Psychologists at the Temple University have revealed that old fashioned toys allow children to experiment with their imagination and creativity, thus proving much healthier for them.
Researchers think that simpler toys like rubber balls and building blocks are healthier for the creative development of the child, as compared to expensive electronic gizmos.
"Old-fashioned retro toys, such as red rubber balls, simple building blocks, clay and crayons, that don't cost so much and are usually hidden in the back shelves are usually much healthier for children than the electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes and cost 89.99 dollars," said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University developmental psychologist, the Lefkowitz Professor of Psychology at Temple and co-director of the Temple University Infant Lab.
She said that the overreaching principle is that the children are active creative problem-solvers and discoverers.
"Your child gets to build his or her imagination around these simpler toys; the toys don't command what your child does, but your child commands what the toys do," she said.
Roberta Golinkoff, head of the Infant Language Project at the University of Delaware said: "Electronic educational toys boast brain development and that they are going to give your child a head start. But developmental psychologists know that it doesn't really work this way. The toy manufacturers are playing on parents' fears that our children will be left behind in this global marketplace."
"Kids are not like empty vessels to be filled. If they play with toys that allow them to be explorers, they are more likely to learn important lessons about how to master their world," she added.
