Very often you can hear from mothers: “My child does not play. Toys are not interesting to him. He is much more willing to tinker around next to me in the kitchen, and a variety of toys in the nursery lie idle!”

Is this situation normal and what is its reason? Do I need to do something, or will the baby start playing more and better over time?

Nowadays, the situation with children's games and toys is not at all as simple and problem-free as it seems at first glance. Let's talk about the baby's "toy farm" from the point of view of its benefits for personality development.

Reasons for overstocking

As a rule, anyone modern child, almost regardless of the family’s income level, there are many more toys than he needs and is useful to have. There are several reasons for this “overstocking”.

1. The cherished wishes of dad and mom. When a baby appears in the family, both parents (and especially the parent whose gender matches the gender of the newborn child) begin to buy those toys that they dreamed of in childhood and did not have.

The peak of this kind of purchases occurs in the period from one to three years. And this parental desire cannot be condemned in any way - one can only be aware of it and try to control it.

Mothers enthusiastically buy doll sets and cribs, strollers, as well as the dolls themselves in commercial quantities. Dads buy railways impressive sizes, all kinds of cars, gas stations and even, to the horror of mothers, weapons.

2. Gifts- the second reason for turning the nursery into a toy warehouse. For any occasion, grandparents and other guests bring. It is considered simply bad manners to come into a house where there is a child and not bring him a toy as a gift. As a rule, soft.

It happens that at the turn of the second year of life, a child’s toy possessions increase many times over in a matter of weeks. But he doesn't play.

Parents sometimes even get angry: “He has such toys, each of which, if I had had them as a child, would have simply squealed with happiness, but he has no emotions.”

Unfortunately, this is exactly the case when the number of toys and the quality of the game are inversely proportional. That is, than more toys, the worse the game.

Remember the famous episode from “The Flower of Seven Flowers” ​​- the girl Zhenya says: “I want all the toys in the world to be mine.” And then she herself doesn’t know what to do with them, because playing with such an unthinkable amount of everything doesn’t even occur to her. Unfortunately, many children today find themselves in a very similar situation.

3. The pursuit of "early development." A significant part of a modern child’s toy possessions consists of educational and educational toys. There are a lot of them now, and parents can buy literally everything without looking closely at the age restrictions on the box with a game or toy.

Of course, a child should have educational and developmental toys. The whole question is in quantity, quality and method of application. a child can use it adequately only when there is an interested adult nearby who will kindly show the child what exactly can be done with this toy.

If educational games and toys lie “in heaps” in boxes with other toys, scattered and mixed up, then such educational toys are of almost no use. And your child is unlikely to use it for its intended purpose.

4. Inconceivable diversity. It is still difficult for post-Soviet people to get used to the huge supply of virtually any product item. Not knowing how to choose, we sometimes buy everything.

We often think that more is better. In fact, in matters of education, everything often turns out to be different.

So a large number of toys only makes sense if the play space is .

Creation of play space and its organization

When arranging a nursery, remember that for a child, the things that surround him are... And you’re not hanging shelves and arranging cabinets at all - you’re creating a universe in which your baby will grow and learn everything.

Order and disorder. If your baby has already begun to crawl or walk, toys simply thrown into a box or basket will not work.

Psychologists and teachers believe that the optimal location of toys is at the child’s eye level, on shallow open shelves. That is, a rack tightly screwed to the wall is best suited for toys. (This kind of rack should not be confused with a toy storage system, which must be located in a place inaccessible to children. It is good if the toys in the storage system are distributed by type and are in closed, opaque boxes.)

Remember that until about 3 years old, a child plays much better if his mother keeps the play shelves in order. The fact is that children at this age are not able to create what experts call “good structure” for toys.

Simply put, the baby plays enthusiastically while he can destroy order and break the structures created by his mother. And as soon as everything is destroyed, interest in toys and games, as a rule, disappears.

Where do the toys live? Ideally, there is a play area in the children's room, and all the toys “live” there. For older children, the main object organizing the space of the play area can be a toy house.

It’s good for a child if small animals are kept separate, cars are kept separate, and construction sets are not mixed together. This makes it easier for the baby to learn to play, rather than create chaos around him.

Children love to have toys arranged in a variety of boxes, beautiful boxes and baskets. This makes it easier for kids to understand that each toy has its own house.

What to do with the quantity? One of the simple and affordable ways to make a toy new or almost new for a child is to put it away. The same method allows you to reduce the number of toys.

If you divide all the child’s toy possessions into 3 or 4 approximately equal parts, remove 3/4 and change the toy “exposition” once a week, the child will perceive his own toys almost as new.

Creating a “yes” environment. If you want your child to play well and freely, you should say the word “no” in the nursery as little as possible. This does not mean that the child does not need restrictions. It's just that game time is far from best time to introduce restrictions.

Children's play is an extremely important activity. In the game, the child comprehends the world of human relations and the structure of the world in general. A person deprived of play in childhood is inevitably mentally disabled.

Play is a space for a child’s free creativity, and a sharp “no” from a mother or nanny can tear this play space apart, the delicate fabric of play will be interrupted, and the child will not be able to continue playing with the same inspiration.

The restrictions that exist in the nursery and regarding toys should be simple, understandable, constant and minimal. Decide in advance what exactly your child should not do with toys. And it’s best to put away items that cause a flood of prohibitions or great anxiety in adults. The fact is that if it is repeated often, the child either learns to ignore it, or develops excessive stubbornness through everyday resistance.

The art of choosing toys

Toys, like book illustrations, and the nursery’s furnishings largely shape the child’s aesthetic world and tastes. Choose toys aesthetic direction, which is closest to you, parents. Choose toys that you think are beautiful.

Let's start with quantity. Everything is simple here: there should be as many toys freely available as a child, with the organizing help of an adult, can relatively easily remove.

How to identify the “wrong” toy?

"Wrong" toy made from the wrong (unnatural) material, painted in unnatural colors that do not exist in nature. The “wrong” toy is too similar to the real thing (for example, a small toy iron is just like a large iron). This excessive similarity leaves no room for the development of the child’s imagination: the toy is already too similar to the model, there is no need to imagine anything.

The "wrong" toys often use the button principle. The baby presses a button, and from this simple movement the lights light up, the wheels begin to spin, everything comes into motion. That is, the effort expended absolutely does not correspond to the result obtained. And it does not allow the formation of cause-and-effect relationships, which means that intelligence develops in a completely different way than when playing with. Where “pushed - it rolled” or “hit - flew off”.

The craving for early easy impressions, for the fact that almost everything around is entertainment, is deposited very deeply. It’s clear that we live in a push-button civilization—but why? bigger baby V preschool childhood sees things whose operating principles are obvious and accessible to him, the better his logical thinking will be developed.

Children have a great interest in manual labor - both male and female. They look very carefully at what is done with their hands. And if dad nails a nail or drills a wall, then this is just a celebration of learning for the baby adult life.

But, unfortunately, if examples of female manual labor can be seen (for example, in the kitchen), then in many families it is all male manual labor comes down to working on a computer keyboard. And this is natural - this is the stage of development of civilization.

And yet, I would highly recommend that fathers of little boys at least occasionally do with them what has been the male part of housework for centuries. This will be a much more educational activity for them than many educational games.

The right toy multifunctional. That is, it can be used in many different ways in many different games.

A classic example of a multifunctional toy is . You can throw it and roll it, it can become a doll watermelon or a fairy-tale bun. The smaller the child, the more of his toys should be multifunctional.

The right toy is made from environmentally friendly material ( natural fabric, wood, metal, leather). Of course, it’s unlikely that you can do without plastic toys completely, but you can strive to keep their percentage as low as possible. In addition, the toy must be made of impact-resistant, non-toxic, durable materials - in the hope that Small child will gnaw on it, and bite it, and drop it, and different ways use for other purposes.

Many Chinese toys are simply not designed for such active use. They only look like toys, but they break within the first week. The child does not have time to play enough with this toy or become attached to it. A real toy should be of high quality and strong.

About cleaning up toys. Self-Reliance Skills

There is a wonderful Russian proverb: “If you love to ride, love to carry a sleigh.” She says, as you understand, that you need to be responsible for the consequences of your actions.

For a child who is about to turn two years old, such things begin to be accessible if parents consider it necessary and correct to spend time and effort on cleaning up toys together or the child’s participation in cleaning the table.

According to most psychologists, it is beneficial for a child’s development to have minimal household responsibilities. It is by doing chores around the house every day that a person develops the ability to take responsibility for himself, concentrate his attention, and try to finish what he has started. By saving a child from the “trouble” of collecting toys, you will not help him, but in some way will hinder him from understanding the world and himself in this world.

Naturally, for most parents and nannies it is much easier and calmer to remove the toys themselves. But if the habit of participating in cleaning the nursery does not arise early, before the child is three years old, then after that it will be much more difficult to form it, since the child will begin to resist more actively.

Try to find time, energy and imagination so as not to forcefully involve your child in cleaning up toys every night. The plots may be different, but the core is the same: at first the child cannot do such things on his own, without the participation of his mother.

What if there are several children in the family?

As a rule, the first children, the firstborns, become “tenant dwellers” - it is with them that the child appears in the family greatest number toys. These children, becoming at first simply the eldest, and then the eldest in the family, long remember the period of their undivided dominion over the kingdom of toys and may be reluctant to let the emerging crown princes - brothers and sisters - into this world.

The basic rule can be formulated as follows: if there are several children in a family, then the bulk of the toys (approximately 80%) should be common, and it is necessary to agree on them: how to divide them, what to change for what, who will clean them up and when. But every child who is already 2 years old should have his own inviolable drawer, chest of drawers or chest with toys and the right not to share these toys. This approach will reduce the number of quarrels over toys and relieve children from a heightened sense of possessiveness.

We will discuss in detail how to arrange a nursery for two, three or several children in our next article.

Rules for playing with a baby

Indeed, young children under one or two years old quickly lose interest in everything. They can play with the toy for a while and then put it away. There is a mountain of toys on the floor - but your child is not interested in them. We bought a new construction set - the child played with it and threw it away.

Why is this happening? Why doesn't the child play with his toys?

The reason is that children younger age don't know how to play. They need to be taught this. “How to teach a child to play?” - you ask.

The fact is that children in the game copy the actions of adults, that is, their mother. Therefore, a child’s interest in toys appears when the mother plays with the baby and plays correctly. The mother should imagine herself as a small child and play enthusiastically with him. The emotional component is very important. You need to say what you feel: “Look how tall the tower is!”, “Look how bright the car is!”, “You have a very beautiful house it worked!”

At first, the child will not play much on his own. Basically it will watch your actions and possibly break what you have built. This should be treated normally - the baby participates in the game in the way that he can. Be sure to include an emotional exclamation: “Bang-bang! The tower is broken! Hooray!".

In addition to the above, there are a number of rules that, if followed, will help you easily teach your child to play with toys independently:

1. It is necessary to end the game before the child loses interest in the game.
2. After finishing the game, do not let it lie under your baby’s feet. For example, put the box with the designer on a shelf. The child will look at this box and will look forward to the game. When you take out the construction set, he will be happy to play with it. It is very important that toys do not lie on the floor, so that each toy has its own place.
3. You need to put things in order together with your baby immediately after playing. This will keep the room clean and teach your child order.

Show interest in reading

Now let’s figure out how to show your child’s interest in books, how to create anticipation for reading.

The child is still small, he cannot read. We still look at the colorful images on the book, voice what we see and read out loud. If, while reading, you remembered some incident from life, also voice it, coloring it emotionally: “Do you remember yesterday, on the street, we saw a bird?”

Reading a book should also be finished before the child switches to another game, before he gets tired. It is very important to teach your child to sit calmly and focused for at least a minute when you read to him.

Children can listen with interest to the same fairy tale at least 100 times. While they are little, they love familiar, familiar stories. Don’t strive for variety; read your child’s favorite books many times.

And we make sure to finish reading before the baby loses interest in it.

What toys should I buy for children?

Do not rush to buy new toys if all the rooms in the house are already littered with them.

Instead, prepare a box, put some of the toys there and hide it from the child.

When your child has had enough of playing with the toys he has on hand, take out a box of folded toys. The child will miss the toys and will play with them with pleasure! Then put in this box those toys that the child no longer arouses interest in. You will get them after a while. And so in a circle...

But still, what toys should you pay attention to when buying?

Advice: don’t rush to buy the most expensive and complex toys. Just imagine, if you buy a car with a remote control, it has limited capabilities and there is absolutely no room for the child’s imagination. It may not travel on all surfaces, it is programmed. What if it's an ordinary car? A simple car can go anywhere and any way. The child will fantasize on his own if you help him.

Another example is an ordinary and expensive doll. The expensive doll is also programmed and can only speak 5 phrases. And if a child voices a simple doll himself, he can come up with anything!

Learning by playing

It is important to teach a small child during play, at ease. To do this, you need to focus on what you teach: color, shape, smell, taste, etc.

For example, if you are building a house out of blocks, emphasize: “yellow block”, “blue block”, “give me a red block”, “yes, this is a blue block, but give me a green block”.

When teaching through games, one should not forget about emotions. How you present information is important.

On the playground, in the kindergarten, it is not uncommon to see children who do not know how to play. To prevent this from happening to your child, play together! Take a ball for both yourself and your child. Show the movements and comment: “the ball can fly!”, “look, it rolled!”, “the ball is jumping!”. So, while having fun, the child will learn to play independently and will not be bored in kindergarten and while walking on the street.

Knowing these little tricks and tips, you will know how to play with your child correctly, and you will be able to raise an independent and smart child! Good luck!

Are you familiar with the situation when a child throws toys around and does not play with them? Most often, parents begin to worry about this, because they are convinced that all children love to play with toys. What to do if the child does not show interest in the proposed games? Let's figure it out.

The child does not want to play with toys

Firstly, it is necessary to find out the reasons why the child is not interested and cannot participate in the game process. There can be many reasons for this behavior. Let's look at the options:

1. Have you often encountered a situation when you give a child a toy, and he immediately puts it aside? The reason for this behavior is simple: the child does not yet know how to play on his own. It may not be enough for a child to just receive a toy. IN early age the child is not actively playing, he can simply hold the toy, examine it, roll it on the floor, and that’s where the game ends. Next time the child’s interest in such a toy will be much less. This is where the scattering of toys occurs, because... the child does not understand what else can be done with them. Therefore, parents need to show various actions with toys, thereby helping the child develop imagination.
2. Your child has a lot of different toys, but he throws them around and doesn’t play. Because of large selection most often the child loses interest in toys. As a result, the child plays with them a little and throws them aside, and the parents run in a panic to get new ones. Don't assume that the wide selection will keep your child busy. Therefore, to prevent such a situation from arising, it is best to buy your child a small number of basic toys, to which you will sometimes buy new ones later.
3. The modern market is filled with many interactive toys, which makes life much easier for parents, but not for the child. These toys can tell stories, sing and dance at the press of a button. As a result, the child does not need to use special effort, just press the button and see what happens. In this situation, the baby’s imagination stops developing. The baby doesn’t want to bring the toy to life or imagine playing out some situation with it.

Therefore, every child should have mandatory toys, such as: dolls, cars, construction sets, pyramids, figurines, etc. You can find a wide range of different toys on the website of the Gulliver Toys online store. Only beautiful, high-quality and branded toys for your children. Delivery is carried out throughout Russia.

The child must develop his imagination and you must help him with this. Remember your childhood, play with your child, come up with some fairy tale or life situation together and assign roles.

What toys should you buy for your child?

Be sure to buy toys for your child according to his age. Often, parents, having collected toys, so to speak, “for growth,” are faced with the problem that the child does not play with them, because. still doesn’t understand what to do with them. Take into account the interests of the child; he should like the toy.

From 0 to 3 years

At this age, the child is still learning about the world. Any movement with a toy is already a game. Therefore, the baby needs toys that would develop hand motor skills, as well as his perception of color, shape and texture. For example, cubes, pyramids, rattles, Stuffed Toys, major designers.

From 3 to 5 years

This is the period when a child’s imagination and thinking are formed. Speech is also actively developing. Therefore, as toys, it is better to choose dolls, soft toys, dishes, and construction sets. Play with your child; role-playing games will be very useful at this age.

From 5 to 7 years

At this age, role-playing games and games close to adult life should also prevail. For example, mother-daughter games, hospital and store games, kitchen and house games, etc. Construction sets and mosaics are also suitable for games. Don't forget about board and sports games.

Your child is growing by leaps and bounds. And from time to time the thought creeps into moms and dads: “Well, you’ll grow up a little more and you’ll be able to play by yourself, and I’ll have a couple of hours for myself.” However, this is not entirely true: in order for the baby to be able to occupy himself independently for 40-50 minutes, parents should make a lot of effort. We will tell you how to teach and entice your child to play alone.

The benefits of independent play

By playing independently, the baby learns to find solutions

V. A. Sukhomlinsky: “A game is a huge bright window through which a life-giving stream of ideas and concepts about the world around us flows into the spiritual world of a child. Play is the spark that ignites the flame of inquisitiveness and curiosity.”

Teaching your child the skills of independent play is important not in order to take up his time and allow himself to relax. Independent play is an important indicator proper development

• child. At the same time, the ability to find something to do has a significant impact on the personal growth and character of the child. In particular, playing with yourself develops: initiative (after all, solving specific game problems requires the toddler to accept quick solutions
• – a pyramid that unexpectedly appears on the path of the car can be either moved or knocked down - the choice must be made instantly);
• the ability to overcome obstacles (this or that play activity has a certain plot, the development of which requires the child to find a way out of the current circumstances - if the baby doll wets his pants, then he needs to be changed); persistence (to get desired result
• games, the child must go through certain stages, for example, in order to assemble a beautiful puzzle boat, you should select all the elements correctly, trying to combine them); ability to navigate according to circumstances (to dress a doll for a trip to kindergarten
• patience (to solve puzzles, the child has to look at the task several times and select answers).

Why doesn't he play by himself or can't occupy himself with toys?

Reluctance to play independently may be due to feelings of loneliness

A fairly common problem is when the baby does not want to play on his own. This alarms parents, but meanwhile the reasons for this behavior of the baby lie precisely in adults. The fact is that at 2-4 years old children develop the skill of role-playing, that is, at this age dolls, cars, and animals are very interesting. Caring relatives understand this, and this is where the endless supply of toys begins. Remember your childhood: one or two dolls, a couple of cars and a wooden pyramid. But we could play with them for hours, inventing names for them, performing entire performances with such a simple set. No, you shouldn’t throw away the wonderful educational bears that teach counting, or the parking area for racing cars, just limit their number. Why? The child does not have time to become attached to the toy, feel it and unleash his imagination. In addition, children need an example. That is, if you don’t show them how to play with the car, then the child will not only not have an idea about the toy itself, but there will also be no impetus for further inventing a game plot.

As for older children, 5-7 years old, refusal to play independently at this age may indicate that the child is suffering from loneliness. If a child experiences a lack of communication with his parents, then it is absolutely logical that he will not want to be alone with even the funniest toys. It is important to let the child understand that this is yours with him. general game, it’s just that sometimes he can do it himself. Also at this age, children are very sensitive to failure. Therefore, if a child cannot complete a puzzle, he will not pore over it alone. Come and direct the toddler’s thoughts - this will give the necessary impetus to renew interest.

The baby must have at least a small, but own play area

The method of teaching a child to play independently is an inexhaustible topic of discussion among teachers and psychologists. All this research can be combined into several effective tips for adults, then it will be easier to teach your child.

The ability to play independently is an indicator of your baby’s maturation. However, there is no need to sound the alarm if he is not too eager to play alone yet. Patiently show your child how to play with this or that toy in an interesting way, so that he becomes interested in looking for new ways of entertainment. And be sure to participate play activity praise your child - then he will grow up not only to be an independent person, but also to become a self-confident person.

– the situation is quite rare and unusual, therefore it causes concern and fair questions from parents. There are several reasonable explanations for this situation. Let's start with the fact that a child may simply get bored with toys. The abundance of cars or dolls in this situation does not bring the desired effect, since these are the same type of toys. The baby may get tired of rolling the car or putting the doll to bed. In this case appearance dolls or cars can attract a child for a very short period of time. Then he will play with them according to the same principle and will quickly lose interest in the new toy.

In this case, adults should not reproach the child for ingratitude, since they themselves suffer from such a disease, although they themselves do not admit it. Remember how often a woman changes her outfits? A phrase like “I’m bored to death with this thing” from a woman’s lips is perceived quite normally, so why scold a child in this case? Better take a closer look at how the child plays with his toys. A situation may arise that the child, due to his undeveloped imagination and little life experience, simply does not know how to play.

We will not consider cases where a child has physical or psychological problems that prevent him from fully using the objects around him (in this case, toys). This is a completely different and special topic of conversation. A normal baby sometimes simply does not know how to play with toys. This is where the help of an adult is very important.

There may be several ways to solve the problem.

First: invite your child to play a scene from his favorite fairy tale or cartoon. It is advisable that for the performance you have the same toys as the heroes. If the child knows the episode well, he will be happy to help you. For a change, you can invite him to come up with his own fairy tale based on this episode. With this you will not only keep your child occupied, but also develop his imagination along with his speech skills.

The second direction: arranging games of different directions into one whole. An example would be a boring car and a sandbox bucket. The toys themselves are no longer interesting, but try asking your child to build a sand city for the car. He will look at you in surprise and ask how to do it. By showing and telling everything, you are guaranteed to return the child's interest in toys and keep the baby occupied for quite a long time.

Third option: role-playing games. Invite your child to play store, school, doctor, etc. Here you will need the same toys that the child plays with every day. Thanks to the new idea, he will forget that these toys are not interesting to him. Remember that role-playing games must be played by two or three people. The presence of an adult is mandatory, as he suggests and explains the rules of conduct for a particular participant.

Additional benefit role playing games is that a child, using the example of a game, learns the rules of behavior in a given life situation. In certain games, children learn the basics of housekeeping, helping parents, etc. In addition, the child develops a feeling that he is needed in the family, his help is important and useful for others. Seeing the results of his little work, the child will continue to help his parents, no longer perceiving his help as a game, but treating it with all seriousness and pride.

Remember that in preschool age a child does not play with toys; in most cases he tries to imitate adults. This is clearly visible when children enthusiastically play hospital, fireman, etc. Imitations of real construction tools, which are sold in whole sets, are very popular among boys. The child tries to create something with his own hands, works the way his dad or grandfather works. In addition to acquiring rudimentary knowledge about instruments, such games perfectly develop children's powers of observation - in order to repeat something, it must first be seen and remembered.

The next positive thing about these games is the need to work (or play) with small objects. This fact gives development fine motor skills fingers Add perseverance and attentiveness to this and you will get just the perfect set of positive influence on the child.

The fourth option to develop an interest in toys is suitable for children from 4-6 years old. It is during this period that you can invite the child to make a toy himself. To be precise, creativity will be joint, but the child must be made to understand that he will be in charge, and the parents will simply help him. For one thing, you can appreciate the breadth of imagination of your beloved child. First, try to do something simpler. The material of manufacture is not significant, as long as it is not traumatic for the child. Girls can be asked to make a real new outfit for an old doll, boys should be more interested in something technical.

We have a boy we know who made a “hedgehog” at the age of 5. The story is entertaining and instructive. Dad was doing renovations in the hallway, and the baby was hanging around all the time. Since childhood, his father did not forbid him to use a small real hammer and a screwdriver (set at very low speeds). Looking at another cut-off small block, the kid suggested making a hedgehog. Dad gave him 10 small screws, showed him how to screw them in correctly, and then simply followed the process and helped with advice. When all the screws were screwed in, the child himself realized that it would not hurt to use a felt-tip pen to draw a face for the hedgehog and put an apple on the screws. They actually drew the face, and the kid himself cut out the apple from paper, painted it and screwed it to the hedgehog. When mom came home from the store, for a long time she did not want to believe that the child did everything on his own.

It is worth noting that another factor influencing a child’s reluctance to play is the simplicity of the game. In this case, everything is simple - complicate the rules of the game and you won’t need new toys. Or you can offer your child a game that is fundamentally new and difficult for him. Teach him to play chess, checkers, etc. Main principle– do not burden your child with the nuances of the game, give him basic knowledge. It is also very important for the child to feel the taste of success, so give in to it slightly in games. If a child becomes seriously interested in complex games (for example, chess), then it is worth delving further into the rules of the game, thereby complicating the child’s task and giving him new goals.

At the very end, I would like to remind parents of the old wisdom that the number of toys and their price usually do not affect the child’s attachment to it. A child will be much more interested in a toy that he has made himself or has achieved some success with. Toys that are bought at the whim of a baby rarely capture his attention for a long time. Usually they soon turn into a dust collector in the far corner of the room. Don’t spend exorbitant amounts of money on your child, rather spend an extra hour of your attention on him - this is much more expensive for the child.