[Boot]

Why is it that all these 'educational' toys teach children their shapes? Why on earth do they need to know what a triangle looks like at 18 months old? Colours and numbers come up naturally in everyday conversation but I hardly ever have to describe a shape to anyone, let alone a 2 year old. It's as if we've all been brainwashed into believe that this is essential learning but really it is SO random. My 24 mo doesn't have a clue what a circle or a square is, but he does know the heart and star shapes because of christmas and valentines. I think that by the time he has to learn geometry he will have picked up the basics. Until then - who cares?

What do you think?

 

[LaLaLaLa]

I think it's just another way of categorizing things, which helps brains develop. It gets kids to notice the differences in objects, and to be able to sort them in a new way. I can't think of many other qualities of objects that allow for this same sort of categorization and sorting.

 

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I dunno I use shape words a lot in everyday coversation, (even with grown ups). We have cookie cutters that we use for things, my dp is a carpenter/contractor so talking about shapes, angles etc is common in our house, so a shape sorting toy seems logical for us.

but i think most things just come up naturally and kids will learn them when they learn them.

 

[tankgirl73]

I think that it started because most toddlers are fascinated by them. It is part of organizing, categorizing, and understanding their world to recognize that things come in different shapes...whether or not they know the labels for all of them, learning the labels of some of them at least gets the concept across.

Like most "educational" things for kids, I think I'd agree that it's gone way too far in terms of emphasis and expectation. I think it should be part of a kid's environment, like colours and stuff, but not pushed on them. I'm very Montessori that way.

We introduced DD to the idea of shapes pretty early, but she picked up on it quickly and was very excited about it. Wouldn't have pushed it if she wasn't interested. But she absolutely LOVES shapes, points out triangles all over the place, tries to see the difference between pentagons and hexagons, tries to say 'parallelogram' lol...

But anyway, I think that like most educational things, it originally sprung from "good intentions", an observation that most kids that particular age are fascinated by that particular thing.

 

[angie7]

My twins love to talk about shapes. I don't see the problem with it, as long as the child enjoys it, what's the harm?

 

[PatchChild]

My DS likes to talk about categories. Shapes, colors, size, numbers. I think it helps him sort out the differences and similarities in what he sees.

 

[limabean]

My son always loved those toys/puzzles too. I don't see anything negative about it -- he thought it was fun.

 

[Boot]

I don't think the shapes themselves are negative, I just don't get the push to teach children shapes by age 2-3. I just feel like it's a bit of a marketing ploy on the part of the toy companies. 'Buy this for your child because it will help them to learn shapes!' On the other hand, my ds has never been very interested in puzzles, shape sorters or stackers. If he was, I would be happy for him to play with them, but I wouldn't worry about him learning anything beyond fine motor skills.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is, children are already learning everything they need just by being part of everyday life. I wish toy companies such as Baby Einstein and Leapfrog, wouldn't imply that they have something to offer that is 'essential learning' when really it isn't. OK, off my high horse now.

 

[mamadelbosque]

We have a couple shape-sorters, and I was always under the impression its more about fine-motor skills than learning about shapes specifically. DS goes through phases where he loves them and then later on (like now) he couldn't car less. But I think hes kind of 'beyond' shape sorting, tbh as he's learning to do basic wooden puzzles, which is very cool, IMO. Cause, like, I *love* to do puzzles!!

 

[Thalia]

I would also guess that learning to notice shapes and the differences among them is a skill that helps with letter recognition later on. Letters come in all kinds of colors and sizes so the only way to differentiate them is by paying attention to their shape and orientation (b and d and p and q are the same shape in a different orientation).

 

[momasana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatchChild My DS likes to talk about categories. Shapes, colors, size, numbers. I think it helps him sort out the differences and similarities in what he sees.

My DS is the same way, especially about colors and shapes. He really enjoys sorting and naming things and he picked up on the names of colors and shapes with very little direction from me. I think it is just his "thing". Kids are different though and I agree that it's no big whoop if they don't learn them by a certain age.