If you would, think back and try to remember your first memory of playing with a toy. What was that seemingly mystical item you held in your hands? Was it a He-Man action figure? Perhaps a Tonka Truck or a Polly Pocket play set?
I know that what immediately jumps to mind for me is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with "wrist-twirling action;" I must say, the extra few dollars for that twirling limb was worth it back then. Whatever your memory is, most likely it contained a toy unlike what many of contemporary America's children are playing with. In the 1980s, there was no Grand Theft Auto franchise, no Furby (thank the heavens) and no child-sized motor scooters.
It makes me feel unbelievably old to look at my four-year-old cousin and say, "You know Adam, back in my day, we only had 150 Pokemon, not 251 like you young'uns."
Even worse was when I tried playing the new Xbox 360 with my next-door-neighbors' children: "You know Cole, back in my day, game systems only had eight bits and we were happy for every last one of them". (Okay, maybe I improvised the last part, but you get the idea).
The fact is, we live in a society that is steadily growing more and more dependent on technology. This, of course, begins with the adult generation and "adult toys" such as iPods and digital cameras. Unfortunately, over the past few years, there has been a trickle-down effect that has begun to affect the way that children play. We have already established that what kids play with has changed, but the how of it is where things get scary.
When a child plays with, let's say, blocks, he or she is forced to create his or her own play experience. Over winter break, I worked at a nursery and played with blocks with several toddlers. One told me that we were building a castle and one of the blocks was a knight. Another explained that we were at a bowling alley and starting chucking one of the cubes at a pyramid of blocks. Whatever the case, the idea remains the same: The toys conform to the vision of the imaginative child.
Now fast forward to today. I was in a local mall the other week and saw a very young boy go up to two adult counterparts, both of whom were playing a violent game for the Playstation 2 console, and proudly declare, "I have this game at home! Yesterday I had a sleep-over and played it for hours!"
Parents are now much more willing to buy such pieces of technology for their children because of promises from the media that they sharpen cognitive skills. Need evidence? Just look at the list of "Top Toys of 2005." The top-ranked toy is the VSmile TV Learning System, a videogame console that provides "educational" software for the youth of America.
Also on the list is the Bella Dancerella Home Ballet Studio, which allows your child to become an electronic ballerina by simply stepping on different colored pads (tutu not included, sadly). In this new world dominated by such advanced equipment, children are forced to conform to the world of the toys.
With the media telling you to buy and pundits telling you to avoid certain products, it's often difficult to separate which toys are good or bad for your child. The fact is that some children respond better to such "hot" media approaches as those employed in most videogames and movies. I beg parents to keep in mind, though, that even though you might think your child will have a better time playing with a Gameboy than a simple toy truck, you might be wrong.
Even if all the child does is push the truck off a ramp over and over again whilst you watch in bored agony, the child is getting a new cognitive experience out of it every time. This repetitive style of play is what Dr. David Elkind terms "mastery play." Sure, you might be going slowly insane, but as Franklin P. Jones once said, "You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." Playing a children's videogame over and over most likely does not yield different outcomes or play experiences.
No matter how many times an electronic voice tells your little ballerina, "Good Job," it is no match for the smiling face of that grizzled old Ballet Mistress. We would do well to keep Dr. Roger Lewin's maxim in mind, "Too often we give our children answers to remember rather than problems to solve."
Jay P. Singh is a freshman majoring in Child Development and Clinical Psychology.
