mona's research paper about Toys and children

The Petroleum Institute
STPS 251
Section 50
____________________


Research Assignment
Toys And Children

To: Mr. David Moore
Dr. Lisa Lamont
From: Mona Mohamed
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010





”I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment”

Signature
Mona Mohamed

Introduction
Researching is very important to any designing process because it answers specific questions that the designing team might have. The objective of this assignment is to have more background knowledge about our design in order to produce three different conceptual designs. The team was asked to design an educational kit that explains renewable (wind or solar) energy for children between 10-12 years old.
Our team specified five different areas that we should research in order to come up with a design that meets our client’s expectations. The following topics were divided among team members:
· Wind energy
· Solar energy
· Education in the UAE
· Toys and educational toys
· Teaching methods
In this paper, I will research toys specifically educational toys to get a brief background of the type of toys that will aid our research. Toys in general have a very wide market and are progressing more and more each season. Many questions are raised when researching toys such as: what kind of toys would interest children and why? Which toys do parents buy for their kids? How toys influence children? And many more that will be answered throughout this paper.
This paper includes four parts, the first part explains which types of toys attract children. The second part focuses on the physiological needs that toys should satisfy. The third part explains parent’s point of view when buying toys for their children. While the fourth part discusses the influence that toys have on children.

What kind of educational toys attract children?
In the markets, there are many types of educational toys that children don’t buy. Not because they are not good ones but because they are not appealing to them or in other words not attractive enough. According to [1] educational toys are boring to many children because they are missing fun either in their designs or colors. This issue can be avoided by making the toy fun, colorful, and exciting in a way that keeps the child interested in the learning process that it carries.

What needs do toys satisfy?
When designing an educational toy, physiological needs and instinctive urges of a child should be taken into consideration. Children like to mimic grownups and like to undertake activities that are done by adults around them. An example of that would be cleaning, driving, washing,…etc. These activities give them the feeling that they are independent as their parents are as [2] suggested. An example of educational toys that does not satisfy those needs are those that the children do not commence for their own sake but for the sake of obtaining a hidden end. In other words, the toy should not be a substitute of a real tool or a real activity because it is not teaching children independency. A child will not want to look at a buttoning toy that shows the process, he would rather do the buttoning himself as [2] added.
Toys that encourage initiative, independence, and self reliance are the one’s parents should buy for their children. Parents should take into consideration the play material of these toys, which is the idea and the playing mechanism of the toy, it should be something that a child can use, understand, and enjoy by himself. Moreover, Play materials should always suit the child’s ability and should be age appropriate to encourage him and avoid getting an age inappropriate toy which may be difficult for him to understand and as a consequence will discourage and depress him since children can easily be discouraged [2] illustrated.

Toys criteria according to parents
Parents have certain criteria when choosing toys for their kids. Parents usually prefer educational toys that help in the mental and psychological development of their children. These toys must be light in weight, made from safe material, have a safe shape so that children play with without parental supervision, with no small components for young aged children, durable so that they are kept for a while, appropriate for their child’s age, and most importantly affordable as [2] explained.
Some parents have no criteria when buying toys either because they have an only child and want to spoil him so that he will not feel lonely or they are rich and can afford any toy or because they want their kids occupied at all times no matter what the cost is as [2] implied.

Toys effects on children’s behaviors
Some toys influence children’s behaviors in a way that makes them violent, aggressive, and introversive. An example of these toys are guns, boxing sets, and any toy that is ranked as a war game as [3] suggested. These toys may present violence to them in an exciting and an appealing game environment; where the children are able to compete with their peers in order to win the war.
According to [3], Children between 10 to 15 years are more attracted to video games. Researchers found that the more time they spend on a video game the more aggressive, unfocused, tired, and distracted they get. This might be caused from focusing continuously on the screen, being exposed to screen vibes frequently, and not getting enough food and sleep in some cases.


Conclusion
In brief, our team should keep in mind some specifications and requirements when designing the educational kit. The design should be attractive, colorful, and exciting so that children are not easily bored by it. It should encourage them in a way that helps building their personality. Some psychological needs must be met such as independency; for this reason the kit should be simple and understandable. Additionally, the kit should meet certain criteria that parents may have such as safety, cost efficiency, and the learning materials and values that it contains. Moreover, we should make the kit as friendly as it could get to discourage violence.
This research discussed four topics that will help our team in designing an educational kit for children between 10 and 12 years old to explain renewable energy in a fun way. The first topic was about the toys that attract children’s attention, while the second topic discussed the needs that toys should satisfy, the third topic illustrated the criteria that toys should meet and finally, the affects of toys on children’s behaviors was discussed.




References
[1]Robert W. Harver ”The year’s Christmas toys”, changing times, vol.24, no.12, pp.6, Dec. 1970.
[2] Beatrix Tudor-Hart, “Play and discipline in childhood”, London: redwood press limited, 1970.
[3] Myriam Miedzian, “Boys Will Be Boys: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence” , New York: lantern books, 2002.