Is this wrong or is it a training aid?

[TomKett]

Dropped my children off at nursery today, went into the oldest room (age 3 - school age) and discovered they have a play shop set up. This shop is a pharmacy, and included at least 25 different 'real' drug packets and bottles.

Now am I wrong to think this is not a suitable 'toy' for pre school children?

I think it's maybe a little unwise. Having said that I had a doctor's set, as did ds; mine was augmented by one or two real (empty!) pill bottles and similar benign medical supplies.

Here's 2 scenerios

Child finds a packet of tablets while playing in Granny's bathroom. Child has never seen anything like it before as they have always been kept out of sight. Child investigates and finds little sweetie-looking tablets. Child investigates by eating them.

or
Child finds a packet of tablets while playing in Granny's bathroom. Child knows exactly what they are because he/she has had real first hand experience at nursery who explained that they can be dangerous and shouldn't be eaten and should be given to an adult.

I know which scenerio I would prefer. Children should be taught about things in real context.

purepurple,

completely agree with your view, unfortunatly its the method of training I don't agree with. a shop with free play access to the medicines does not teach them the dangerous. If they are sitting down in controlled play being shown then this is a valid point, and we obviously do this at home. With the current scenario they are learning that the boxes are toys, which of course they are not.

Cheers

T

agree with TomKett - I have no problem with showing children pill packets and the pills inside them - but then they will be told to Leave Them Alone. They are not playthings and giving them the empty packets to play with confuses that message.

And, tbh, I'd rather take responsibility for that myself than expect the nursery to do it.

But, research shows that children are more likely to learn important life lessons through play. It's what the EYFS is all about.

It does sound a bit odd but why on earth didn't you ask the Nursery staff at the time?

Real irons are dangerous, as are real electric drills, but children can get toy ones to play with. It doesnt mean you would let your 3yr old loose with the Black and Decker or give them a pile of ironing to do.

Here is a really good article about how children learn www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/risk-and-challenge-in-the-early-years-2499
The paragraphs on woodwork and cooking are fantastic- real drills, hammers and knives.

worraliberty - I have asked Nursery to remove the display, they are getting back to me.

Squeaky Toy - My powertools & Irons are all kept locked out of reach of the children, it is also not 'as easy' to seriously injury yourself with these. Yes they may hurt themselves and you would no about it immediatly if the did. The problem with pills are its a sitting time bomb! They eat a packet of pills and you don't know about it......

This is a response I have been given from the Child Accident Prevention Trust.

Our feeling is that drugs, presumably in this case over-the-counter medicines, and young children do not mix and that young children should not be exposed to potentially harmful items. It could create a fascination for such products that could lead to children thinking that they are play things as at that age they cannot reliably understand what is harmful.

Even though most medicines are sold or dispensed in child-resistant packaging (including so-called strip and blister packs), this packaging is not childproof.

I assume that the packets being used are empty. If they are not, then the possibility of some being lost just exacerbates the problem.

Got to say I'm surprised by that - my own Dd could get lids off drug bottles by 2

I'm totally in agreement with purple for pretty much the same reasons & taught DD young what drugs/medicines were, including letting her handle them etc - thats when she got the lid off so she knew they weren't sweets -

It certainly paid off when at my DPs & DD at 2,1/2 came running out of the bathroom with 1 of my mums brightly coloured & sweet like heart pills - took it over to my Mum & told her off "Naughty Nana, Dangerous for Children"

each to there own I suppose but I'd have no problem & would presume it was for a role play teaching excersize, not just left to their own devices

thier own

All,

Just wanted to clarify my frustration with this. I completely agree that children need to learn the dangerous and when and when not to touch things. Doing this in controlled play is the ideal solution for this. However my problem is with a play shop which they use during 'free play.'

The article posted by purepurple is great, especially the part where they use real china tea cups etc. But again these are immediate learning tools which are re-iterated to the children. (drop cup, cup breaks, message learnt.) Unfortunatly with a shop selling medicine, all the kids get reiterated is they buy and sell little boxes. In controlled play I do not have a problem with showing the children boxes and explaining the dangerous etc. The problem with free play is the safety lessons do not get reitereated. Again from the article, allowing children to use knives when cooking, all good when being supervised and you can allow them to use it whilst explaining why they need to be carefull. But you wouldn't dream of letting the children go off and play in the kitchen on there own.

For those unaware, a childs day at nursery is split into structured activity and free play where they can choose what they want to do. During free play they can use anything in the room, some kids will use lego, others a wooden railway some dolls. My problem is during free play all they are learning is medicine boxes are toys, they are not being told 'don't play with medicines they are dangerous.'

Its not the subject I have the problem with, its the teaching method.

Thanks everyone

T

of all the shops they could have chosen the muppets chose a pharmacy . DOH

unless they're planning on playing "oh look what happens when little Alice?Bill eats a packet of pills that she/he shouldn't have been touching" which then leads to play hospital and play stomach-pumps etc. I can't see that role-playing shops with pharmaceuticals is going to teach them anything that they wouldn't learn in role-playing any other kind of shop.

Teaching children not to touch said packets and pills is NOT achieved by allowing them to play shops with them.