For each stage of a child's life, there are significant development milestones to be observed. The child's plaything has to match their development and emerging abilities. Moreover, successful play areas create opportunities for chidren to experience risk and challenges.
Research
For children aged 2-3 years old, they begin to learn how to balance and will attempt to challenge balancing on their own. It is also the period where they understamd about the concept of spatial orientation. However, today in Singapore, children of this age group have lesser opportunity to experience the outdoor playground.
As toddlers are still young, supervision is required for them to go to the playground to play. However, parents find it hard to allocate time to bring them to the playground. Moreover, safety concerns such as fear of them getting injuried or dirty post less motivation for them to bring their child to the playground. Instead, with little or no exposure to playgrounds, home couches or sofas have become many toddler's "playground".
Tots: Pre-Playground Play
Inspired by the teeter-tooter (also known as seesaw), Tots is a multipurpose pre-playground play area for chidlren aged 2 and above, focusing on deveoping children's gross motor and balancing abilities. It is also a space for parents and children to play and interact.
Tots is a multipurpose play tool for children. Without a pivot attached to the base, Tots lay stationary on the ground, exist as a huge playspace for the child. Parents can easily flip the tool over to transform Tots into a hammock for the child, or even a "seesaw", where he/she can play with the kid less effortfully after a long day at work.
