This toy will also be assessed as it pertains to how the child would play with the car ND if the child WOUld be able to grasp the concept of the Transformer. Other cognitive conceptions will be applied to how the Transformer is used and if the child would be able to understand it. The fine and gross motor skills used to play with the Transformer car will also be discussed. In addition, the toy will be reviewed on how or if it would be shared within a social environment and if an adult would be able to partake in teaching the child.
The Transformer is in the shape of a car and has a picture of a robot on the bottom of the car. The top of the car is mostly black with some gray trim and had the transformer logo in ere on the hood of the car. The car is approximately 2 to 3 inches in length and about 1 inch wide. There is an imprint of a robot that is mainly light grey with black, blue and red accents on the bottom of the car. The robot is easy to make out because it is prominent from the brown background, although, it took a close examination to make out all the details of the robot.
There is also the name of the character under the robot on the bottom of the car. The name of this particular Transformer is Sideways. The Transformer has very similar features to a Matchbox car with the exception of the robot imprint on the bottom. There were also a variety of other cars with different depictions that were assorted in color and character. A 3-year old child would have most of the motor development abilities to play with the Transformer car. The child would be able to grasp the unit and be able to place the object on large flat objects like floors, end table tops or on couch cushions.
The child would be able to use some fine motor skills that make the car turn or move back and forth. A 3-year old may exhibit some of these fine motor skills with his or her tongue sticking out depending on how hard it is for the child to do these things. The child might also be able to use some gross motor skills with the toy too. The child could walk with the car rolling on the table or crawl with the car on the ground. It is assumed that the child could do these things, but there is also a possibility that the child would move slowly and have to concentrate to do some of these activities.
The child would be able to keep some of his or her attention on what he or she was doing. Children at age 3 would also have a more primitive selective attention span that would keep the child somewhat focused on the more important activity of playing with the ay and avoid other less important activities until they lose interest with the Transformer. Some of the other abilities may be part of Erosion’s psychosocial stages of development of Autonomy versus shame and doubt. For instance, if two children are playing together and are able to keep focused, they may receive praise for playing nicely with their own toy.
On the other hand, if a child doesn’t keep focused and takes the other child’s toy, the child may be reprimanded and experience shame and doubt. Three year olds are able to recognize their playmates emotions. They are intelligent enough to sympathize and empathic with their playmates as well. So when a child has a playmate, they are able to recognize their emotions and their playmates emotions over the toy. In other words, the child would be less egocentric about their want for the toy and be capable of understanding others emotional feelings that may relate to the toy.
Children would actually base their friendship on their sharing the toy and playing with each other (Bee & Boyd, 2010, p. 319). The quality of the relationship would probably go no further than the shared experience. The 3-year-old that plays with this particular Transformer may learn how to play and learn through numerous ways. The child may be able to learn and associate the actions of this toy by watching the Transformers cartoon. The cartoon would illustrate many of the actions and sequences that the characters do.
The cartoon environment would probably be able to foster some of the action skills but not advance the child permanently. The environmental level of influence according to Salinas model would probably be in the maintenance or facilitation stage (Bee & Boyd, 2010, p. 7). Children playing with the toy and watching the cartoon may go through Piglet’s sub processes in the cognitive-developmental theory. The child may further adapt to playing with the toy by assimilating to the cartoon and accommodate playing with they toy.
The child may then equilibrate between the two developments and adjust their play between each cartoon episode. The association area that links the sensory, motor, and intellectual abilities that effect the information processing speed would not begin to rapidly develop till age 6 (Bee & Boyd, 2010, up. 90-91). This may illustrate that the cartoon may foster the lay, but that specific interactions and scenes are too complicated to replicate or fully understand. This may actually perpetuate violence in a child this age; because violent acts might be the only thing interactions they are absorbing.
The child at this age would probably be able to play with the toy either as a robot or a car toy. The playing of the toy as one kind of toy or the other may somewhat relate to Piglet’s view of concrete operations (Bee & Boyd, 2010, p. 158). This student thinks that children at this age would really only be able to play with the toy in a single regard because of Piglet’s theory on reversibility. Piglet’s theory asserts that an object like clay sausage could be made into a ball and then reshaped back in into the sausage may relate to how a child would play with the Transformer.
If the children at this age don’t understand reversibility of clay at this age, then it is hard to accept that these same children would understand the conversion between robot and car. Furthermore, the child would not be able to understand the inclusion of robots turning into cars or other vehicles, building, or insects. The child would not be able to understand the concept of Transformers. The child also does not understand the inductive logic of adding one toy to another makes more toys and that adding always makes more.
The child will understand the symbolic term for the car or Transformer. If a parent asks the child to get the Transformer, the child would understand. The child may also use accurate labeling of the toy by associating it with the other cars or robots. The Child may also be able to cognitively develop at low levels through the socio-cultural processing of scaffolding and zone of proximal development with further knowledge of understanding symbols. The child may become ore advanced with parental guidance that may help shape how the child plays with the toy.
The Transformer toy can be played with by a child of age 3; although, the toy seems a bit more appropriate as a car and not a robot or interchangeably a car and a robot. A three year old would be able to maneuver the toy fairly well using fine motor skills and some gross motor skills. Children this age have enough attention span to play with the Transformer for short periods of time, but may find it difficult to keep focused on the toy with other toys around. The Transformer cartoon may help the child figure out the actions f the toy.
The supplementary cartoon incentive may promote temporarily enhanced development. Piglet’s cognitive-developmental theory may be useful in the child’s adjustment of how he or she plays. The child may also be able to maneuver the toy but not be able to understand the concept or story of the Transformer. The toddler can understand the symbols that describe what toys are and may also be able to better understand his or her parent’s teachings with symbolic knowledge. References 1. Bee, Helen, & Boyd, Denies, (2010). The Developing Child. Boston, Ma: Pearson Education
