What is erikson's human development theory?

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or interested student, Eric Erikson's Theory of Human Development offers some valuable insights into the way we mature and develop.

Erik Erikson (1902-1994) is best known for his work in Human Development, in particular his Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development, influenced, in part, by Freud, and by Erikson’s observations of the Ogala Sioux. For Erikson, psychosocial development involves certain crises which the individual must face at each stage.

The first stage of development, termed oral-sensory (birth -18 mos.), we, as infants, are totally dependent upon our caregiver. If our infant needs are met with love and reliability, we develop a sense of trust, or security in our caregivers and our environment. If, however, we are treated with indifference, unpredictability, or abuse, we become fearful and anxious, even withdrawn. We develop mistrust and insecurity, and a feeling of nascent hopelessness.

In the second stage, muscular-anal (18 mos.-3 yrs.), we, as toddlers, begin to have some control of our physical self and environment. We learn to walk, to hold and manipulate objects. This is the stage where we gain sphincter control and begin potty training. If our caregivers are overly critical or impatient, or if they demean our efforts, we develop feelings of shame and doubt. If, however, our caregivers are supportive and encouraging, we develop a sense of autonomy and self-esteem.

The third stage is the locomotor period (3 yrs. to 6 yrs.). Here the challenge is for us to learn some independence, to take initiative in play or discovery. During this stage, our caregivers must be encouraging, but also firm in directing us toward appropriate behavior. If, on the other hand, our caregivers are harsh and punishing, we develop guilt.

The latency or fourth stage occurs during pre-adolescence (7-12 yrs.). During these school years, we develop a sense of industry and purpose. We learn responsibility and the importance of completing tasks. If we are made to feel successful and competent, we feel self-worth. If, however, we are overly criticized or ridiculed by parents, teachers, or peers, we develop a sense of inferiority, worthlessness, and incompetence. This sometimes leads to a state of inertia, as we feel too insecure to act.

By stage five, we graduate to adolescence (12-18 yrs.) Provided that we are living in a society with an established functional culture, and that we have adequate role models and peer relationships within that culture, we will acquire ego identity. We will have a clear, strong, constructive perception of who we are, both as an individual and as a member of our society. Role confusion can result if we are unsure of our place within the social fabric and insecure about our self-identity. Adolescents who experience role confusion often align themselves with groups that can provide the traits and values they cannot find in the proper venue. Often these groups are fringe groups, highly dogmatic, and intolerant of individuality. Gangs are an example of such.

In early adulthood (ages 18-35), stage six, we face the conflict of intimacy, as opposed to isolation. Here we must forge close, intimate relationships while maintaining a clear, strong sense of self. The relationships created at this stage need to be the combination of two separate selves desiring completion not through each other, but with each other. Intimacy is the result, through marriage, family, or friends. Caring, trust, and mutual respect form the foundations of love. When intimacy is either not successively accomplished, whether by constant promiscuity or by self-exclusion, we become isolated and lonely.

The seventh stage, middle adulthood (35 to 65), involves work, the community, and family. If we have a sense of contributing meaningful work within the context of the community, and as a sustaining and centralizing force in the family, we discover generativity, a selfless investment in the future through contribution. If we are self-absorbed and not productively involved in meaningful work at home or in the community, we become stagnant; we are not adding to the welfare of future society.

The last and eight stage of development involves late adulthood, old age. As we mature and head into retirement, we face the fact that we are physically aging, that mortality is no longer an abstract thought at the back of our minds, but a prospect we all must accept. We retire from our work, our children leave, and we find ourselves confronting our past, our victories and our mistakes. If we can accept death without fear and look back upon our lives with shared wisdom, we achieve ego integrity. If we cannot, we experience despair, and we face death with bitterness and anger. We have nothing wise to impart to the younger generation, only resentment and fear.

Taken holistically, the manner in which we resolve these inherent conflicts affects how we experience life.

Enid Blyton (Enid Mary Blyton)

( 1897 - 1968 )

aka Mary Pollock

Enid Mary Blyton was born on 11 August 1897 at 354 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London. She was the first child of Theresa Mary Harrison (1874-1950) and Thomas Carey Blyton (1870-1920), a salesman of cutlery, later when the family had moved to the nearby suburb of Beckenham, they had two sons more, Hanly (b. 1899), and Carey (b. 1902). She adored her father during her childhood years, but when she was 13, her father left home, and she only saw him for one day every month. Her father's departure had a huge effect on her, impeding her growth and making her ill. From 1907 to 1915, Enid Mary was educated at St. Christopher's School in Beckenham. She was a talented pianist, but gave up her musical studies when she trained as a teacher at Ipswich High School. She taught for five years at Bickley, Surbiton and Chessington, writing in her spare time.

Enid Mary's first book, "Child Whispers", a collection of poems, was published in 1922, when met the handsome Major Hugh Alexander Pollock (1888-1971), who was marked by the divorce from his first wife, Denis Thatcher, to whom he lost to another man, while he was in the First World War. She wrote in her diary soon after meeting him: "I want him for mine." On 28 August 1924, Enid Mary became the second wife of Hugh Pollock, editor of the book department in the publishing firm of George Newnes, which published two of her books that year. The couple moved to Buckinghamshire and eventually they moved to a house in Beaconsfield, know as Green Hedges. At the beginning of the 1930s, she had an experience of a spiritual crisis, but she decided against converting to Roman Catholicism from the Church of England because she had felt it was "too restricting". The Pollocks had two children: Gillian (1931-2007) and Imogen Mary (b. 1935), who were baptised into the Anglican faith. Shortly after the birth of their daughters, she started writing her first children's series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups. Described as a "one-woman fiction machine", she was the author of a host of legendary characters, including "The Famous Five", "The Secret Seven" and, most famously, "Noddy", "Big Ears" and the other inhabitants of Toyland. She used to sign her books with her maiden name, "Enid Blydon", and her married name, "Mary Pollock".

While her career was a success and she enjoyed with her maternity, the relationship with her husband was in difficulties by his suspicions of her infidelity, and when the Second World War began, the Pollocks' marriage was irretrievably broken. In that time Hugh Pollock met the writer Ida Crowe, his future third wife, and in 1941, Enid Mary also met her future second husband, Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters (1892-1967), a London surgeon. Finally, Hugh asked for a divorce and Enid Mary acepted, he agreed to be identified as the "guilty" party in the divorce in return for an amicable separation and access to their daughters, who were 12 and 8. The divorce being granted in October 1943, Enid Mary married on 20 October 1943 at the City of Westminster register office, and Hugh also married a few days later (Hugh and Ida Pollock, had a daughter Rosemary Pollock, also a writer). But after the divorce and new marriages, Enid Mary decided that the best thing for her daughters, was not to have contact with his father, whom they had not seen much during the war. She even changed her daughter's surname to Darrell Waters. The relationship with her ex-husband became increasingly tense, and she forbade her editors and friends to work with her ex-husband, who declared bankrupt in 1950, blaming his ex-wife of his financial situation.

Enid Mary moved smoothly into her role as a devoted doctor's wife, living with him and her two daughters at the famous Green Hedges. Her literary output was of an estimated 700 books over roughly 40 years. She was very happy in her second marriage, and when her second husband died in 1967, she became increasingly ill. Afflicted by Alzheimer's disease, she was moved into the Greenways Nursing Home, 11 Fellows Road, Hampstead, London, where on 28 November 1968 she died, aged 71, and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium where her ashes remain.

What is play? Merriam-Webster defines it as "the spontaneous activity of children." The word comes from "plega," an Anglo-Saxon word meaning sport or game. While children's activities are often described as play, similar activities by adults are termed leisure. Recreation is seen as more purposeful and organized, like playing a sport.

The notion and importance of play has changed over the centuries. When Europeans first settled in the New World, they didn't have time for play. The average child might have a couple of modest, homemade toys—a carved animal, a rag doll—but chores filled up most of the day. Entire families worked at farming, homemaking, and earning a living. This was mostly a matter of survival, but Puritan belief also held that idleness was wrong.

Things started to change in the mid 1800s with the Industrial Revolution. As cities grew and technology advanced, people left the farm to work in factories and at jobs in town. At the end of the long work week, employees were left with a bit of free time. But what to do with it? Progressive-era social reformers promoted leisure activities as a way for the working class to renew their mental and physical energy and connect with family.

Before the Industrial Revolution, children were treated as little adults, wearing similar fashions, working strenuous chores, and being exposed to the same unpleasant realities as grown-ups. As industrialization progressed and affected society, children came to be viewed as innocents needing protection, instruction, and nurturing. Childhood was recognized as a separate phase of life, and toys, fashion, and attitudes changed accordingly.

At the beginning of the 19th century, adults believed that children’s toys and games should both educate and teach morals. America’s move towards industrialization made toys more plentiful and affordable for the expanding middle class. More toys meant more marketing. Products were designed and sold on an annual cycle, with Christmas as the focal point. By the late 1800s, it was okay for toys to be fun.

The growth of the business world changed society as well, bringing ideas of teamwork and competition to activities such as sports. Leagues were formed, rules were refined, and the strenuous, manly life was promoted. The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in England in 1844 to build character through a variety of means, including athletics. The notion of "muscular Christianity" furthered this idea by equating physical fitness with good morals and a strong nation.

Attitudes towards play changed even further in the 20th century. After World War I adults started participating in their children's play. Youth culture came into force in the 1950s as television shows and products were marketed to children. By the 1980s scholars started wondering what toys say about us. Do beautiful, shapely dolls make us feel inadequate? Do toy guns and war play decrease our sensitivity to violence?

In many ways, today's play seems different from earlier generations. Safety concerns keep children nestled safely at home or at sanctioned events, rather than roaming neighborhoods on their own. Activities are highly structured. There are play dates for youngsters, specialty camps for all sorts of pastimes, and numerous after-school activities. Technology and an emphasis on early education have brought computer games that teach toddlers their ABCs. More and more, children and adults are scheduling play, turning it into a job rather than free-spirited fun. Even dogs have their own play parks and doggie-day care activities. A 2007 study found that one in three American workers don't take all of their allotted vacation days. And when they do travel, many engage in goal-oriented activities while juggling work-related emails.

So what does the future of play hold? Will we overschedule ourselves, making play a chore rather than a pleasure? Will businesses marketing must-have gear and lifestyles make play too expensive? Will we be harmed by violent, addictive, or dangerous games and sports? Perhaps we'll once again find time to relax and enjoy a favorite activity, free from stressful competition and the need to get something done.

Toys and Materials for Preschool Play
by J.L. FrostS.C./ WorthamS. Reifel

Young children are strongly influenced by toys that are marketed on television. Many of these toys are related to cartoon shows, current children’s movies, or children’s television programs that feature violence and action figures. Unfortunately, these toys have little play value and can be related to aggressive play (Frost, 1992). They do not stimulate the imagination, dramatic play, or creativity. Over the past 50 years, the transformation of toys has included more technology and they are mass produced with unlimited variety. These toys contribute to a decline in the imaginative activities of young children (Elkind, 2005).

More appropriate choices are toys that are unstructured, diverse in playability, and simple in design. Frost (1992) provides points for toy selection that would meet these criteria for appropriate toys.

Parents, teachers, and caregivers can also consider play in developmental domains in their choices of toys and materials for preschool children. They will want to include a balance of toys for different types of play, as suggested in the following list:

Gross-Motor Play
Large blocks
Transportation toys
Climbing equipment
Tricycles, wagons, Big Wheels, and so forth
Woodworking equipment and materials (child-size hammers, workbench, vise, screwdrivers, scrap lumber, etc.)

Fine-Motor Play
Clay
Puzzles
Art supplies (finger and water paints, brushes, markers, crayons, scissors, etc.)
Beads for stringing
Construction materials (small blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, etc.)

Language and Literacy
Books
Writing materials (notepads, individual chalkboard, pens, pencils, old typewriters, sand trays, etc.)
Thematic props (teddy bears for “Goldilocks,” puppets, etc.)

Cognitive Play
Materials for water play (buckets, squirt guns, sieves, etc.)
Simple board games
Simple card games
Materials for science experiments (balance scales, eye droppers, animal cages, aquariums, terrariums, etc.)
Objects from nature (leaves, bird’s nest, feathers, etc.)

Sociodramatic Play
Dolls and stuffed animals
Props for dramatic play (hats, neckties, child stethoscope, eyeglasses with lenses, etc.)
Miniature life figures
Housekeeping equipment and props (child-size broom, dishware, table and chairs, etc.)

TONGUE TWISTER

You've no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light's light's a slight light,
And tonight's a night that's light.
When a night's light, like tonight's light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.

A Parent's Guide to Phonics
by Lia Freitas

What exactly is phonics? Many parents hear the term when their child is learning to read, but a lot of them have no clue what teachers are talking about--let alone how they might be able to help.

Plain and simple, phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds in language. Phonic instruction usually starts in kindergarten, with kids learning CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words by the end of the year. Words such as hat, cat, and pot are all CVC words.

But CVC is just the beginning. The bulk of phonics instruction is done in first grade. Students usually learn consonant blends (-gl, -tr -cr), consonant digraphs (-sh, -ch, -qu), short vowels, final e, long vowels, r-controlled vowels, and diphthongs. From second grade on up, phonics continues to build fluency and teach multisyllabic words.

Interest peaked, but don’t know where to begin? Here are some basic phonics rules to keep in mind as your child learns to read:

Short vowels: When there is a single vowel in a short word or syllable, the vowel usually makes a short sound. Short vowels usually appear at the beginning of the word or between two consonants. Examples of short vowels are found in the words: cat, pig, bus.

Long vowels: When a short word or syllable ends with a vowel/consonant /e combination, the vowel is usually long and the "e" at the end of the word is silent (this rule doesn't apply in all cases). Examples of vowel/consonant/e combinations are: bake, side, role. Here’s another rule with long vowels: when a word or syllable has a single vowel and it appears at the end of the word or syllable, the vowel usually makes the long sound. Examples are: no, she.

Consonant blends: When two or three consonants are blended together, each consonant sound should be heard in the blend. Some examples of consonant blends are: black, grab, stop.

Consonant digraphs: A combination of two consonants sounds that together represent a new sound. Examples of consonant digraphs are: shop, chin, photo.

R-controlled vowels: When a vowel is followed by the letter "r," the vowel does not make the long or short sound but is considered "r-controlled." Examples are: bird, corn, nurse.

Vowel diphthongs: The term "vowel diphthong" refers to the blending of two vowels sounds – both vowel sounds are usually heard and they make a gliding sound. Examples include: moon, saw, mouth.

Phonics are the building blocks to reading. And while they’re not always intuitive, once you know the rules, they can help quite a bit. So learn the basics. Not only will you be helping your child, but you’ll finally understand what the teacher is talking about!

All I Really Need to Know

I Learned in Kindergarten

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile and Sunday School. These are the things I learned ▀ Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clan up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life -- learn some and think some and draw and point and sing and dance and play and work every day some. ▀ Take a nap every afternoon. ▀ When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. ▀ Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why; but we are all like that. ▀ Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup -- they all die. So do we. ▀ And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned -- the biggest word of all -- LOOK. ▀ Everything you need to know is in there somewhere . The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. ▀ Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. ▀ And its still true, no matter how old you are -- when you go out into the world, its best to hold hands and stick together.

By Robert Fulgham

A Brief History of Toys

Archaeological evidence suggests ancient toys were the same kind of playthings that children use today. Centuries ago Roman, Babylonian, Greek and Egyptian children had balls, rattles, dolls, animals, hoops, kites, marbles, stilts and tops. Some had traditional games like dominoes and checkers. New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has an estimated 2000 year old Egyptian rattle shaped like a cow with some stones inside in its collection. A baker kneading bread figure, a crocodile snapping its jaws and a dog with moving tail and jaw have also been found from this era. The World's oldest board game is believed to be The Royal Game of Ur, which was played in Babylon for over 5000 years. The traditional board game Mancala may date back to as far as 3000 BC.

Archaeology really helps to identify timelines and locations. For example clay tops were found in the ancient city of Ur dating from 3500 BC (Ur is modern day Muqayyar, 187 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq). Ceramic spinners made of terra cotta were found at Troy (Turkey) 3000 BC. Carved wood whip tops discovered in Egypt are aged between 2000-1400 BC. In China, whip tops were found dating from 1250 BC. Fired clay tops were found from Thebes in Greece dated at around 1250 BC. Greek pottery, from around 500 BC, is decorated with scenes of men and women playing with both whip and twirler top varieties. While many would have been made out of wood, it appears that ceramic tops could have been votive and used to honour the gods. Some may have also been a sign of affluence and were sometimes put in tombs as to be taken into the afterlife. Roman tops from 27 BC were found made of bone.

Many early toy-like objects (dolls and animals) were closely related to religious beliefs and it can be difficult to tell the differences between these and those for children's play. One of the oldest official and clearly identified toys were found on a site of a 3300 year old temple in Iran. They are small pull along figures of a lion and a porcupine carved in limestone mounted on wheeled platforms and pulled along by a string. Another early discovery is a crude doll with movable arms and legs, which kneads bread or grinds corn when a string is pulled. The traditional Yo-Yo is believed to be the second oldest toy in known history. Some toy historians believe the yo-yo was originally used for hunting purposes.

Pre 16th century American native children played with cornhusk dolls, small bows and arrows and leather balls stuffed with feathers. In 1585 the members of the Roanoke Expedition took dolls in Elizabethan dress for children they expected to find in the new country. The oldest surviving doll in the United States is called Letitia Penn after the daughter of William Penn, who brought the doll from Europe to Pennsylvania in 1699. In 1658 Jan Amos Komensky, a Czech educator wrote the first picture book for children and it was realized that illiteracy was a disadvantage in an expanding world and growing concern with education was felt. In the 1700’s a freer intellectual atmosphere was felt. Parents began to think in terms of their children's happiness as well as their moral wellbeing. This new attitude was reflected in an expanding toy trade and toy shops began to appear. The USA president Benjamin Franklin wrote about a toy store in Boston in 1713 where, for a few coppers, he was able to buy a whistle. In 1785 an advertisement in the Independent Gazetteer of Philadelphia had dolls, drums and toy harps for sale.

The advent of the Industrial Revolution changed the character of toys due to being able to manufacture them in larger quantities. Wooden toys, straw and stone were rapidly displaced by iron and tinplate. Children could get manufactured toys at reasonable prices instead of having to make their own, a growing trend that accelerated factory production and distribution. Toys also became more and more sophisticated and by the end of the 19th century construction toys were appearing. Then by the early twentieth century electric trains and powered mechanical toys became very popular. Production was hampered during wars and sometimes ceased altogether as a result of shortages of both materials and labour. World Wars 1 and 2 were memorably disruptive, with many toy manufacturers converting all production to materials for war. Following World War 2 production gradually changed. Space toys with plastic parts such as robots and rockets became popular. Most of these were made in Japan. Electrical and battery operated toys have gradually come to replace those animated by spring-driven motors. The growth of television and video games has also affected pastimes and traditional games. But the longing of some parents and children for more conventional toys has led to a resurgence of the wooden toy and stuffed toy industries. Today's toy industry remains a blend of the revolutionary and traditional toys in many ways changed, but in other ways much the same as it was fifty or a hundred years ago.

Toy Timeline

Today’s children might very well be playing with some of the same toys that you, your parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents played with.

We invite you to travel through the timeline below (courtesy of Dr. Toy) to learn about some of the many toys that have been entertaining youngsters over the past 6,000 years.

4000 B.C.
* A Babylonian board game is played that was probably an ancestor of chess and checkers.

3000 B.C
* The first game resembling backgammon is played in Ancient Samaria. Stone marbles are first used in Egypt.

2000 B.C.
* Egyptians begin to play a game that resembles modern-day checkers.

* Egyptians make dolls from string, fabric and paper.

* The first iron skates are used in Scandinavia.

1000 B.C.
* Kites appear in China. Stone Yo-Yos begin to be used in Greece.

969
* Playing cards begin to be used in Asia.

1759
* Roller skates are invented by Joseph Merlin.

1840 - 1879
* The first American doll maker is granted a patent and dolls begin to be mass-produced in America for the first time.

* “The Mansion of Happiness,” the first commercially produced board game in the United States, is invented by Salem, Massachusetts native S.B. Ives.

* A westernized version of the Indian game Parcheesi is introduced in England under the name “Ludo.” Parcheesi remains the oldest continually marketed American toy that dates back to 300 A.D.

* Milton Bradley invents a game he calls “The Checkered Game of Life.”

* Alphabet Blocks become favorites and help children learn their alphabet the old-fashioned way.

* Margarete Steiff creates her first stuffed animals, and turns her hobby into the beloved Steiff bears collection, treasured the world over.

1880 - 1889
* Three young brothers begin making high-quality wooden toys in Osby, Sweden, and the BRIO corporation is born, taking its name from the Brothers Ivarson of Osby. BRIO introduces the first Wooden Figure-8 Train Sets.

* The first BB gun is created. The BB gun is a descendant of the cap gun, which was invented soon after the Civil War, when some shotgun manufacturers converted their factories to make toys.

* The speaking doll, which had first been invented by Johann Maezel in 1820, is improved when Thomas Edison combines his phonograph technology with a doll, allowing it to speak.

* Mah Jongg, named for a Chinese word meaning “sparrow,” originates in the Ningbo area of China.

* The Flexible Flyer sled is introduced.

1890 - 1899
* Australian native Lawrence Hargrave invents the first three-dimensional kite.

* Gund introduces the first mass-produced musical toys and soft toys.

1900 - 1909
* At just 22 years old, Joshua Lionel Cowen creates a battery-powered train engine as an “animated advertisement” for products in a store’s display window. To his surprise, customers are more interested in purchasing his toy train than the merchandise in the display. Lionel Trains is born.

* In America, toy bears begin to be called “Teddy Bears” after President Theodore Roosevelt.

* Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith produce the first box of Crayola crayons.

1910 - 1919
* Former Olympian (Gold, Pole Vault, 1908) and medical doctor A.C. Gilbert invents the Erector Set, a motorized toy made of steel parts.

* Charles Pajeau develops a toy similar to the Erector Set, but designed for younger children, called Tinker Toys.

* Eagle Rubber starts to manufacture rubber toy balloons.

* Johnny Gruelle, a newspaper cartoonist, begins to sell Raggedy Ann dolls based on one he had made for his daughter, Marcella

* John Lloyd Wright, the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, invents Lincoln Logs.

1920 - 1929
* Jack Pressman creates a play doctor’s bag when his children are afraid to visit the doctor.

* Walt Disney creates the Mickey Mouse character. Two years later, Charlotte Clark begins making stuffed Mickey Mouse dolls, and Disney merchandising is born.

* The Yo-Yo is popularized in the United States after entrepreneur Donald Duncan sees the toy being demonstrated and buys a small Yo-Yo company for $25,000. Thirty years later, sales of Duncan Yo-Yos reach $25 million dollars.

1930 - 1939
* Stacking Rings are introduced and remain a classic infant toy today.

* Alfred M. Butts, an unemployed architect from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., invents a word game called the “Criss Cross Game.” In 1948, Butts sells rights to the game to entrepreneur James Brunot, who trademarks the game under the name Scrabble.

* Ole Christiansen, a Danish toy maker, begins to manufacture plastic toy blocks that can be locked together in different configurations. The Lego, which comes from the Danish word meaning “play well,” was born.

* Sorry! is introduced as a fun and easy way to bring friends and family together.

* Monopoly is introduced with its real estate based on Atlantic City’s street names.

* William Gruber, a piano tuner from Portland, Oregon, has the idea of mass-producing color 3-D images in a viewer. Introduced before television becomes widespread, View Master is an immediate hit.

1940-1949
* Affordable, detailed model airplanes begin to be mass-produced.

* Little Golden Books begin delighting children and parents of all ages.

* The “Slinky” is invented by navy engineer Richard James, who accidentally discovers that a torsion spring will “walk” end over end when knocked over.

* Chutes and Ladders is developed, based upon an old game called Snakes and Ladders that European settlers brought with them to America.

* Eleanor Abbott designs Candy Land while recovering from polio in San Diego, California.

* Silly Putty is introduced by James Wright, a chemical engineer for General Electric introduced. Silly Putty was a byproduct of Wright’s search to find a synthetic substitute for rubber.

1950 - 1959
* With the introduction of the Safety School Bus, Little People as we know and love them today are born.

* Two art students discover that vinyl sticks to semi gloss paint. From this discovery, Colorforms is born.

* Banking on the idea that children like to play with their food, Mr. Potato Head is introduced. Mr. Potato Head is the first toy advertised on television.

* Edward Haas brings the Pez mint dispenser to the United States.

* Jack Odell creates the original Matchbox car when he makes a small brass model of a Road Roller and puts it into a matchbox so that his daughter can bring it to school.

* Yahtzee was invented by an anonymous Canadian couple, who called it “The Yacht Game” because they played it on their yacht with their friends.

* Play-Doh enters the market as wallpaper cleaner. Non-toxic and less messy than regular modeling clay, it is soon recognized that the cleaner makes an excellent toy.

* At a Fourth of July family barbecue, Milton Levine dreams up the idea for the first Ant Farm, complete with live ants.

* The Tonka truck is introduced by a group of Minnesota teachers.

* The Frisbee—named for a metal pie tin originally manufactured by the Frisbee Baking Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut—is introduced by Wham-O.

* Elliot Handler and his wife Ruth invent the Barbie doll.

* Arthur Melin and Richard Knerr begin to market Hula Hoops after getting the idea from a friend who saw school children in Australia twirl bamboo hoops around their waist for exercise. Merlin and Knerr were actually reinventing a toy that was probably used a long ago as 1000 B.C. in Egypt, and, later, Greece and Rome.

* The Risk game is introduced.

1960 - 1969
* Etch-A-Sketch was invented by Frenchman Arthur Granjean. Originally named “L’Ecran Magique” it was later renamed Etch-A-Sketch and was manufactured by Ohio Art Company.

* Inspired by one of Bradley’s old Checkered Game of Life game boards, game inventor Reuben Klammer designs the now-classic Game of Life.

* Hasbro introduces its light-bulb heated Easy Bake Oven.

* Stanley Weston creates G.I. Joe, the first successful doll for boys.

* Spirograph is introduced at the Nuremburg International Toy Fair.

* Elliot Handler, one of the cofounders of Mattel, invents Hot Wheels.

* Twister is introduced as the first game invented requiring people to use their bodies as playing pieces.

* A new push-pull toy called The Corn Popper is introduced.

* Parker Brothers introduces the Nerf ball, a polyurethane foam ball that is safe for indoor play.

1970 - 1979
* Hans Beck creates his first Playmobil system.

* Magnavox introduces Odyssey, the first video game machine.

* The card game UNO was launched.

* Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax invent Dungeons & Dragons.

* Four engineers create Magna Doodle in response to their search for a dustless chalkboard.

* Star Wars action figures are marketed in response to George Lucas’s blockbuster film.

1980-1989
* Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), a home video game system, is introduced.

* Hasbro secures the rights to many changing/converting robot brands in Japan and creates the umbrella name The Transformers. The Transformers toy line is introduced to the United States.

* Artist Xavier Roberts introduces his Cabbage Patch Kids into the mass market first through the Coleco Company. Cabbage Patch Kids become the most successful new dolls in the history of the toy industry.

* Rob Angel, a 24-year-old waiter from Seattle, introduces Pictionary.

* Engineer Scott Stillinger invents the Koosh Ball in an effort to teach young children how to catch.

* Teddy Ruxpin—an automated responding bear who can read books aloud—is introduced and takes the country by storm.

* A battery-powered, hand-held video game system called Gameboy is released.

1990 - 1999
*Toy inventor H. Ty Warner begins to market understuffed plush beanbag toys called Beanie Babies.

* Tickle Me Elmo hits stores, causing Christmas-shopping hordes to practically triple in size.