SOCIAL TOYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 21, 26 January 1939, Page 20

SOCIAL TOYS.

SUCCESSFUL PARTIES. JOY OF SHARING. The nursery toy cupboard is usually very well stocked with individual toys. Toys which you play with by yourself soon lose their charm, and when the party season approaches it's the social toy that is the most successful gift. A* toy which is designed to bring children of widely differing ages together is an essential to the success of a children's party. Social toys must be strong and safe. Simple in design, a good toy should be us easily understood by, say, a " three-year-old as by a six-year-old, although, of course, the older child will be more aware of its ]>ossil>ilities. The younger child will quickly pick up the playvalues of the toy. Playing together makes for confidence and breeds ambition. It arouses the competitive spirit and the hard lesson of toleration of others is soon learned. There isn't any doubt that the best party toys are those which provide an outlet for physical activities. Chutes and climbing frames can be obtained designed to fit into even small nurseries and, after play hours, can be dismantled quite simply and put away tidily. The rocking horse is still one of the nursery favourites. It is no longer necessary, however, to clumber up the room with a heavy and expensive piece. The modern "rocker."' which gives all the thrills of tlie '"horse," is made of tubular steel. It is light enough for the children to handle themselves and absolutely unbreakable. There are no nasty i orners for them to knock against, and the rocker is untippable. A Sandpit. It is no longer necessary to go to the seaside for sand games. You can get an indoor sandpit with a lid and lots of

jolly wooden gadget* to use with it. If you are inclined to » sfrndratt-Vdon't forget to obtain river-washedsand. : It; is fine-grained and keeps cleaner. Constructional toys, provided there are plenty of parts, easily fitting and really large, .jvill be enjoyed at one.-.tinie by .quite a wide age group. D 6 not give metal - parts to the very young ones. Wooden pieces which are carefully finished with a high polish are the best material for the nursery. Be careful to avoid constructional toys which do not build the designs showh in the instructions. Children will be bitterly disappointed when they iind, as they quickly do, that the set is short of parts. Card games are always fun, provided they are simple. The fascination of brightly-coloured cards to be used for matching or snap interest every child; It is important with card games that the material should be strong and that there should be plenty of cards. When organising children's parties it is best not to have any $mall pieces, as they are apt to get lost and tend to make the room very, untidy. A party is not complete without plenty of bricks. Building bricks can be obtained made of plywood in sizes 16ln by 4in by 4in or Sin by 4in by 4in. Because they are so light and sizable they afford great scope for collective play. The tendency is for all the children to tbe drawn together in play, and many smaller toys can be used in conjunction with the bricks. Try giving social toys as presents. It is really fascinating to see them work.