Woodroffe, Stella E. and Willatt, Beverley J. (1976). Aust. paediat. J., 12, 1–5. Play materials and toys in the education of young children. The paper discusses the need to consider the developmental level of the child when selecting appropriate toys and play materials that serve an educational purpose. The relevance of a number of play materials is discussed in general terms, although a range of possibilities for particular types of learning are specified in relation to some toys.The learning is not inherent in the material but depends on the child's own cognitive processes, often assisted by an adult who is in a position to draw the child's attention to particular aspects of his encounters with his environment, and to guide the direction of his learning. For young children, a wide range of experiences will serve as a base upon which he will build his own structures. These will enable him to adapt to the requirements of learning his society will impose upon him as he grows.Criteria are suggested for selecting toys and play materials which can serve an educative end. The reader is also reminded that materials which serve the child best are those which offer him a range of possibilities. Many of these are readily available in the home or neighbourhood and do not entail spending large sums of money, provided one uses a little imaginatio