I walk (or slide if you prefer) among giants. Being small I like to think small, to shrink my universe into something of a size that I am able to comprehend. I have discovered that small humans need to do this as well, it helps them understand their place in the world and make sense of their experiences. Big stuff can sometimes be overwhelming for newbie humans. Child development experts refer to this behaviour as small world play. Where little humans manipulate even littler figures, such as dolls, animals and dinosaurs and create a make believe world where they can try out ideas and express a range of emotions withing the safe confines of the small world they have created for them. There are lots of toys that support this type of play for example a train set, a model farm or a wooden dolls house.
Providing toys like this for little humans gives them plenty of opportunity to explore the world without taking real risks. But grown up humans can do an awful lot to help them. They can provide a variety of materials to encourage children to solve problems and get creative. If you have bought a wooden dolls house you can encourage the child to furnish it with things they have made out of fabric, such as curtains and little cushions, give them paper to make pictures for the walls, carpet samples can be used to carpet the new home. They can even make furniture out of other toys such as Lego or Ello.
A wooden dolls house will supply many happy hours of playing. There is a huge range available on the market from traditional wooden dolls houses to a thoroughly modern eco-house kitted out with recycling bins, wind turbines and a rainwater tank.
This kind of play promotes social confidence, language skills, creativity and imagination and even fine motor skills. You are unlikely to regret the purchase of a wooden dolls house for your children and because they are well made you may even be lucky enough one day to watch your grandchildren playing with the house. Generations of fun and development are in your hands.
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