Jeanie Hurley at the Literacy Trust website confirms what I’ve thought for a while now.

Traditional building blocks and Play-Doh are far better for children’s learning than high-tech educational toys and videos, experts have revealed. Psychologists are warning that many expensive games might actually restrict children’s progress by stifling their creativity and hindering their social skills. American child development expert Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek believes youngsters spend too long in front of television 2 and computer screens 2 when they could be playing with basic toys. In a new book titled Einstein Never Used Flash Cards 2, she claims that so-called ’smart’ toys fail to teach children to play imaginatively. In contrast, wooden blocks, crayons, costumes, paints and balls help them develop crucial lifelong skills such as problem-solving and perseverance. They also make it easier for parents to join in, which is vital for boosting children’s learning.

And from Toddlers Today comes this:

There are also questions like, “Do I want my child to form a meaningful relationship with a miniature android?” and, “Do ’smart toys’ 2 actually make smarter kids?”

Some child psychologists suggest that electronic toys minimize the variety of stimulus children receive, and reduce their play to a simplistic set of push-button responses. Others believe that it is important to help kids orient themselves to life in the electronic age.

Dr. Erik Strommen, head of R&D in Microsoft’s Interactive Toy Group, argues that “Children’s lives are now highly mediated by electronics. For kids to feel confident in the modern high-tech world, their toys need to reflect the complexity of that world. Really, kids want to be active, and technology is an active thing.”

One thing that most experts seem to agree on is that while electronic toys 2 can help provide fun educational play, the important thing is that parents are involved in their child’s playtime.

So go get some blocks, Play-Doh, Super Marbleworks, or Flip Flop Faces, put down the LeapPad 2, and go play with your kids!

H/T: Teach With Toys.