Kids put their favorite toys through a lot. From being sucked on to being dragged through the mud, these beloved childhood companions are subjected to a relentless barrage of wear and tear.

So when Reddit user Solid-Feature-7678‘s niece ended her favorite plush lamb, they decided to get the baby a new one. But the problem was that the alternatives they found seemed just as fragile as the predecessor. There was no way they could’ve survived the girl’s fingers and teeth.

However, as the Redditor was getting some treats for their pooch, they noticed a lambchop toy meant for dogs that looked like the perfect candidate. So they bought it. And while the toddler loved it, her mom did not.

Image credits: ernpup / X (not the actual photo)

Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Solid-Feature-7678

Preschoolers benefit from simple, open-ended, and non-realistic toys

“As a parent, it can be overwhelming trying to find the ‘best’ toys for your children among the many options available online and in stores,” clinical psychologist and mother to three children Cara Goodwin, Ph.D., says. “So many toys are marketed as ‘educational’ or beneficial in some way for children’s development, but how do parents know if these claims [are] actually true? How do parents determine which toys actually promote development, or which toys will keep a child’s attention for more than five minutes?”

To answer these questions,  Goodwin suggests taking a look at a study by researchers from Eastern Connecticut State University who have spent over a decade analyzing how preschool children play with over 100 toys. It will also help us have a more informed opinion on the Redditor’s purchase of choice.

The study is called TIMPANI (Toys that Inspire Mindful Play And Nurture Imagination) and it examined how toys maintain children’s attention and allow children to develop skills in problem-solving, creativity, social skills, and language.

Image credits: Tatiana Syrikova / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The researchers coded the quality of children’s play with different types of toys and from these observations, they were able to determine which toys were the most high-quality and identify three key qualities that these toys shared that make them likely to promote high-quality play:

• Simple. Many toys on the market, according to academics, are complicated. These items function more as entertainment than toys that actively engage children in rich play. “Our research has found that simpler is better,” they wrote. “For example, a simple wooden cash register in our study inspired children to engage in lots of conversations related to buying and selling—but a plastic cash register that produced sounds when buttons were pushed mostly inspired children to just push the buttons repeatedly.” Similarly, a doll that does the talking for a child will generally result in play that is less imaginative than its simpler counterpart where children have to imagine for themselves what the doll might say.
• Open-ended. “Some toys suggest to children exactly how to play with them, and these kinds of toys can certainly be valuable. For example, puzzles and board games help children learn to solve specific problems, follow rules, and take turns,” the researchers explained. “A set of construction vehicles may motivate children to learn more about (and then act out) the functions of a bulldozer vs. front loader vs. steam roller. But the toys in our study that inspired children to be the most creative didn’t suggest just one way to play—they were open-ended and flexible, which allowed children to come up with their own ideas. We observed children using plain hardwood blocks to create houses, zoo enclosures, castles, and roads—and children pretended that individual blocks were cell phones, cars, or sandwiches. In addition, open-ended toys in our study tended to hold children’s attention for a longer time.”
• Non-realistic. Some toys are exact replicas of things in real life, and they can inspire certain kinds of positive play. For instance, a set of plastic dishes may lead to elaborate pretend play with lots of conversation as children pretend to prepare and serve a meal to their peers or an adult. However, the researchers found that non-realistic toys—or toys that didn’t look like something that exists in real life—were especially powerful. “When building with a basic set of Legos, children must make their own decisions about what they’re creating, and then they must communicate their ideas to their playmates. This kind of play often results in complex problem-solving as children work to bring their vision to life, creativity as they conceive of new ways to put together pieces, and rich interactions and conversations with peers as they discuss their creations and then use them in pretend play,” they added.

The researchers also identified 10 specific toys that they discovered to be inspirational when it comes to high-quality play:

• Toy cars, trains, and trucks;
• Wooden train sets;
• Painting easels;
• Magnetic tiles;
• Animal figurines;
• Tinkertoys;
• Duplos;
• Wooden cash registers;
• Magnetic bottle-shaped blocks;
• People figurines.

As we can see, the Redditor’s gift falls into one of these categories (animal figurines). Maybe it’s not so bad after all?

Most people who read the story said its author did nothing wrong

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Some even shared their own similar experiences

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