Silence is important for learning. I got it from my fourteen-month-old daughter Arielle.
One day, she sat on the floor with an old baby doll. Without buttons, it could neither 1 nor play music. The whole room was silent. Then Arielle began to explore the baby doll. When her hand touched a tiny 2 . she used one finger to trace（勾画）its shape. Then she 3 one of her own ears and then both ears. She kept tracing the doll's ear and her own a few more times until, 4 , she turned her attention elsewhere.
At that moment I discovered how human 5 took place. Something stimulated Arielle's 6 : Is her body like her doll's? With no outside stimulation, she satisfied her curiosity by comparing the doll's body and herself. 7 , for many kids, experiences like Arielle's are less and less frequent 8 children are surrounded by those so-called 9 toys which can talk and move at the push of a button. This 10 them to push buttons repeatedly without thinking and may rob（剥夺）children of opportunities to solve problems.
Like adults, children need time that is 11 to experience the difference between just reacting to outside stimulation and 12 their own ideas by exploring the world.
Indeed, the toys most likely to encourage creative play are not those that make 13 or have lots of unnecessary functions. 14 , they are simple, quiet and can be used in lots of different ways. So next time, when 15 what to buy your child, make a wise choice.
