Toys That Teach: A Lesson in Reverence, Gratitude, and Beauty

A toy is something your child spends precious time on and thus acts as a teacher. The right toy can teach your child to care, to be vigilant and aware, to be careful, to appreciate, to love. In your child’s hands are the keys to learning to be grateful, to appreciate beauty, to have a sense of peace and reverence for life in all its forms… In the same way, the wrong toys can teach your child anger, frustration, contempt, insult and mockery. How many times have you seen this in the community playground? Children imitating the grotesque objects they have been playing with? Making faces and bullying the other kids. They are taking out what they have taken, from their toys.

What can a plastic gadget teach your child? What lesson is hidden within the action figure? When children have a room full of such toys, they are often so overwhelmed that they choose not to play at all. The grandparents come and say that they are spoiled. Often when they choose to play, they do so in a very aggressive and destructive manner. They show no sense of love or care for these toys. They show no gratitude for these toys. These snarling and wincing toys seem to be designed to instill or teach anger, frustration and hatred. Ask yourself “what does my child get from such a toy?” If you watch your child closely you will find that his game lasts about 5 minutes at most and he ends up frustrated and overwhelmed. They look physically sick after playing like this, with these toys.

The reason for this is that children take everything from their play and it becomes part of who they are and who they are about to become. Children internalize everything around them. When exposed to synthetic and ugly toys, children are at risk of losing their sense of wonder, their sense of reverence and beauty. They begin to internalize the messages these toys convey: Hit, Stomp, Hit, Hit, Throw. Replace. These feelings then grow within our children. Their relationships become “synthetic” and their game turns ugly.

These kids then grow into teenagers who rampage through their teenage peers. They grew up thinking that almost anything can be replaced. Everything is meant to be handled roughly and without special care. They grow up on fast food and throwing out drive-thru toys, which means nothing to them. They roam the world without caring what they step on or knock over, believing that everything can be easily replaced or that it is the responsibility of everything that stands in their way to be strong enough to last. They break their plastic battery-powered gadgets and go in the trash. Unfortunately, in our mass-produced society, it is often quickly replaced with the exact same one. What does that teach our son?

Many parents don’t realize that a developing child’s mind is all-encompassing. These toys have a very negative impact on our children and their behavior changes from being inherently good and loving to bad and spiteful. The little boy learns more when he plays. Play is the child’s work and it is through play that the child learns to be an adult. Why then are we not more careful and more conscious when we choose our children’s toys?

Most modern toys do not speak to the child’s soul. In this way, they can actually harm the child. Not only do they rob the child of his imagination and sense of wonder, but they also create a shell over the child’s heart. Today’s toys are “dead”. Obviously, they are not beautiful. They have no energy coming from them. They’re just… ugly. Don’t our children deserve better, newcomers and still so intertwined with the spirit world?

Looking at the writings of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf Schools, we discover that for the first seven years of life the child must see and experience the world as a place of goodness. The child of this age learns mainly by imitation. Teachers trained in the Waldorf Education method are taught to be completely aware of each and every movement, because they know that the child absorbs everything, good or bad. Waldorf kindergartens are places of simple beauty for this reason. Children from the age of 7 to the onset of puberty should experience the world as a place of beauty, because through beauty they will gain a reverence for life, which they will carry into their adult lives. The Waldorf education method is based entirely on these beliefs.

Children need to have some simple toys, which need to be cared for gently and cared for with love. They need toys that they can wash with their own hands, hang to air dry, and fold gently. They flourish when playing with toys, which must be carefully polished and can be repaired. They thrive when they have toys, which they know will be passed on to their younger siblings. It is through this that they learn to have gratitude, reverence, and a sense of beauty for their surroundings and environment. Most modern toys just don’t speak to the child’s soul.

What toys speak to the child? Silks, Woods, Nuts, Shells, Seeds, Stones, Crystals, Leaves, Ribbons and baskets to carry his treasures. These are the types of toys that speak to the child’s soul. These Natural Wonders inspire wonder and discovery, magic and wonder in your child. These toys have been created as “one of a kind” treasures. These toys are special and can become anything your child imagines them to be.

Consider pure silk scarves to play with. They are delicate and ethereal and seem to naturally awaken that sense of awareness of beauty and reverence. They spark the child’s imagination and inspire his creativity. Children appreciate its simplicity, yet they marvel at magic so much that a simple rag can be transformed into so many wonderful things.

Wood is another example. It comes from a living, growing organism and has a lot of potential. Has this wood been carved or “decorated” by woodland creatures? What kind of tree does this wood come from? Imagine that two pieces of wood will never be exactly the same and your child can feel and feel it when he holds this toy. What a lesson in gratitude for this piece of wood, which is played with here. What a wonderful discovery when, playing outside, your child finds this wonderful toy for himself… just as it was meant to be! Your child will carry this wood like a bundle, build with it like a block, cradle it and hold it like a baby. This wooden piece can be made into just about anything in your child’s imagination. Maybe grandpa can carve this little wood into an animal friend or a gnome to come back to the garden.

These treasures are not easily replaced. If you are not careful and break a wooden toy (especially a handmade or found one), it is truly a tragedy because it is one of a kind. If the child is lucky it can be repaired and will be cared for even more delicately because it has weakened. Of course, this will make the toy loved and appreciated all the more for the injuries it bears and the effort that went into saving it.

Today’s children have adopted many of their attitudes towards life because of the toys that have surrounded them in their childhood. Today’s mass-produced disposable toys are wasteful, ugly and harm not only our children but also our environment. They are impersonal and created with one purpose and one purpose only: to make money for their creators. The next obvious reason is that they are easily broken and replaced, teaching your child to want more…

Remember, the toy your child is holding is your child’s teacher today.

It’s up to you to decide what lesson your child will learn today from the toys you provide.

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