What can be done in a world where plastic toys are not going away? We must acknowledge the high costs to our planet and the costs to our children’s skill development in the 21st century. We must contribute less to the manufacturer of plastic toys, which will in turn decrease the burden on our air and water quality, energy and waste management systems and climate.
The development of creativity from exploration ultimately contributes to a child’s problem-solving capabilities but these skills are being nurtured by plastic toys that work for the child. The child must engage the imagination and use objects in a variety of ways. In schools today we can already see the loss of innovation that our kids will deliver as adults when it is their turn to run the planet. These so-called “awesome new toys” are developing children with low-level skills and cluttering our environment.
1. Playmates should be more important than play things.
2. Teach your children that their imaginations are more fun than most toys. They will explore more and think at a deeper level as natural problem-solvers.
3. Teach your children to recycle – a valuable lesson for their future
4. Limit plug time – replace television, computer time and video games with board games, outdoor activities, books and conversation
5. Discover the adventures waiting for you in different types of nature. Kids love surprises and they will love scavenging for new things.
6. Reuse your stuff by creating an “imagination box” for your child to play pretend with a variety of used clothes, shoes, steering wheels, paper towel tubes, tissue boxes, spoons, etc…
7. Spend at least a half-hour with your children playing actively with simple toys like balls and ropes.
8. Read a story.
