Which would you choose?

With less then 12 weeks until Christmas and shops beginning to offer their discounts and special buys, I wanted to talk about why choosing the right kind of toy makes all the difference for your little ones play.

Take the tea set - most children will have some kind of teapot and cup in their toy box but does it offer the kind of play your little one prefers and chooses or does it end up at the bottom of the pile?

When you take a moment to think about what play opportunities can happen, you can start to see how your little one could play, so lets take a look...

Wooden Tea-set

This is often the one that is chosen the most when it comes to buying a tea-set for play - one that sits beautifully in the toy kitchen, but when we look a little deeper at what play can take place, it can be quite restrictive.

It lends itself to the perfect imaginative play, pouring and stirring - sipping and tasting - the language and social interactions that come from this is incredible, taking turns, asking questions and carefully carrying cups of tea to different people.

So if your little one chooses to play this way, a wooden tea set would be perfect - but what if they need a little bit more ?

Plastic Tea-Set

Plastic is often given a bad rep when it comes to toys but if it is the right one for your little one it will be something that will be cherished and passed on.

Plastic tea sets offer exactly the same play as the wooden set but we can now introduce water into the play - developing even more wonder and exploration, discovering mathematical concepts by filling and emptying.

These tea-sets often come with matching cups and saucers so colour recognition can be supported in their play, you can add herbal teabags or squash to help with practising to pour and drink from a cup.

I would highly recommend starting this kind of exploratory play in the bath or with a tuff tray (I've noticed that B&Q have started selling some great ones - or you can get these from Amazon)

Authentic Tea-Sets

What about instead of raiding the toy aisles you take a look at what we already use - charity shops are great for this or one of my favourite places is Rajini's in Fishponds - if you haven't been I would go!

Metal, Enamel or Ceramic, the range of different materials teapots are made from is huge - size, colour, shape the list goes on - but why are these so good for play ?

They feel different - they feel real, now you have to risk assess each of these based on your little ones age and developmental stage, as they aren't toys they will need to be regularly checked and play must always be supervised.

The best ones to start off with are always metal or Enamel as these are a bit more hardy for play - but ceramic tea sets will offer a different weight and feel so if your little one is able to let them explore with this play - I promise you, after time they will be careful - Ikea do a really lovely mini ceramic tea-set in their play kitchen range.

Choosing the right kind of toy isn't just for tea-sets it can be carried across all types of toys, try not to be fooled by marketing - these companies are very good at what they do - but less is more when it comes to play - simplicity is key. Follow the play of your little one and the toys will be played with in the way they love to explore.

If you would like any help with choosing the right toys I am planning on creating opportunities for us to talk - you can ask me to observe your little one at the Playhub and I can guide you on which toys will suit their play and how to get the most out of the play resources you choose.

If you would like to be the first to know when these sessions will be available just register your interest by filling out the contact form below...

Yes - I'm Interested!

Thank you for letting me share my passion for play with you - let me know in the comments what other play areas you would like me to discuss - or would you love this to become an Instagram live session instead?

Lots of Love Always

Jo

Director - Be Weird Be Wild Be Wonderful Playhub

Early Years Professional