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Educational toys - its how they play with toys that counts

A recent discussion suggested that children can learn just as much from playing with shoeboxes, car keys and saucepans as they can from toys sold as 'educational'.

Leading experts on children's play claim that parents should be wary of parting with money for 'educational' toys because they may not help any more than the everyday household items with which kids often enjoy more.

The analysis of the best new products coming on the market by the Good Toy Guide, which is trusted by parents and respected by manufacturers, has said it is resisting pressure from the industry to include a separate 'educational toy section'. It believes such a category would be misleading.

'An educational tag on a toy means nothing and parents really don't need to be spending extra money buying these products,' said Carole Burton, editor of the Guide and a toy appraisal manager for the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries.

'If parents bought the product sitting next to a so-called "educational" toy on the shelf, they would find it does exactly the same thing at a fraction of the price.'

Krister Svensson, director of the International Toy Research Centre in Stockholm, has gone one step further in a book about to be published on toys and play. He says there is no scientific evidence to back up toy industry claims that such a thing as an 'educational toy' even exists.

'I question the whole concept of an educational toy,' he said. 'Toys don't teach cognitive or motor skills; they just encourage children to practise them.

'You can make a complex toy that forces children to manipulate them in a certain way, but children can learn just as much from repeatedly taking the lid off a shoebox and putting it back on again.'

Parents choose toys that they hope will educate their child

Nevertheless, parents who hope to boost the IQ levels of their infants and toddlers have made toys aimed at developing children's brains one of the industry's strongest sectors the market for educational toys is big business, and accounts for half the overall total of £2 billion spent annually on toys. If Svensson is right, however, several questions arise. For example, does his claim that children learn just as much from household objects apply equally to all types of toys?Also, even if educational toys were proven to help children learn, would this not further disadvantage lower income families less able to afford them?

Encouraged by the desire of parents to push their children to learn things at ever younger ages, educational aids are being targeted at ever-younger audiences. Much of the money lavished on toys for very young children is spent on products claiming to increase their intelligence or enhance specific skills.

One manufacturer, Leapfrog, is about to bring out a new device which, it claims, will enable very young children to become bilingual

In his forthcoming book, Children And Toys In Play And Learning, to be published next month, Svensson accuses the toy industry of exploiting parents' desire 'to hothouse' their children's intelligence.

'Every toy is educational and no toy is educational: toys are simply props - whether they teach children anything depends entirely on how meaningful the context of play is.'

Roland Earl, deputy director general of the industry body the British Toy and Hobby Association, says toys designed to focus on specific educational benefits can give children a head start at school by giving them an early association between learning and fun.

But he added: 'Some parents don't have as much time to sit down and play with their children as they would wish and buy these toys hoping to make up for that. But nothing can replace the value for a child of spending time a parent.'

Defending Educational Toys

Much of the industry, however, is adamant that its toys can help to make children cleverer. Scott Axcell, marketing manager for Leapfrog, said: 'We like to think our products open children's minds to learning in a way that will have a lasting impact on their lives.'

'While other toys leave children to make their own discoveries about what happens when they interact with them, ours spark a learning moment with every touch and turn.

'This gives children a taste for learning so when they finally get to school, their minds are open to the fact that learning can be fun.'

Toys listed on the Good Toy Guide

Toys on the Good Toy Guide list are tested by at least six different families or nurseries over three months, after which adults are asked to complete a two-page form detailing how children have responded to the toy and what they have learnt from it. Here are some recommended, to be published next month.

1: My First Train, Brio Toys

A train with interactive details that encourages children to master small movements and hand-eye co-ordination. Controlling the train and constructing the track creates an awareness of cause and effect, early scientific understanding and basic mathematical concepts.

2: Crawl Mat, James Galt

A series of interactive pictures on the mat encourage children to pull themselves along its length, examining each picture in turn. This helps the development of large and small movements, an awareness of cause and effect and the evolution of musical understanding.

3: Hug & Tug Horse, Sassy Toys

This interactive toy encourages children to develop listening skills, engage in two-handed play and form an understanding of cause and effect. The toy also encourages children to play together, encouraging social interaction.

4: First Friends Tractor & Trailor, The Early Learning Centre

The different ways in which the tractor and trailor can be used favour the development of small movements, hand-eye co-ordination and encourages imaginative play, speaking and listening, observation and concentration.

5: Baby Einstein Library, Baby Einstein

Baby Einstein baby toys focus on six main themes: art, language, music, nature and science. These books focus on developing listening and speaking skills, rewarding concentration and encouraging social interaction, the development of early mathematical and communication concepts as well as musical development.