Can a Child Play with Any Toy?

Sometimes a child finds it difficult, or even simply impossible, to play with certain toys. A vivid example is oversized soft toys. If a child cannot even lift a huge tiger or dog, they will not be able to come up with any game involving them. At best, such toys are useful for decorating the interior. Children, however, readily play with small soft toys.

To a large extent, the ability to use a toy during play depends on its quality. If the rings of a stacking toy must be threaded on with great effort, or a toy car won't roll because its wheels don't turn, the play won't work. Conversely, if all the pieces of a LEGO set fit together and connect easily, the child will spend a lot of time playing with it.

Some adults believe that the more complex a toy is, the more interesting it will be to the child. This is not true. Sometimes a toy's numerous functions can confuse a child; they simply won't be able to invent play with them. If a toy is an elephant on wheels that also resembles a telephone with a receiver, it will be very difficult to play with. It's better to buy a child an elephant, a toy phone, and a car that can be pushed. Even better is a toy that allows the child to invent and build shapes themselves, for example LEGO. Such toys can be chosen for all ages, and the child will find them much more interesting to play with.

A child will play with the toys that give them pleasure. The child should invent the game themselves; to a large extent they decide which toy is interesting and which is not. Many adults are surprised why a child can spend hours stacking simple wooden blocks while a complex singing and flashing toy gathers dust in the corner. The point is that a child is guided not by the toy's beauty or the manufacturer's brand, as adults are, but by what they can do with the toy. Perhaps with a little shovel and bucket they will come up with more games than with an expensive electric train set.

Toys that never get boring are those in which something can be changed: blocks, building sets, LEGO constructors. Balls, dolls, and little shovels will never lose a child's love. It is with such items that children play eagerly and for a long time. Complex modern toys do not always captivate a child in the same way.

A toy should give a child confidence in themselves and encourage them to seek independent solutions. A child is completely independent in play; with good toys they invent stories, develop, and enjoy themselves.