Play and Toys, a World Built for Children (Part One)

It's important to have a clear understanding of the difference between play and toys, still too often confused with one another, and above all to understand that there are different types of play, each of which, as good practice, should be paired with different toys (understood in the broader sense of «materials»). Matching the right toy to the right type of play lets you offer the child an experience that's optimal and tailored to their stage of growth.

Rattles, balls, toy cars, dolls... and then maracas, building blocks, cubes...

If you think about it, there is an enormous variety of toys that we buy and give to children, and you mothers know this well. How many times, especially in the earliest years, have you, but also grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, brought out, wrapped in wonderful gift packages, toys of every kind: musical, light-up, ones to fit together or handle, to build or throw? We both know the answer: many times! As long as it doesn't lead to overstimulation, this isn't a bad thing! Toys, some more than others, are useful to your child's development, because they are the necessary tools for that famous activity called PLAY.

Play is a genuine form of work, essential for the child's growth, and just like any job, it needs the right materials and tools: toys, precisely. The pairing of play and toys is therefore inseparable, but not as straightforward as it might seem.

Which type of play? Which toys?

When we talk about «play» we immediately think of children. But have you ever stopped to think about what image this activity brings to mind? How many of you picture play as using dolls or a toy car track? And again, how many of you associate play with the image of two children passing a ball back and forth, or one child alone building a tower out of Lego? And who among you, instead, connects play to a mother and baby exchanging smiles, or being rocked in dad's arms?

Children, as we've been seeing together throughout these articles, grow and mature, gaining ever newer and more advanced skills in every area of development: motor, cognitive, communicative, but also relational and, indeed, in play. For this reason, play can be thought of as an activity that is constantly being updated and enriched, evolving hand in hand with the child's development.

Following this line of thinking, four types of play have conventionally been identified, which follow one another and intertwine over the course of the first 2 years of life. Below, we'll look together at the distinctive features of each and the toys/materials recommended for suitable, optimal play opportunities.

Tonic-emotional play (0-2 months)

These are the first pleasurable forms of exchange and communication that occur through physical contact between the child and their mother. Play also happens through face-to-face relational dialogue, with gazes, smiles, the support and containment offered (holding), the postural handling of the baby's body in space (handling), and through variations in rhythm, tone, and emotion.

As the months go by (2-6 months), tonic-emotional play becomes more refined and increasingly takes the form of a playful activity of posture and movement in relation to the adult's body. Muscle tone becomes a genuine vehicle of expression. Face-to-face interactive games feature more and more vocalizations, and attention starts to turn toward objects as well.