a continuation of their learning time”. He went on to say that bath toys and toy diggers should be reintroduced for use in the water pits and sand pits that most schools have available to them. Simple dolls houses will keep children entertained for hours and because they are social use toys (can be played with by more than one person) they help develop communication and interaction skills.
The results of the research have been addressed by the government who agree that there should be a good mix of toy types in schools. Their take on it is that if you have an equal amount then children can choose for themselves what kind of toys they want to play with and everyone will be happy.The reactions of parents have been slightly less unified, with some agreeing that children should be able to play with whichever toy they like, whilst others feel that they can play when they get home and that school is for education
