This book is a state-of-the-art look at where toys have come from and where they are likely to go in the years ahead. The focus is on the interplay between traditional toys and play, and toys and play that are mediated by or combined with digital technology. As well as covering the technical aspects of computer mediated play activities, the authors consider how technologically enhanced toys are currently used in traditional play and how they are woven into childrens' lives. The authors contrast their findings about technologically enhanced toys with knowledge of traditional toys and play. They link their studies of toys to goals in education and to entertainment and information transfer. This book will appeal to students, researchers, teachers, child care workers and more broadly the entertainment industry. It is appropriate for courses that deal with the specialized subject of toys and games, media studies, education and teacher training, and child development.

Anything to do with children's entertainment is a source of controversy: children's television programmes, musical preferences, and leisure activities are frequent sources of debate. Toys and play are often singled out for attention, particularly war toys, sex-typed toys, and video games with aggressive themes. Are these harmful to children? Are they addictive? Alternatively, can parents facilitate children's learning with educational toys? Toys, Play, and Child Development explores these and other questions. Parental attitudes and reactions towards war toys are described, as are the children's views themselves. Toys and play are shown to contribute to the development of language, imagination, and intellectual achievement and to be effective in child psychotherapy.

There are few scholarly books about toys, and even fewer that consider toys within the context of culture and communication. Toys and Communication is an innovative collection that effectively showcases work by specialists who have sought to examine toys throughout history and in many cultures, including 1930’s Europe, Morocco, India, Spanish art of the 16th-19th centuries. Psychologists stress the importance of the role of toys and play in children’s language development and intellectual skills, and this book demonstrates the recurrent theme of the transmission of cultural norms through the portrayal, presentation and use of toys. The text establishes the role of toy and play park design in eliciting particular forms of play, as well as stressing the child’s use of toys to ‘become’ more adult. It will be beneficial for courses in education, developmental psychology, communications, media studies, and toy design.

In this volume, scholars in developmental psychology, education, and neuroscience examine the ways in which children's toys often reflect and promote gender stereotypes, as well as the long-term consequences of gender-typed play.

Children, Play, and Development offers a comprehensive look at children′s play from birth to adolescence.

The handbook is composed of chapters by authors who discuss the important features of particular types of toys, provide information related to the developmental importance of this type of toy, discuss social and cultural issues engendered by play with such toys, and review the available research on the characteristics and potential impact on children’s developmental progress of toys of that type. Both traditional toys and technological toys are discussed. The handbook is expected to serve both as a reference for educators, parents, toy designers, and other interested readers, and as a catalyst for further research and ongoing toy development. Its purpose includes helping readers to gain knowledge that enables them to more fully appreciate the value of children’s toy play, find out more about the favorite toys they had in childhood and relive those satisfying play experiences, and learn how to foster the learning, physical development, and social-emotional growth that comes from such toy play.

John and Elizabeth Newson were well known for their studies of child rearing, which have combined a rigorous research methodology with sympathetic insights into family life and a lively approach to scientific reporting. ‘Path-breaking’, ‘brilliant’, ‘seminal’, ‘outstanding’, ‘fascinating’, ‘enthralling’ and ‘enchanting’ are some of the adjectives used by critics to describe their previous books. They now turn their attention to toys, the ‘pegs on which children hang their play’, a study for which they are uniquely qualified. Not only had they long experience in normal child development: they had been actively involved for many years in research and training in remedial play for disabled children, their research unit was a major influence in the phenomenal development of the toy libraries self-help movement, they designed for and advised the toy industry, and they had their own family-run specialist toyshop. With this background, it is not surprising that their book on toys and playthings is both informative and entertaining on many different fronts. Richly observant, it follows the child’s development in play from using the mother or father as the ‘first and best toy’, through the exploratory and manipulative sequences, to the use of toys in ritual, symbolic or contemplative ways. Against this detailed understanding of ‘ordinary’ children’s growth points in play, the Newsons and their collaborators examine the special needs of disabled children, with a firm emphasis on how parents can help. What is more, in providing an intensely practical guide for the parents and teachers of the disabled child, they draw out comparative insights which are enlightening and absorbing for those whose children do not have such urgent problems. Once again the Newsons share with the reader the viewpoints and preoccupations of research workers in the field. There is indeed a continual sense of ‘work in progress’, and nowhere more than in the chapter on using toys for developmental assessment, where the reader is given a hot line to a laboratory (i.e. playroom) notes used in their own research unit at the time in a welcome move away from the rigid test-bound assessment of ‘special’ children. The book is enriched by the authors’ sharp awareness that the history of playthings has a far longer perspective than the history of child psychology. They are not basically interested in educational toys as such, but in all the objects, made or found, on which the child hones his skill, his reasoning powers, his imagination, his emotions or his sense of humour. Fairground baubles, joke toys and poppy-head dolls are as much a part of this book as bricks, sorting boxes and teddy bears. In the Newsons’ own words: ‘We hope that people who simply like toys as objects will find something in this book to interest them; we suspect, indeed, that liking toys will be what all readers, whatever their reason for opening the book, have in common’.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

We've all heard of IQ but do you know your child's PQ or Play Quotient? A child's ability to play does more than provide for fund and diversion; it is critical for his or her emotion and intellectual growth, an teaches everything from social skills to analytical thinking. For the developing mind of a child, learning to play is paramount--but is your child getting the most out of playtime? Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D., more affectionately known as Dr. Toy has dedicated a lifetime to the importance of play and gives you specific advice on which toys to buy and what kind of games to play to emplower your child's overall development. You'll learn: How to become your child's play Tutor How play can strengthen maturity levels and confidence The pros, cons, and facts of gender specific toys Guideance for the gifted and special-needs child Plus practical advice on Evaluatin a toy's safety, learn which toy manufacturers Dr. Toy recommends Craft supplies you should always have on hand Dr Toy's 100 Best Children's Products And many more invaluable ways to make playtime a growing experience!

Think more intentionally about the play materials you choose and offer to preschoolers to enhance their development and learning