In the world of children there are several absolute truths that parents know, and some that we do not know and that, until we discover them, cause us some trouble. For example, we know that children have no problem throwing pedets or pooping where they are (they don't think about what others will say if it smells bad), and we know they have no problem asking "why" a lot of times, as if suddenly they wanted to know absolutely everything.
However, we do not know until we find it that they are able to repeat the things that adults say about others (they can hear and then reproduce phrases that we say about other people, putting us in a serious commitment); and we do not know that they are capable of opening gifts and, given the hopeful look of family members who expect their gift to be the best accepted, throw them in the air and keep the box and the wrapping paper.
Why my son? Because you do that?
"Look, hehe, look how nice what Grandma has given you," and the boy who takes your hand away. And you arrive with more things that other relatives have brought to you, that you imagine spending a precious time in choosing it for your son and you feel that the right thing is that it makes him a little appreciation, and your son no longer separates you with his hand: Slap what you put in front of you, or he takes it and throws it again in the air ("and next time, Dad, I stamp it on your face").
And you feel like you have to apologize and say something like "Well, he is a bit confused and overwhelmed, with so many people and so much gift. Surely he plays a lot with it."
And sometimes it's true and after the box and the paper it turns out that he pays attention to the inside, but sometimes not, and neither should we tear our clothes, because the important thing is not the toy, but the game.
In Babies and more Christmas gifts for children: nine keys to succeed with the purchaseWhy do you prefer boxes and wrapping paper
Many people ask it because over the years we have learned that the box is nothing more than the place where the content is protected, and the paper is nothing more than a cover that hides the interior to cause emotion, curiosity and surprise.
But for them it is not that, for them it is another gift. In fact, it is like a gift of three or more pieces: paper, full of colors, with the ability to separate into more pieces, to take different forms, to be sucked, caught in the hands, etc .; box, which turns out to be closed or open, full or empty, can be standing or lying down, can "contain" an arm or foot of the child, or if there is luck and is large, the whole child; and the inside, the toy, which can be a pass, or a real roll, depending on the interest of the child.
Experts say that the first three years of life are very important at the level of development and learning, because that is when the foundations of everything that will come later are formed. Surely on more than one occasion you have heard or read that "young children are like sponges." Well, it's true, they are. And they are to learn as much as they can about life, the environment, how everything works, how they should adapt to society, its operation, the objects that surround them, how to manipulate them, what benefit to get from them, etc. Let's say you are learning to think and understand what you can do with things, what is their usefulness and thus decide if they are useful or fun or if they do not help much.
In Babies and more, what to give for Christmas? The most recommended toys for each ageWell, when they stop to play with a box, or with paper, they are doing just that: get juice. See the noise they make, how it changes shape, how useful they can give it, if they fit inside, if they don't fit, what they can put in, how they can take it out, how it closes, how it opens, how the paper covers what is underneath , how it involves what is inside, and so on.
Come on, I'm sure that if you put on your two or three year old glasses you will see a lot of possibilities to a large piece of wrapping paper, and even more to a box. Normally stop with it for a while!
It is a learning result of the curiosity of those years, of the need to know and understand, and that is why for children it may be more interesting in the first years that they have indeterminate toys (those that an adult does not know what they are for), that toys with a more or less concrete objective.
Just yesterday, in the consultation, a couple asked me about the best toys for a year and a half girl: "I would look for wooden toys, those that you look at and do not know what they are for, because the most important thing in this age is that they develop creativity and imagination, because the most important thing is the game, and not the toy. "
Therefore free play is so importantThat is why a few weeks ago we told you that some children are being educated too soon, because benefits are seen when the contents arrive later and the children have more time to play.
This year, some boxes
Well, it is not true. This year I will not give you some boxes, but to the small and medium I brought them some large boxes a few days ago and they take care of them as gold cloth. They are their big boxes that fit inside, and they are their cars, their little houses, a castle when they are put together, and all the things they can imagine where my mind does not reach.
I think that the next time I have to give something to a child I will go wherever they sell the biggest boxes, and I will get a pair of different sizes. Surely I succeed with my gift.
Photos | iStock
In Babies and more | Tired of toys that last a day? 13 gifts for children with no expiration date, 15 gift ideas for children that are not toys, are we in danger of turning Christmas into a showcase for consumerism before our children?
