Chapter 5: New Technologies in Early Childhood: Partners in Play?

One of the major characteristics of young children’s play is that whatever is in their environment can be used as play materials. For example, the magazine left lying on the floor, the last bites of cereal on the high chair tray, the mud in the yard, the car keys, or the television remote control can all become play facilitators. The essence of play (at any age) is in its ability to enable players to transform their world through their active engagement, flexible thought, and creative control, using whatever materials are available to them. Every object in the environment provides “affordances” that elicit actions; that is, that suggest ways it can be used in work or in play (Carr, 2000; Gibson, E. J., 1969; Gibson, J. J., 1979; Norman, 1993). For young children play affordances suggest that the magazine can be shaken and the pages ripped; the cereal bits rolled or piled; the mud squeezed, pressed and spread; the car keys shaken and banged against furniture; and the remote control pressed on and off (or thrown across the room). Of course, because these actions can then be used symbolically, all of these afforded objects can be used in a pretend script (e.g., going shopping) or a social game (e.g., hide and find). Some objects have a wide range of affordances while others suggest only one or two ways to act upon them. When toys are designed for play, the affordances of the toys may be very specific or very general. For example, dolls or blocks suggest a wide range of affordances while puzzles are designed with a particular affordance in mind. This may be why dolls and blocks can hold attention for a very long age period, while puzzles often have a short age period of interest, just until mastery is achieved. (Puzzle pieces, of course, can also be used in symbolic ways or in games that can extend their play possibilities.)