Imagine This

Sun Herald

Sunday June 27, 2004

Interviews by OWEN THOMSON

Simple toys and time are the best tools for encouraging creativity.

1 I worry that I'm buying too many toys for my child. Could this harm the development of her imagination?

It's important to look at the behaviour of children who are inundated with toys that have limited applications - often electronic or computer-oriented toys. The child presses a button and the product works or they sit using their thumbs while passively watching. As a result, we see many children who are showing signs of poor concentration.

Early-childhood teachers are reporting an increase in "scripted play" - children playing with a storyline that they've been shown via, for example, TV. Some time ago we did some research with Barbie dolls. One of the things we discovered was that children would look closely at the box and then play only within the range of possibilities that they could see.

If you look at the way many toys are marketed, you'll see there's often an aspect of encouraging parents to buy a product because it will make them good parents. The pitch is that these products will teach children skills or help them develop the qualities that are needed to do well, like literacy and numeracy. In many instances this is not the case.

Heather Lawrence, project officer at the centre for equity and innovation in early childhood at Melbourne University

2 What type of at-home activities will help stimulate creativity?

I'd suggest providing "open-ended experiences" - for example, the cardboard box that a child can transform into anything. It could be that a child gets into it and it's a boat. Or, turned on its side, it's a doll's house. The box could be a TV set, robot or part of a cubbyhouse.

Some toys, such as blocks, are perfectly suited to providing open-ended experiences. A very young child could start with foam blocks that could be used for simple stacking and knocking over. An older child could use those same blocks to create a castle for small toys.

Music is a great tool for generating creative responses. Even if you just put the saucepan lids out with a toddler, they will create sounds. Imaginative play takes time. It's no good tipping the blocks out and then packing them away five minutes later. You need many hours to allow them that experimentation.

Dr Cathie Harrison, early childhood adviser on ABC TV's Play School.

© 2004 Sun Herald

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