In Melbourne’s inner north at Isabel Henderson Kindergarten, there are no train sets , no trucks, no playdough, no plastic dinosaurs. The kindergarten has stopped using traditional toys and encourages pre-schoolers to play with sticks, leaves and mud.

The centre’s director, Nicole Messer says when you take away traditional toys, the children are forced to think for themselves. She also mentions another reason like the gendering of toys like trucks and dolls which also raises the question of what are we unconsciously teaching our children? 

Some kids these days don’t like getting their hands dirty or  getting a little mud on their clothes, this could be a way of allowing children to connect with nature and getting comfortable with the environment they live in!

To shed a little more light on this alternative method of  play-time, we’re joined by Dr. Eva Dobozy from Curtin University who is an expert in early childhood education and development.