Abstract
Toys as situated within the relational ontologies of children includes how more-than-human relations are imagined and valued through play. Motivated by a concern for a damaged environment, we critique a selection of existing toys intended for outdoor play and fabulate other versions based upon alternative relations. From the detailing of six redesigns through text and collage, we foreground generative pathways for how children, and adults, might relate differently to nature. These pathways are presented as questions prompted by the toys. This exploratory research contributes to the imagining of multispecies worlds and the agency of children in toying with more-than-human relations.
Keywords
toys, children, sustainability, fabulation, more-than-human
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.50
Citation
Helms, K., Jääskeläinen, P., Lindberg, S., Sporrong, E., Menon, A., Schalk, M.,and Lampinen, A.(2025) Toying with relations: Speculative toys for children and sustainability, in Brandt, E., Markussen, T., Berglund, E., Julier, G., Linde, P. (eds.), Nordes 2025: Relational Design, 6-8 August, Oslo, Norway. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.50
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Exploratory Papers
Included in
Toying with relations: Speculative toys for children and sustainability
Toys as situated within the relational ontologies of children includes how more-than-human relations are imagined and valued through play. Motivated by a concern for a damaged environment, we critique a selection of existing toys intended for outdoor play and fabulate other versions based upon alternative relations. From the detailing of six redesigns through text and collage, we foreground generative pathways for how children, and adults, might relate differently to nature. These pathways are presented as questions prompted by the toys. This exploratory research contributes to the imagining of multispecies worlds and the agency of children in toying with more-than-human relations.