Designing a Toy for Preschool Children - Essay Example

Even while flipping through the pages of children's books, their creative energy is in the offing to find outlets and their comments are novel! Etienne Benson writes, “Toys are the most frivolous things in the world and, in some ways, the most essential.

No culture is entire without toys; …Toys can be objects of solitary attention and entertainment or, far more often, centerpieces of social interaction.” (2006)My design of a toy is a hide-away tent. In this play, I believe the mind and the body of the children remain active and a small group of 4-5 children immensely enjoy this game. A hideaway tent is like a paradise for preschoolers to play A hideaway tent is for fun and imagination. Jim Makowicki writes, “One of the biggest problems when designing toys is remembering that they are toys, not models.”(5)I have considered this golden rule while designing my toy.

I have used printed cotton canvas in petal damask finish, art paper, and plastic sheet and the tent has an inbuilt tunnel made of cardboard for the children to crawl through from one end of the tent to another. The tunnel is detachable, lightweight, and portable. The tunnel can be rendered flat by removing the plastic screws. Structure expansion is possible and the hide-away tent folds down flat for easy storage and to carry from one place to another. The tent has collapsible aluminum round poles, velcro tabs to open and close the front door, and a matching storage bag.

Children would like to share their lunch items within the ‘secret hideouts’ in the tent. The dimension of the tent is 36” Wx 42” Hx33D. A hideaway tent serves multiple purposes of enjoyment for children. It is a great slumber party idea. By spending their time in the tent, the children get a sense of ownership and learn how to maintain their play area in and outside the tent. A good place to celebrate birthdays and to store the cake! At night when they play, children enjoy the theme of camping outdoors, even though the tent is installed within the safety of the drawing room/balcony/portico, etc.

My tent is intended for children between the age group of 2-6. With some initial training, the children will be able to install and dismantle the tent of their own as such children will develop a sense of belonging and creativity. The process of assembling the tent adds to the confidence level of the children and they feel that they have accomplished something. Their physical, cognitive, and social domains are developed. When two or three children assemble in the tent, it contributes to a sense of togetherness and camaraderie and they understand working with a sense of cooperation and purpose.

With mattresses in three different colors, the floor area within the tent is given a new looking depending on the occasion. For the birthday party, the pink color mattress can be used. Within, there is enough space for teddies, pillows, books, cushions, and sleeping bags, and a small box for storing biscuits, jam, and bread. This is an ideal group toy and at least 4 children can have a good time to play and have fun. By conducting their activities with a tent as the focus, they develop a sense of collaboration and togetherness.

My hide-out tent is a safe toy and yet, to inculcate safety consciousness, a first aid box containing plasters, small dressings, disposable sterile gloves, cleansing wipes, antiseptic cream, and spray to relieve insect bites and stings, cough tablets are kept outside the tent in a conspicuous place and the children are given elementary training about their uses.