Nursery World - Enabling Environments: Boxes

Don't throw away any boxes after Christmas, says Mary Barlow. They're the perfect open-ended resource

Anyone with experience of small children will have witnessed the phenomenon: the child who is far less interested in the presents than in the boxes and wrappings that the presents come in.

On Christmas morning when children open presents that are in boxes they’ll typically open the box, take an initial interest in what’s inside and then go back after a while and play with the box and the colourful wrapping paper rather than the expensive gift inside. This is because, unlike the box, the gift is often not an open-ended resource.

A creative child who encounters an open box will be asking, ‘How many different things can I do with this box?’ This inquisitive behaviour is most apparent from about six months but a fascination with boxes, bags and containers can continue throughout childhood and beyond.

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