The Design of Childhood
How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids
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- $20.99
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
From building blocks to city blocks, an eye-opening exploration of how children's playthings and physical surroundings affect their development.
Parents obsess over their children's playdates, kindergarten curriculum, and every bump and bruise, but the toys, classrooms, playgrounds, and neighborhoods little ones engage with are just as important. These objects and spaces encode decades, even centuries of changing ideas about what makes for good child-rearing--and what does not. Do you choose wooden toys, or plastic, or, increasingly, digital? What do youngsters lose when seesaws are deemed too dangerous and slides are designed primarily for safety? How can the built environment help children cultivate self-reliance? In these debates, parents, educators, and kids themselves are often caught in the middle.
Now, prominent design critic Alexandra Lange reveals the surprising histories behind the human-made elements of our children's pint-size landscape. Her fascinating investigation shows how the seemingly innocuous universe of stuff affects kids' behavior, values, and health, often in subtle ways. And she reveals how years of decisions by toymakers, architects, and urban planners have helped--and hindered--American youngsters' journeys toward independence. Seen through Lange's eyes, everything from the sandbox to the street becomes vibrant with buried meaning. The Design of Childhood will change the way you view your children's world--and your own.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Architectural historian Lange (Writing About Architecture) skillfully explores how the design of children's toys and built environments reflects evolving philosophies of child-rearing and development. Lange begins by discussing how children learn through building toys like standarized wooden "unit blocks," introduced in the early 20th century; their more adaptable successor, Lego; and today's digital alternative, Minecraft. The construction of high chairs, school desks, and playgrounds, meanwhile, reveals shifting value judgments by parents and educators about the balance between participation, freedom, and safety. Lange contrasts the suburban model of the home as primary play space with modern city designs that aim to allow children to play freely near their homes. When money is not made available to update spaces in lower-income areas, she warns, those communities can suffer. The book also tracks the design of classrooms and schools over the course of American history, from the earliest one-room schoolhouses; through the fixed-desk rows of the late 19th century, when reformers began introducing compulsory education; to today's open-plan layouts. Never attempting the role of parenting guru or educator, Lange is not prescriptive, but does powerfully remind readers of the importance of constructing spaces that make all people, including children, feel both welcomed and independent. B&w photos.
