"As part of a study, she analysed how 32 children aged between two and four played with both familiar and unusual objects at home. Parents were asked to choose a safe but unfamiliar item for their child to play with - which tended to be some type of kitchen utensil - while the research team recorded how the child interacted with it. Alongside whisks and potato mashers, these also included a tea strainer, a funnel and a colander."
"Overall, they found that children touched the unusual object more than the one that they already knew. On average, unusual objects were touched 40 times during the 10 minute play session compared to 30 times for familiar toys. The experiment also found that the children spent 5.32 seconds touching the novel item each time they picked it up compared to 4.64 seconds for the familiar toy."
"'It snags their attention,' Ms Witmer told the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Phoenix, Arizona. 'It's engaging and it helps with attentional shifts - switching their attention from something they have seen every day versus something new.' When asked if the children appeared more engaged with unusual objects, Ms Witmer said: 'Definitely. You'll also see, with unfamiliar objects, that the kids will more often look toward their parent for clues of how to play with it.'"
Introducing unfamiliar household objects to children aged two to four increases frequency and duration of contact during play. A home-based study of 32 children asked parents to provide safe unfamiliar items, often kitchen utensils such as whisks, potato mashers, tea strainers, funnels and colanders. Children touched novel objects about 40 times per 10-minute session versus 30 touches for familiar toys, and averaged 5.32 seconds per touch compared with 4.64 seconds for familiar items. Unfamiliar items prompt more parental cue-seeking and encourage attentional shifts, supporting engagement and exploration.
Read at Mail Online
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