EARLY AGE CHILDREN'S CHOICE OF TOYS - THE SELF-REALIZATION OF KIDS

Introduction. The article investigates theoretically and empirically the issue of self-realization of the individual. Based on the analyses of the foreign and Ukrainian scientific literature it has been found that the self-realization of the individual was studied from the standpoint of humanistic psychology and pedagogy in the context of personality-oriented approach. It has been found that self-realization appears and occurs at all stages of human personality's development in ontogenesis. However, this phenomenon has been studied mainly in relation to school-age children – primary school children, adolescents, and youth. Researchers believe that these periods of human life are the most acceptable for conscious choice of self-realization and responsible self-affirmation in it. Author's longitudinal studies of the progressive development of young children from birth have convincingly proved that no less important are the first achievements of self-realization even for infants and kids' dynamic daily psycho-sensory and locomotors changes, which fundamentally change and improve their lives during the first 3 years. However, in the available scientific research, the developmental changes achieved due to the natural efforts of the children themselves are not regarded as their self-realization. Relevant comparative studies of self-realization of children of different ages have not been identified. Purpose. The aim of the article is studying early age children's choices of toys and actions with them as manifestations of their self-realization. Methods. Longitudinal three-year study of children's choices, comparative analysis and interpretation of children's priorities for choice among interactive, collapsible, figurative toys were used. Results. It has been found that the launch for self-realization is the child's choice. It is first stimulated by basic vital needs: sleep, nutrition, exercise, and so on. Then the stimuli are external signals: light, sound, tactile and others. They determine the interest in the environment and arouse the desire to know it. Among the variety of external signals, the child chooses the most attractive for him/her. Satisfying his/her interest, the child learns about the environment and is realized in it according to available and growing opportunities. The above considerations have been confirmed in the study of the young children's choice among the three types of toys – interactive, collapsible, and figurative. First of all, the children chose toys of the type with which they were most successful in their actions due to their age and individual psycho-sensory and physical abilities. These were primarily interactive toys. In the second year, collapsible toys became a priority. Figurative toys were primarily used by children for their functional purpose at the end of the third year and from the beginning of the fourth year, in accordance with the emergence of children's ability to play story-based role-playing games. Originality. It has been found that the children's choice is adequately related to their psycho-physical maturity and, accordingly, the readiness for successful self-realization in functional actions with toys of a certain type. Conclusion. A comparative analysis of the choice of toys by children of different early ages revealed the following: when choosing a toy, children first realize their own preferences for its external features; experience of actions with different toys convinces children that their actions achieve a successful result only with certain toys; obviously, given the consequences of their actions, children continue to choose and play, mainly those toys with which they are able to self-realize in the game successfully. Further research should be aimed at identifying incentives and conditions for self-realization of children in other areas of activity.