{"id":20872,"date":"2015-11-19T17:27:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T23:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=20872"},"modified":"2015-11-19T17:27:13","modified_gmt":"2015-11-19T23:27:13","slug":"give-kids-the-gift-of-language-skills-but-go-soft-on-the-noisy-toys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/give-kids-the-gift-of-language-skills-but-go-soft-on-the-noisy-toys\/","title":{"rendered":"Give kids the gift of language skills but go soft on the noisy toys"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colette House<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to know which toy aisle to turn down when so many dolls, robots, and video games stand out. Some beckon louder than others, though, in our quest for toys that foster learning, spark imagination, or inspire creativity.<\/p>\n

Take a few tips from Judy Roman of Northwestern University\u2019s Center for Audiology, Speech, Learning, and Language. She suggested \u201cToys to Talk About\u201d at her presentation Wednesday night and said the best toys are the ones that promote interaction between children and parents or caregivers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"toys2\"<\/a>
Examples of great toys used for functional play. (Colette House\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While playing with \u201cnoisy toys\u201d is part of child development, audiologists and speech pathologists tell parents to use caution when buying these items. The American Society of Testing and Materials mandates that toys should not produce sounds exceeding 85 decibels at about 20 inches away from the body.<\/p>\n

Each year, the Sight & Hearing Association compiles a list of \u201cnoisy toys.\u201d In 2014, the Doc McStuffins: Rockin\u2019 Doc Sing-Along Boombox topped the list followed by Laugh & Learn Puppy Piano.
\nNorthwestern University audiologist Jennifer Phelan said children usually don\u2019t interact with toys 19 inches away from their bodies; they usually play with them much closer. She said it\u2019s better for parents to consider a toy\u2019s noise level from 10 inches away. She suggests parents play with the toy themselves and interact with it as their children would. If it\u2019s too loud for the parents, it\u2019s most likely too loud for the children as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re at a store and it (the toy) says \u2018push me\u2019 and it\u2019s on a shelf and you push it, that\u2019s a far distance. That\u2019s not where a child is going to play with it. They\u2019re going to hold it close. They\u2019re going to potentially hold it up to their ear. In doing those kind of things, does it sound too loud?\u201d said Phelan.<\/p>\n

\"toy<\/a>
As children age they enjoy playing games with rules. (Colette House\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Play is a fundamental part of child development because it fosters children\u2019s cognitive, speech, and language skills simultaneously. Children\u2019s play abilities develop in stages and it\u2019s important to provide the toys that fit with each phase of play. Babies enter the sensorimotor stage of play at 6 to 9 months of age and Roman says, Toys that delight the senses are perfect for this age group. Babies can associate shaking a toy with the sound it may make at this age. Roman suggests buying toys that please the senses.<\/p>\n

Studies show that children ages 12 -24 months can benefit from exposure to lots of words and that toddlers 24-36 months benefit from hearing more sophisticated words. The more parents can interact with and expose their children to these things the better.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time that kids can expand their vocabularies and grow their vocabularies and their ability to tell a story they\u2019re going to gain skills for the rest of their lives,\u201d said Roman. \u201cThe other piece is all the critical thinking skills: the perspective taking, comparing and contrasting, figuring out how to create a different ending, how to work through emotions. The critical thinking skills will serve them through the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"noisy<\/a>
Sight and Hearing Association’s Noisy Toys List 2014. (ashlandaudiology.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Phelan said that playing with a noisy toy occasionally won\u2019t harm hearing, but parents need to consider how much time their children could potentially engage with it. Repeat exposure to \u201cnoisy toys\u201d has the potential to cause hearing loss and is something parents should keep in mind when purchasing toys.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if that toy becomes a favorite and they are always holding it up to their ear or they are always sleeping with it? That\u2019s when, essentially, they are starting their cumulative noise exposure a whole lot earlier,\u201d said Phelan.<\/p>\n

Phelan said she never wants to be an alarmist and flag toys as too loud and that it\u2019s okay if a noisy toy becomes a favorite toy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to be a little smart about the way we play with it,\u201d said Phelan.<\/p>\n

Both Phelan and Roman remind parents that toys are supposed to be fun. It\u2019s important to keep noise levels and childhood development in mind, but ultimately the best toys are the ones that children love the most.<\/p>\n

Photo at Top: Toys for all ages from Becky & Me Toys in Evanston were on display during Wednesday night’s talk (Colette House\/Medill)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Colette House It\u2019s hard to know which toy aisle to turn down when so many dolls, robots, and video games stand out. Some beckon louder than others, though, in our quest for toys that foster learning, spark imagination, or inspire creativity. Take a few tips from Judy Roman of Northwestern University\u2019s Center for Audiology, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":20873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[509,28,29],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-20872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2015","category-general-interest","category-health-and-science","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"\nGive kids the gift of language skills but go soft on the noisy toys - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/give-kids-the-gift-of-language-skills-but-go-soft-on-the-noisy-toys\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Give kids the gift of language skills but go soft on the noisy toys - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Colette House It\u2019s hard to know which toy aisle to turn down when so many dolls, robots, and video games stand out. 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