This article begins a series on low-tech toys. Why are low tech toys so engaging to children? What can we learn about our children's development from the way they play with these toys? This week we'll take a look at balls; stay tuned for the rest of the articles in the series.
Balls: From the Crib to the Soccer Field
Bouncy balls, fabric balls, little plastic balls, large rubber balls--maybe the size and texture changes as your child grows, but from the beginning balls are great learning toys.
When babies are young, they are active observers of the world--they don't interact like an older baby or a toddler, but every sensory experience builds neural pathways in their brains. Hold a ball in front of a young baby--chances are, she will be transfixed by it.
Why is it more interesting to look at a ball than a differently shaped object? Newborns are drawn to the edges of objects--their eyes learn to distinguish the size and shape of things by looking at boundaries. Spherical objects are remarkable: no straight lines, no corners, your eye can go smoothly around the edges.
As they get older, balls continue to hold babies' attention, especially as their visual abilities learn to track moving objects. Balls bounce and roll in a regular way, which makes it easier for babies to track. And as babies learn to grasp objects, picking up a ball challenges their hand-eye coordination and the fine motor skills of the hand.
Toddlers take the ball game a little further. They can roll or throw the ball to you, then try to catch it when you send it back. In the second year of life the cerebellum continues to develop--this is the part of the brain that coordinates timing and movement. Ball games challenge the toddler's sense of timing and coordination, helping the cerebellum to grow.
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