31
08/11
13:51
Ye Olde Toy Boxes Making A Comeback
Toy boxes are used to put away kids’ toys. They are helpful for teaching kids the proper organization of things. Organization means that everything has its place — or, to put it another way, there’s a time for everything under the sun. There is a time to play, and a time for work; a time to make a mess, and then one for cleaning up!
Such are toy boxes: they teach us to compartmentalize our lives. This is necessary as young children haven’t any sense of categories, never mind right and wrong. It is, however, also one of the most charming aspects of a child, that they are so innocent!
And so the ancient adage about babies, their mouths, and the truth. For children are naturally free of affect and pretenses – and that happens to be why their rooms can be so messy! That’s where toy boxes could help adults teach organizational skills and basic tidiness, particularly the colorful models which easily capture a kid’s attention. This is important because until a certain age, it’s often best to present lessons in a concrete, physically apprehensible manner! When abstract concepts can be paired with concrete actions performed by the student, learning (and retention) is much improved, of adults as well as children.
Believe it or not, motor skills can be learned and practiced in addition to conceptual skills where the box offers separate compartments for distinguishing which toy goes where. One could teach the child that though all toys go into the box, certain toys belong in one corner or drawer or level while another goes elsewhere. These are really life skills which should stay with the child all the more due to the casual non-intrusive (that is, non-school-like) manner of their introduction!
With power comes responsibility, however, and it is important to also teach kids from a young age to, as another famous saying goes, think outside the box. For it will be hard to unlearn what has been learned, especially when acquired at such a young age, so it is better that along with the lessons a little balance is introduced right alongside — right at the outset — so that the attitude does not develop, that everything in the world is an object subject to easy categorization!


