Turn The TV Off And Start Playing With Your Child
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...Too often in our world of advanced technology and satellite TV, parents turn their child’s early development over to the electronic babysitter. Although the TV has been around quite a bit longer, our current unhealthy relationship with it didn’t begin until the mid to late 1950’s.
These days, what has gone from a child spending its day learning from their mother through play, with perhaps an occasional evening TV show, has changed to almost the opposite, with a child spending its day learning from a TV, with an occasional playtime with their mother.
Chances are high that the best thing you can do for your child’s development is to turn that TV off. Get rid of all the fancy electronic toys, and computer or video games, and take it back to the basics of play and learning.
Dump a bag of building blocks onto the floor, or drag a puzzle out, then get down on the floor and play with them. Take out some pretend food or tools and act out a scene.
Granted, you can definitely not spend all day every day on the floor playing with your child, even if its all you wish you had to do. The good news is that by providing these more simple toys, you are facilitating their learning, even if they play on their own.
To get an even bigger handle on the playing and learning game, you could check further into developmental or learning style toys. These are toys which were specially created with a child’s development and learning in mind.
Some may seem simple, or basic, such as puzzles and building blocks. Others may seem overly fanciful, such as those which stimulate pretend play.
As far from learning, and development assisting as they may seem to be, in reality, they are a huge part of the foundation of learning through playing. Over everything else, if you remember that playing is learning, you’ll be just fine!
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