In times of financial insecurity, families may need to cut back on spending. High-tech toys can be very expensive. But parents should take comfort in the knowledge that they are actually doing their children a favor by encouraging them to play with simple, inexpensive toys.
Early childhood educational experts agree that open-ended toys are best. Open-ended toys are those which allow a child to determine the direction of play.
"A good toy is 10 percent toy and 90 percent child," said Joan Almon, director of the US Alliance for Childhood in a 2003 press release, “Beware of Killjoy Toys.” "Give children simple play materials such as logs and stones, cloths and ropes, and they will create worlds.”
Here are some of the least expensive, yet most inspiring toys for children.
Stick in Toy Hall of Fame
The stick may be the first toy. It can be found in almost any backyard. The stick was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2008, a project of the Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY.
The stick can be a wand, a drawing tool, a fishing pole and more. Dogs and other animals are also particularly fond of playing with sticks.
“It’s very open-ended, all-natural, the perfect price – there aren’t any rules or instructions for its use,” said Christopher Bensch, the museum’s curator of collections in an Associated Press article, Stick, baby doll, skateboard join Toy Hall of Fame, Nov. 7, 2008
Box Good for Hours of Play
It is a common parenting tale. After opening an expensive toy, the young child is more fascinated playing with the box it came in, than the contents. While the toy is limited, the box is full of possibilities.
Children like to sit in boxes, drag them around and create dollhouses with them.
Nature’s Toys Make Good Props
Take a child to the beach and she is sure to come home with a collection of seashells. Children also love to collect rocks and bird feathers. Nature’s toys make wonderful open-ended toys as rocks can become currency, play food and more.
Simple Dolls are Inexpensive
A simple doll, while not free, can be inexpensive. The parent with rudimentary sewing skills can even make a simple rag doll for a young child and it is sure to be treasured. Dolls allow children to practice nurturing; they encourage social skills and dramatic play. Dolls can also be comforting and therapeutic.
"Children often use dolls to work through things that may be going on in their family. They may do and say things with dolls they wouldn’t dare do or say with their families,” said Dawn Leach, director of the Austin Community College Children’s Lab School in “Dolls and Doll Play: A New Look at an Old Prop,” [Texas Child Care Quarterly, Summer, 2004].
Fabric Spurs Imaginative Play
It is a common play item in the play-based Waldorf School kindergarten -- large swaths of silk or cotton material in varied colors. The children wrap it around their shoulders to become princes and princesses creating characters for dramatic play. A blue piece of cloth can serve as a lake or ocean for tiny dolls. A red piece of cloth can become the fire the firefighter must put out.
Parents may find inexpensive cotton fabric at a retail store or at a garage sale.
Rope is a Classic Toy
Most houses have spare rope in the garage and children can find many uses for it. A rope can provide the reins for an imaginary horse or it can be a lasso. Tied around the waste, the rope turns the child into a character. And, of course, jumping rope is great exercise and lots of fun.
Of course, parents need to watch younger children when they are playing with rope as it can be dangerous.
Clay and Sand are Free
Parents should not be afraid to let their children get dirty with natural building materials. Children love to make mudpies. A backyard with clay-based soil is a nice place for children to develop fine motor skills as they mold the clay into objects. Sand has always been one of childhood’s favorite building materials. Consider building a backyard sandbox.
Many childhood experts warn that future generations deprived of unstructured creative play will not have the skills to meet the challenges of tomorrow. ( "Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds,: Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D., Pediatrics, Volume 119, No. 1, January 2007) With simple toys, parents can help their children practice more creative play and save money too.
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