Gisli Thorsteinsson

Playful Learning: Toys for Learning Gisli Thorsteinsson

Toys and play occupy a large portion of a child?s lifetime, providing a basis for a magnitude of skills and developmental stages. They can provide solitary amusement or help to facilitate a game with others. Not only are toys considered to be fun, but they can also help a child to learn new skills and progress through their younger years thus labelling them as educational. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of toys and play on children under the age of 7. It was important to not only use secondary research in the form of books and web journals but to also obtain information from primary sources through the use of questionnaires. Primary research stages address the relationship between toys and child development from a parental view, answering questions and providing information that was not found during the literature review. 2 questionnaires were used to gain answers to a variety of questions about toys, play and child development and consumer habits of parents.