Set up your toddler's play environment to allow new and complex ways of playing with toys, and combining and using materials. Provide open-ended toys and materials that your toddler can manipulate.
Toys that children can take apart help develop their problem-solving abilities. Early childhood practitioners and experts suggest that for toys to be effective in developing children's problem-solving skills, they must have the following attributes:
(1) safe, durable, and attractive
(2) have varied uses
(3) be developmentally appropriate
(4) encourage exploration and experimentation
(5) stimulate original thinking
(6) provide simple cause and effect relationships and
(7) provide open-ended experiences for making choices and decisions. Segatti, L., Brown-DuPaul, J., & Keyes, T.L. (2003). Using Everyday Materials To Promote Problem Solving in Toddlers. YC Young Children, 58(5), 12-18. Clavio, J. C. & Fajardo, A.C. (2008). Toys as Instructional Tools in Developing Problem-Solving Skills in Children. Education Quarterly, December 2008, 66 (1), 87-100
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