Play is important!

Play parallels language development.

But why?

"While playing, children test ideas, ask questions, and come up with answers. For example, while playing with nesting blocks, your child learns about size relationships--she learns that smaller blocks fit inside larger ones. She learns cause and effect as she builds her blocks higher and higher until they come crashing down. When her blocks come tumbling down, she can link that to the world of experiences and ideas by using the language we are teaching her." (The New Language of Toys: Teaching Communication Skills to Children with Special Needs by Sue Schwartz).

Toys are interactive...

As a parent I am my child's first plaything...grabbing my nose or glasses, then I respond with a kiss as I remove his hand and the two of us are interacting. He learns that what he does has an effect. Also i put words to the interaction..."you got my nose. That's my nose...etc." When a child gets older and his grasp gets a little strong to be tugging on your nose, perhaps you would replace toys for your body. =) You can interact with your child using toys (roll a ball, build a tower, push the car, etc). Toys and play develop social skills (turn-taking, eye contact, joint attention). One of the aspects of language is pragmatics...the social use of the language.

Toys are representational...

They represent a wider world for your child. Toys can bring real-life situations and experiences home. For example, if you are going to go to the zoo the next day you could pull out the Fisher Price zoo play set. Talk about the animals you will see and what they eat, etc. Then when you are at the zoo you can refer back to the toy you played with. Then you can come home and play with the toy again to review what you saw. (also teaching verb tenses).

So the next few posts will be toy ideas to use to play with your child, by age group.