Toys that teach: a lesson in reverence, gratitude, and beauty
A toy is something in which your child spends precious time and thus acts as a teacher. The right toy can teach your child to care, to be mindful and aware, to be careful, to appreciate, to love. In your child’s hands are the keys to learning to be grateful, to appreciate beauty, to have a sense of peace and reverence for life in all its forms … In the same way, the wrong toys can teach your child. son anger, frustration, contempt, insult and mockery. How many times have you seen this on the community playground? Children imitating the grotesque objects they’ve been playing with? Grimacing and bullying the other children. They take what they have collected from their toys.
What can a plastic gadget teach your child? What lesson is hidden inside the action figure? When children have a room full of these toys, they are often so overwhelmed that they choose not to play at all. Grandparents come and say they are spoiled. Often when they choose to play, they do so in a very aggressive and destructive way. They do not show any feeling of love or care for these toys. They do not show gratitude for these toys. These toys that grunt and grimace at you appear to be designed to instill or teach anger, frustration, and hatred. Ask yourself “what does my child get from such a toy?” If you observe your child closely, you will find that their play lasts for a maximum of 5 minutes and they end up frustrated and overwhelmed. They look physically ill after playing like this with these toys.
The reason for this is that children take all of their play and it becomes part of who they are and what they are about to become. Children internalize everything around them. When exposed to ugly, synthetic toys, children risk losing their sense of wonder, their sense of reverence and beauty. They begin to internalize the messages these toys convey: hitting, stomping, hitting and hitting, throwing. Replace. These feelings then grow within our children. Their relationships become “synthetic” and their game turns ugly.
These children then grow into teenagers who wipe out their teenage peers. They have grown up thinking that almost anything can be replaced. Everything is meant to be handled roughly and without special care. They grow up on fast food and throw away take out toys that mean nothing to them. They burn for the world without caring about what they step on or topple, believing that everything can be easily replaced or that it is the responsibility of everything that stands in their way to be strong enough to last. They smash their battery-operated plastic gadgets and throw it away. Sadly, in our mass production society, it is often quickly replaced by one exactly the same. What does that teach our son?
Many parents don’t realize that a developing child’s mind encompasses everything. These toys have a very negative impact on our children and their behavior changes from inherently good and loving to mean and spiteful. The young child learns more when he plays. Play is the child’s work and it is through play that the child learns to be an adult. Why then are we not more careful and more conscientious when we choose our children’s toys?
Most modern toys do not speak to the child’s soul. In this way, they can harm the child. Not only do they rob the child of their imagination and sense of wonder, but they create a shell over the child’s heart. Today’s toys are “dead.” They are obviously not pretty. They have no energy coming from them. They’re just … ugly. Don’t our children, who have just arrived and are still so intertwined with the spirit world, deserve better?
Looking at the writings of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf Schools, we discover that the first seven years of life the child must see and experience the world as a place of goodness. The child of this age group learns mainly through imitation. Teachers trained in the Waldorf Pedagogy method are taught to be fully aware of each and every movement, because they know that the child assimilates everything, good or bad. Waldorf kindergartens are places of simple beauty for this reason. Children from the age of 7 to the beginning of puberty should experience the world as a place of beauty, because through beauty they will gain a reverence for life, which they will carry on into adulthood. The Waldorf education method is entirely based on these beliefs.
Children need to have some simple toys, which must be cared for delicately and cared for with love. They require toys, which they can wash with their own hands, hang in the air to dry, and gently fold. They flourish when playing with toys, which must be carefully polished and can be repaired. They thrive when they have toys, which they know they will pass on to their younger siblings. It is through this that they learn to have gratitude, reverence, and a sense of beauty for their environment and surroundings. Most modern toys simply do not speak to the soul of the child.
What toys speak to the child? Silks, Woods, Nuts, Shells, Seeds, Stones, Crystals, Leaves, Ribbons and little baskets in which to carry your treasures. These are the types of toys that speak to the soul of the child. These natural wonders instill wonder and discovery, magic and wonder in your child. These toys have been created as “one-of-a-kind” treasures. These toys are special and can become almost anything your child imagines them to be.
Consider pure silk scarves to play with. They are delicate and ethereal and seem to naturally awaken that sense of awareness of beauty and reverence. They awaken the child’s imagination and inspire their creativity. Children appreciate its simplicity and yet they marvel so much at the magic that a simple little cloth can be transformed into so many wonderful things.
Wood is another example. It comes from a growing living organism and has a lot of potential. Has this wood been carved or “decorated” by the creatures of the forest? What type of tree does this wood come from? Imagine that two pieces of wood will never be exactly the same and your child can feel this and feel it when holding this toy. What a lesson in appreciation for this piece of wood, which is played with here. What a wonderful discovery when your child plays outside and finds this wonderful toy just … the way it should be! Your child will carry this wood as a bundle, build it as a block, cradle it, and hold it like a baby. This piece of wood can be turned into almost anything in your child’s imagination. Perhaps Grandpa can carve this little wood into a friendly animal, or a gnome to return to the garden.
Such treasures are not easily replaced. If you are not careful and break a wooden toy (especially a handmade or found one) it is a real tragedy because it is one of a kind. If the child is lucky, it can be repaired and he will be cared for more gently because he has become weak. Of course, this will make the toy even more loved and appreciated for the injuries it has and the effort that went into saving it.
Today’s children have adopted many of their attitudes in life because of the toys they have been surrounded by in their childhood. Today’s mass-produced disposable toys are wasteful, ugly, and harm not only our children but our environment as well. They are impersonal and were created for one purpose and one purpose only: to make money for their creators. The next obvious reason is that they are easily broken and replaced, teaching your child to want more …
Remember, the toy your child is holding is your child’s teacher today.
It is up to you to decide what lesson your child will learn today from the toys you provide.