Evaluating Toys - Temperament & the Goodness of Fit Model

1. Evaluating Toys

Conduct a field experiment to evaluate toys for infants and toddlers. Determine if a child in that age range has the perceptual capacity and the motor skills required to play with it effectively.

• Go to your local toy store, or the toy section of a local store:
• Find a toy that has been deemed specific for the age range of either infant or toddler.
• Describe the toy and discuss what benefit a child might gain by playing with it.
• Discuss the developmental stage that the infant or toddler is at during the age range described by your toy with respect to:
• Motor skills
• Perceptual abilities
• Would you recommend this toy to a parent as a developmental aid?

Examine the two distinct models of temperament, how it is measured, and the child rearing implications.

• Read the article Infant Attachment: What We Know
• Use the site and the textbook to define temperament and list the structures of temperament.
• Provide an example of each.
• Define goodness of fit and relate it to the temperament of the child.
• Describe how temperament and goodness of fit might influence attachment.
• Provide an example.