January is a time for reflection and goal setting. All across the country people are thinking of goals for 2010. One overlooked area in goal setting and planning is often, “What play will we encourage this year?”

I don’t think many of us give much thought to our childrens’ play habits. We’re very tuned in to what food we put in front of our children and what they see, listen and participate in. We know that the tub of blueberries is a good choice for them, but if they don’t or won’t eat it we evaluate that it’s too expensive to keep buying blueberries, only to have them thrown away. We might try a kiwi instead and find that they like the furry skin.  We then become kiwi eaters. Can we say the same about play?

The way we play has changed in many ways since you and I were children. There are more toys, and for the better. With more toys there are many more choices and more chances to get it wrong. What a responsibility!

The millions of dollars spent on packaging and marketing toys makes it hard to really difficult to determine if the toy is actually a good choice for my child. The fact that many toy manufactures now give out advice about how to play can further complicate matters. Doctors and early childhood experts are featured on panels designed to help guide us. Who do I listen to? Dr X on the back of the toy packet? Professor Y who writes books, my friend Tara who’s a research assistant with a play foundation, my aunt who swears by Lincoln Logs?  With so many choices, it is easy to end up with rooms full of toys and not know why you bought some of them, or even why do you keep them?

So, how do you go about evaluating your child’s play?

I’ll share some ideas next time.