Parents—What Is Your Child Playing With?
“ALL work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” So goes an old saying. Play has always been an important part of the lives of children. It is by means of play activities that children stretch their minds and their muscles and develop important skills. Nevertheless, today children’s play has become big business. Toyland is ruled, not by children or by parents, but by manufacturers, retailers, advertisers, and clever marketing researchers. Armed with new toy-making technology and the backing of the powerful media, they are redefining the world of play—with serious implications both for parents and for children.
No doubt many in the toy industry have a genuine interest in the welfare of children. All too often, though, profit takes priority. The question becomes, not what will educate children or stimulate their imaginations, but simply what will sell. And what sells is not always the simple cloth, wood, and plastic playthings of yesteryear but high-tech, realistic toys that leave little or nothing to a child’s imagination.
One manufacturer, for example, markets a set of toy cars equipped with tiny dummies that come apart on impact. When the cars collide, the dummies spew their arms, legs—and heads—out the window of their tiny vehicles. Another realistic toy tries to simulate pregnancy. A knapsacklike pouch designed to go around the belly of a little girl simulates the tiny kick and heartbeat of a developing fetus.
Some believe that such toys have educational value. Donna Gibbs, director of media relations for one toy manufacturer, calls the pregnancy simulator “a fun way for [little girls] to share what mommy is going through.” Not everyone shares her enthusiasm, however. Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, professor of pediatrics at Harvard University Medical School, calls this toy an “invasion of a parent’s opportunity to share something precious with a child.” Dr. David Elkind, a professor of child study, contends that “these toys are going too far.” He says that a doll that simulates a fetus “is far removed from what [children] can understand or appreciate.” As for toys that realistically simulate the carnage of an auto crash, he adds that since television is already saturated with violence, “why reinforce it with this kind of toy?”—The Globe and Mail, February 8, 1992.
Controversy also surrounds other popular games, such as video war games and high-powered water guns. Considering that, according to the president of Toy Manufacturers of America, “there are an estimated 150,000 toys on the market at any given time,” parents have a formidable challenge in deciding which toys they should purchase. What should guide parents in this respect? Is there a legitimate reason for concern regarding some of today’s toys? The following articles will consider these and other related questions.