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Tis’ the season when many parents are spending much time (and money) looking for nice gifts that will make their children happy. Of course you want to make them happy, so you need to pay attention to the list that they sent to Santa Claus. Most likely, their wish lists reflect their interests and I would expect that these are linked to gender stereotypes, for the most part. Boys will ask for construction blocks, cars, race tracks, and action figures (they will never admit that they are dolls!). Girls will ask for baby dolls, stuffed animals, dish sets, and crafts items. Some might argue that these interests reflect some biological influences, but they most likely reflect social influences, just like the color preference for blue and pink in boys and girls is a result of socialization (Jadva, Hines, & Golombok, 2010). Whatever they are putting on their list, you will want to make your children happy and you will do your best to acquire what will become their most prized possessions, within the limits of your budget.
Are you wondering how you can make your children happy while also contributing to their development of specific skills? Now, you might be thinking that this post is a pitch for educational toys. Actually, yes and no! I am not talking about toys that are labelled as “educational” by the manufacturers. I prefer to discuss toys that have an intrinsic educational value for specific types of abilities. In particular, I want to focus on spatial abilities. These are the types of abilities that require thinking about the relations between objects and among the parts of a given object. They also involve the ability to rotate objects in imagination and to be able to think in three-dimensions. These skills are actually very important to the development of mathematical abilities and have been linked with success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009).
I would expect that all parents would like their children to be successful in these fields. How can you improve their chances? Easy: Have them practice their spatial abilities from an early age. There is ample evidence that training improves spatial abilities (Uttal et al., 2012). In addition, there are studies that clearly demonstrate that playing with spatial toys during childhood has beneficial effects on spatial abilities in adulthood. For example, Voyer, Nolan, and Voyer (2000) showed that the male advantage on a spatial ability task (Water Level Test; for an example, see http://www.gmw.rug.nl/~psychinquiry/11/spatial_reasoning/01.html) was eliminated among students who played with spatial toys when they were kids whereas it was significant for those who played with non-spatial toys. Similarly, Doyle, Voyer, and Cherney (2012) showed that the practice of spatial activities as children was positively related with spatial performance in adulthood, even after gender was considered. Essentially, those involved in more spatial activities as children had better spatial abilities as adults, regardless of gender.
What does that mean? It might be a good idea to consider putting a few spatial toys in your children’s stocking every year! What is a spatial toy? You can actually get a complete list of activities classified by their spatial and non-spatial content (in addition to their gender-typing) in the paper by Cherney and Voyer (2010). It is strange to think that you could find your children’s list to Santa Claus in a scientific paper. The types of toys, games and activities that would qualify as spatial, as adapted from the Cherney and Voyer paper, includes: cars and trucks, construction and building blocks, musical instruments, puppets, puzzles, air hockey, ping pong, shooting pool, marbles, and mazes.
One final point: You might look at the list and believe that your child will not be interested in spatial toys and decide not to go along with Santa Voyer’s suggestions. Before you give up, I suggest that you get at least one of those toys (even the cheapest one) and then show your child how to play with it. If nothing else, you will spend quality time with your child and this will benefit your relationship. However, I’m also firmly convinced that it will have long lasting effects on their spatial abilities!
Whatever you do, enjoy a safe and happy holiday season!
References
Cherney, I., & Voyer, D. (2010). Development of a spatial activity questionnaire I: Items identification. Sex Roles, 62, 89-99.
Doyle, R. A., Voyer, D., & Cherney, I. D. (2012). The influence of childhood spatial activities on spatial abilities in adulthood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33, 112-120.
Jadva, V., Hines, M., & Golombok, S. (2010). Infants’ preferences for toys, colors, and shapes: Sex differences and similarities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1261-1273.
Uttal, D. H., Meadow, N. G., Tipton, E., Hand, L. L., Alden, A. R., Warren, C., & Newcombe N. S. (2013). The malleability of spatial skills: A meta-analysis of training studies. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 352-402.
Voyer, D., Nolan, C., & Voyer, S. (2000). The relation between experience and spatial performance in men and women. Sex Roles, 43, 891-915.
Wai, J., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2009). Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over
50 years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 817-835.
Picture Attribution: By Joost J. Bakker (Flickr: Blokkendoos) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
