What is an "Open-Ended" Toy?

Young children 100 years ago played at home and school with open-ended toys.
 Open-ended toys help children to develop their imaginations.

 

       Many child development experts prefer open-ended toys such as construction toys, blocks, dolls, etc. over digital/smart toys. For example, a cardboard box that the child turns into a pretend play house will be played with continuously by the child for many hours whereas an expensive smart toy can quickly exhaust the child's interest once its novelty has worn off.

       Widespread commercialization of smart or digital toys is mainly a 21st-century phenomenon. As they have gained acceptance in the marketplace, controversy has been brewing. One of the chief criticisms has been that despite often being technical marvels, many smart toys have only limited play value. In short, these toys neither involve the child in play activity nor do they stimulate his or her imagination. Consequently, regardless of store-shelf attractiveness, the child tires quickly of them after only one or two play sessions, and the parents' investment is largely wasted. Stevanne Auerbach, in her book Smart Play—Smart Toys introduces the notion of Play Quotient or simply PQ.

       Auerbach criticizes smart toys for often having low PQs. PQ is a rating system based upon a weighted average constructed from a comprehensive list of play value attributes. Playthings with higher PQs are desirable from the standpoint of stimulating the child's imagination, creativity, and inquisitiveness. Generally, children choose to play with these products over and over again. Those toys with low PQs are quickly set aside. The child finds them boring and uninteresting.

Things to keep in mind when purchasing or building open-ended toys:

1. They must be suggestive of play and made for play.
2. They should be selected in relation to each other.
3. They should be consistent with the environment of the child who is to use them.
4. They should be constructed simply so that they may serve as models for other toys to be constructed by the children.
5. They should suggest something besides domestic play so that the child's interest may be led to activities outside the home life.
6. They should be durable because they are the realities of a child's world and deserve the dignity of good workmanship.

More About Open-Ended Play:

• What is Open-Ended Play, and Why Is It So Important?
• The Value of Open-Ended Play
• How to Encourage Open Ended Play