Toy Analysis

Toy Paper: Title of your paper

Student Name

Arts and Sciences, Galen College of Nursing

PSY 2305 Developmental Psychology

Allison M. Staley, MS, LPC

Date

Description of toy/game

Provides a thorough and comprehensive description of toy/game selected including all of the following: intended age range, gender, functionality, and rules/requirements if applicable. Includes an appropriate image of selected toy (as an appendix).

Physical or Psychosocial Needs

Thoroughly describes variables that influence physical development or psychosocial factors related to selected toy/game including many supporting theories.

AND

Information presented is well supported by established milestones from the text or scholarly source.

Ex. Of physical: Children begin to develop motor skills from 2 months to 12 months old (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019). Children playing with the fishing pole are employing fine motor skills because they are developing coordination in their fingers, hands, and eyes.

Ex. Of psychosocial: It is crucial during this stage of development that a child has opportunities to safely develop their autonomy by exploring, interacting with, and feeding their curiosity about the world around them (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019). These toys are self-paced and can be self-directed (The Toy Reviewer, 2019). With no designed punishment, this will help enforce confidence in the child's abilities and promote initiative, independence, and self-esteem while reinforcing the concept of cause and effect

Cognitive Needs

Thoroughly explains the cognitive development influence of the toy/game selected.

AND

Information presented is well supported by established theoretical framework(s).

Ex: According to Piaget’s theory, pretend play will start in substage 6 of the Sensorimotor stage and leads to the Preoperational stage (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019). Pretending to play and using children’s imagination affects the physiological domain in a positive way.

Modifications

Recommended modification is thoroughly presented with details and supported by several theories.

AND

Thoroughly explains how the modification would enhance the child’s development in at least one of the 3 areas (physical, cognitive, psychosocial).

Ex.: One modification that would captivate the young learner's interest in playing with Coding Critters is the expanded use of sound. The pets make basic animal sounds (the dog barks, the cat meows). However, at this stage of development, songs and rhyming are engaging for active learners and may help with memory retention as Vygotsky established language is central to cognitive development (Vygotsky, n.d.; as cited in Lally & Valentine-French, 2019).

Reference

Educational Toys Planet. (2020). Catch of the Day Toy Fishing Rod. https://www.educationaltoysplanet.com/catch-of-the-day.html

Lally, M., & Valentine-French, S. (2019). Lifespan development: A psychological perspective.

(2nd ed.). http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=540#Reviews

Appendix

Catch of the Day: Real-life reel-in action