PLAY DICTIONARY: OPEN-ENDED PLAY AND TOYS

Open-ended play seems to be all the rage right now! And we understand – actually, not only do we understand, but we’re also one of many open-ended play fans who are more than happy to add to even more buzz to this phenomenon.

Why? It’s simple: because open-ended play is fantastic! It encourages experimentation and problem-solving, it lays the foundation for future creativity and it keeps children busy for long stretches of time at once!

But what does open-ended play mean exactly? What are its benefits? And what do open-ended toys actually look like?

If you’re new to this magical little world of ours, and happen to be wondering these same questions, let’s crack open our Play Dictionary, and find out the answers together! Here we go…

WHAT ARE OPEN-ENDED TOYS?

Let’s start with the phrase “open-ended”! A quick search in the nearest dictionary will lead to a definition something like this:

open-ended (adjective)

1. having no set limits; broad, unlimited, unrestricted;
2. open to change; adaptable to the developing needs of a situation;
3. permitting or designed to permit spontaneous and unguided responses.

It’s not a big stretch to see from here that open-ended play is, basically, play without boundaries or any set of expectations. Open-ended play is unstructured play!

It follows from this that open-ended toys come with no instruction or pre-defined purpose, but instead inspire us (and our kids, of course) to play with them in several ways. If you give an open-ended toy to different children, they will – most probably – come up with very different ways to play with it. Based on their age, developmental stage, natural abilities, interests and imagination (or even recent experiences and current emotions!), all children will use the same toy in a multitude of ways.

This is because any open-ended toy is designed with the “90% the child, 10% the toy” premise in mind. These toys let children direct and be in charge of their own play, as well as leave plenty of room for their input. With open-ended toys, the typical question burning in parents’ minds while choosing playthings for their child is always turned around! It’s not about “what does this toy do for my child?”, but rather: “what can my child do with this toy?”

HERE’S A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE!

Look at these Grimm’s cups! We can use them for stacking, or building a tower, but they can also become plates for an imaginary meal, or even dollhouse furniture!

Similarly, building blocks, mandalas, playsilks or the iconic Grimm’s rainbow will provide endless ways to play with them. But why stop there? We’ve also all seen our children playing with rocks, sticks, ropes, empty cardboard boxes, kitchen pots, paper rolls… Just a few examples of how many open-ended play materials we have lying around our homes already!

The key to a toy or material being open-ended is simplicity. The less well-defined it is, the more room it will leave for the ideas of your child.

SO WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF OPEN-ENDED PLAY?

Like we mentioned before, open-ended toys always meet the child where they are. Their versatility allows them to explore and work on things (during play) they are curious about. It makes them investigate, explore, and later on, imagine and create.

And since open-ended play’s more focused on the process than the end result, it also fosters a curious mindset and positive attitude toward experimenting with new concepts and ideas. Open-ended play encourages the innovative way of problem-solving, and it’s a powerhouse of creativity and imagination. Last but not least – it lets children own their discoveries, too.

WHAT ABOUT CLOSE-ENDED TOYS?

Because if we’re talking about open-ended toys, surely we can talk about close-ended toys too, right? So what are they exactly?

We call toys close-ended when they’re more limited in use: they only do one thing, like e.g. those one-and-done active toys that play lights and sounds when a child presses their buttons. Close-ended toys sometimes get a bad reputation because of these types of, well, entertainment-focused toys – and if we’re totally honest, those are the ones we don’t see too much value in, either.

But don’t rush to throw out all your close-ended toys though! Because – as it turns out – there’s much more than meets the eye in some of them.

NOT ALL CLOSE-ENDED TOYS ARE OF THE DEVIL

Think about it: when your child sits down with a shape sorter or stacking tower; when they begin working on a puzzle, or they want to play cards or dominoes, they’re also choosing close-ended activities! Each of these toys or games have a clearly set purpose, concrete rules to play by, and a clear beginning and end – something you can only play with in the “right” way.

But these “closed” play materials, which actually require a lot of active participation from a child (instead of just flashing lights powered by batteries) are actually just as great and necessary as open-ended toys! It’s just that they serve a very different purpose.

Close-ended toys usually come with a well-defined goal: whether it’s size discrimination, colour matching or turn-taking, they usually target or magnify specific skills. It’s like an intensive training session based on one subject! Often, they involve multiple steps, which helps young children learn how to plan ahead and then sequence their steps. It teaches them about a work cycle, and how to build sustained attention. And these abilities are just as important for their future problem-solving skills as imagination!

A BALANCED TOYSHELF HAS BOTH

Close-ended materials give children a sense of purpose, order and accomplishment. While open-ended toys offer them a space for creativity and freedom. So aren’t they both necessary for well-rounded thinking then? We certainly think so!

That’s why we believe there should be room on every play shelf for both kinds of toys – because children really do need both. So, as a parent, all you need to do is find the right balance that fits for your own child’s temperament and developmental stage.

OPEN-ENDED PLAY LOOKS DIFFERENT AT EVERY STAGE

Speaking of developmental stages! Let’s hang onto that for a moment: since open-ended play can look very different at each stage, most often, open-ended toys won’t be used the same way. This is something we really can’t emphasize enough – it’s vital to understand the different stages of how our children play (preferably before we, as parents, get disappointed that our large wooden rainbow has been standing untouched on our play shelf)!

Because although we said that open-ended toys are great for imagination, a toddler might not have yet started to develop the symbolic thinking that enables him to play that way! Meaning that, even though the rainbow’s already in your home, it won’t yet turn into tunnels or doll houses. And the Grapat coins won’t be used as play coins in the make-believe supermarket!

Most of the time, toddlers are still experimenting with the physical characteristics of objects and engaging in something called “schema play”. They love stacking, matching, lining up, filling and emptying things. Before they start turning around things in their head, they need to turn things around a lot in their hands!

And at this stage, you might find that your child is more interested in close-ended toys, such as shape sorters, stackers or classic hammering games, as they tackle that need. But simplistic, open-ended materials, chosen with this perspective in mind, leave plenty of room for physical exploration, too! The Grimm’s cups we mentioned before, for example, are more than perfect for stacking, sorting, and filling, before our toddler grows into using their budding imagination to transform the cups into bowls, or drums, or something else entirely.

OPEN-ENDED PLAY IS A MINDSET

Another thing we always like to emphasize when it comes to open-ended play is that it’s more of a mindset. Which means that all play can be open-ended – as long as it’s unstructured and child-led.

The truth is that any kind of toy or material can be used in an open-ended way. For my part, I have seen my child using puzzle pieces as pirate treasures, coming up with his own rules for Uno cards, and I’ve also witnessed our board game figures coming alive in his own special story. Children often play in a very open-ended way by default, because… well, it just comes naturally to them. They have curious minds, and encouraging this type of play keeps that spark alive.

The different types of toys we choose for them can definitely affect them. But now we know: the secret doesn’t just lie in toys! Open-ended play should also be an authentic mindset on our side: giving enough freedom to our children to figure out how they can play with certain materials. Which means that sometimes, we’ll need to take a deep breath and take two steps back instead of meddling, instructing or correcting them as they play. This way, when they need to, they’ll be more than ready to think outside the (toy)box!

Photography: Teja Lazar & Edina Mocz-Horvath. All right reserved.

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