{10.9} Do Children Need Toys? Learning to Play, Playing to Learn with Alexis Ralphs of 100 Toys
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How many toys do children really need? Is independent play a good thing? What effect does screentime have on our children?
This and many more questions came up during this week's episode on Raising Healthy Mothers when I chatted to Alexis Ralphs of 100 Toys, ex-primary school teacher, turned stay-at-home-dad, turned toy seller, turned course creator.
I was curious to know how imporant play is as a means to learn and develop in preparation for school, which prompted me to invite Alexis onto the podcast. In the we covered so much more. We discussed...
How screentime affects children's play – and why they get so argumentative after watching TV
Whether children actually need toys at all, and what we can do to foster creativity
The importance of independence play
Challenging toys vs entertaining toys, and why noisy, light up toys should be thrown in the bin
How play prepares our children for school
One thing that shone through is Alexis's deep-seated belief in the importance of simple play, making me feel that we have over-complicated play, most likely contributing to parental burnout as they try and keep up with the latest crazes. Reining back and just using what we have around the house helps our children play for longer... and stay younger for longer too.
I loved that Alexis was honest and open about his challenges in play and parenting, despite his background as a teacher and a parent of 4 pre-tweens. It reminded me that no matter how experienced or knowledgeable you are, life is never straightforward as a parent!
Connect with Alexis:
Learn more about his courses:
You can use the code TASHA on checkout to get 10% off any courses, including the bundle offer of 3.
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Website: https://tashadcruz.com/podcast
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