Former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson once said, "All television is educational television. The question is what is it teaching?"

The same could be said about toys. All toys teach. Every single one of them. Without exception. The question is what are they teaching?

Important Life Skills
The Great Toys teach important life skills such as Communication, Cooperation, Problem Solving, Planning & Strategy, Logical Thinking, and Cause & Effect.

Don't believe it? Let's take an easy example - Dolls.

When your daughter plays with a doll, what does she do? She talks to the doll and gives the doll a voice with which to reply (communication). She invites other friends & their dolls to play with her (communication & cooperation). She sets up tea parties, setting tables, figuring out who sits where and what the schedule of events will be (planning & strategy). She plays out scenes where her doll is sick and needs her help (problem solving). She mimics roles of responsibility by being "responsible" for her baby and has to think through her actions and how they affect her doll (logical thinking). If she has a doll that cries she's also learning cause & effect.

Dolls are just one example of what we call Role Play Toys that includes action figures, wooden trains, kitchens, dress-up clothes, puppets, and themed playsets like Imaginext & Playmobil.

Along with encouraging children to use their imagination, Role Play Toys are great teachers of Communication, Cooperation, and Planning & Strategy - skills we use in our everyday lives.

Here's another example - Lego.

When your child opens his first Lego set he immediately builds the model that the set is designed to make (following directions = logical thinking). If he screws up along the way he has to figure out how to get back on track (problem solving). Eventually he decides to build something new with the pieces he has (planning & strategy), making changes along the way (problem solving again). When he is done, he often has a model that moves or has other actions (cause & effect), or a Role Play Toy that incorporates all the skills discussed previously.

Lego is just one of the many Construction Toys on the market including K'Nex, Erector Sets, Gears, Marble Mazes, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Wooden Blocks and Magnets.

Along with encouraging children to use their imagination, Construction Toys are great teachers of Planning & Strategy, Problem Solving, Logical Thinking, Math Skills, and Cause & Effect.

Is it any wonder that seven of Phil's Top Ten Toys are either Role Play Toys or Construction Toys? (Wooden Blocks, Dolls, Puppets, Dress-up Clothes, Lego, Playmobil, and Wooden Trains.)

Yes, toys do teach. What are your kids learning?

Continue to Part 2 >>