GO-DAVID-GO

“A small boy becomes a big man through influence of a big man who cares about the small boy.”

Our eyes brighten as a parent when we see our little ones make their first step. In fact like our parents before we too cherish those moments when we placed our little ones feet on top of our feet and walk in tandem. Together…….. as one being ….. one soul….. one cheerful experience…. That is etched onto the hearts of every child.

We’ve all been there. You come home at the end of a long day feeling exhausted. All you want to do is collapse on the couch and relax. And then, just as you sit down and take off your shoes, you hear: “Mommy! Daddy! Will you come play with me? Pretty please?!”

In that moment, playing with your child seems like a chore. But think of all the long term benefits—mentally, physically, and socially—for your child when she plays and especially, when she plays with you.

Children build relationships through time spent interacting and playing with others. When parents play with their kids it gives them an opportunity to see things from their perspective, use pretend play to explore their environment, build problem solving skills, and have fun together

Playing with your child is one way to help him or her develop social skills and self-control. Children’s minds are like little sponges. They soak up everything around them. As they interact with parents and others, they learn how people behave in social settings. They also learn what’s acceptable by taking their cues from you.

Your child craves interaction with you. Playing with other children is fun, but nothing compares to the joy and satisfaction of getting one’s parent to enter your special world of make-believe. It’s the stuff of memories!

Incidentally Go-David-Go was the first Toy that I designed. This was in January 2001 during the First Asian Creativity Workshop for “Toys for Children Rehabilitation” organized by F?rdern durch Spielmittel and NID.

It was during this time that we had the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January, India's 52nd Republic. The whole campus shook. As participants of the workshop all stuck together. we all stayed in tents as did the rest of the campus in the Football grounds. In between the relief works we continued with the workshop. Lot of things were happening around us, I am sure none of us will forget that eventful experience

But it was one of the most awe inspiring workshops I had attended. It was an eye opener as I got to work with Children with Special Needs. I got to interact with lot of educationalists, therapists and social workers who had a great insight into the communications, interactions, and behaviours of specially abled persons.

I was inspired by a little girl who kept smiling but was playing alone. She wobbled as she walked. She used to say that she used to love playing with her younger brother.

The whole concept of Go-David-Go was to imitate this experience but form the child’s perspective. This is a walking toy that has two planks that are linked so as to enable them to move in parallels. This is designed to simulate the Adult Child play of stepping on one’s feet and walking together.

The skis like feet are provided with wooden spacers that allow one to walk over grass and sand alike.

So just put your feet on David and……

Go…. David ….Go