Move over traditional toys—introducing children to unconventional items like whisks and potato mashers could significantly enhance their development, according to a recent study. Researchers in the United States examined the interactions of 32 children, aged two to four, with both common and novel objects within their home environment.

In the study, parents initially engaged their children in play with familiar toys for a span of 10 minutes. Afterwards, they introduced a new household item. The young participants showed a preference for the unusual items, such as tea strainers, funnels, and even bricks, over their regular toys.

On average, children engaged with the new objects for 5.32 seconds each time, compared to 4.64 seconds for their usual toys.

Delaney Witmer, a student researcher at Arizona State University, explained that these unfamiliar items capture children’s attention more effectively. “It’s engaging,” she noted, “and it helps them shift their focus, moving from something they encounter daily to something entirely new.”

During the 10-minute play sessions, children interacted with the novel objects 40 times on average, while the familiar toys were picked up about 30 times. This suggests that introducing new and unusual items could be beneficial in fostering a child’s attention and engagement.

On average, unusual objects were touched 40 times during the 10 minute play session compared to 30 times for familiar toys.

Ms Witmer added: “You’ll also see, with unfamiliar objects, that the kids will more often look toward their parent for clues of how to play with it.”

The researcher said she would “absolutely” encourage parents to introduce children to new objects in a safe way.

“Even if they’ve just played with it for three minutes, at least they’re learning more and playing with a new object,” she added.

“Toy interaction plays an important role for young children’s learning and memory.”

The findings were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.