Toxic Toys, Creative Toys
By Christine Gerzon
Many of us buy gifts for children. We can choose non-toxic toys that not only are safe for children’s physical health but that also enhance their cognitive, emotional, and spiritual development.
Toys are the tools that children use to engage in meaningful and creative play. A good toy allows the child to be in charge of the play. The child feels powerful and can use the toy to express whatever s/he wants and in the process learns more about her/himself and the world.
Many of the toys on the market today are devoid of any play value because they take the power of play away from the child. The child becomes merely an operator of the toy pushing this button or that to get the toy to make a noise or light up. The child becomes a solitary, passive player waiting to be entertained. The opportunity for feeling the joy of self-expression and imagination is lost. Without these vital early experiences of quality play, children never have the chance to develop a sense of competence and creativity. They become “play deprived” (we all know what it is like to be sleep deprived).
Since play is the central vehicle children have for learning about the world, this deprivation has a devastating effect on their ability to learn and on their emotional and spiritual well-being. Children do not learn about their own interests and talents. Later they become more likely to seek outside stimulation and entertainment rather than to look inside for satisfaction and peace.
Do you remember the toys you grew up with? Did they light up? Did they change colors or morph? Did you need to sit down for hours in front of a screen to play? Probably not. Traditional toys were not high tech and yet we were engaged with these classic toys like balls, bikes, blocks, board games, crayons, dress-up clothes, puzzles and stuffed animals for hours. Or we were outside playing with natural objects like sticks, rocks, sand, water, leaves and mud making up our own stories with our friends and acting them out.
Do you remember how exhilarated you were to pretend you were the leader of the pack or to finally ride your bike without training wheels? Or how disappointed you were to be chosen last for the game? We learned vital emotional and social skills with our play that help us even today as we work with our colleagues in our jobs.
I have been a member of a group of dedicated teachers whose goal is to provide parents with information and guidance as they choose toys for their children. We are determined to counteract the toy industry’s attitude that our children are a “market” for media-linked, single purpose, expensive, plastic toys that channel children’s play into imitating the stories they see on the media instead of supporting them to create their own stories. Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment (TRUCE) has a comprehensive guide to choosing toys of value. This guide, as well as other useful information, can be found on our website, http://www.truceteachers.org.
Toys of value can be used over and over again in many ways depending on the skill and age of the child. These toys are truly educational because they allow the child to guide the play in the way s/he wants. The best toy I ever bought for my own children was a set of wooden blocks which they used everyday for years making all kinds of structures and imaginary worlds.
You can enrich a child’s emotional and spiritual development while insuring that their days will be filled with rich, imaginative play with toys that will last for years. And you might even be tempted to join that child yourself for some truly memorable play together.
Find out more about Robert Gerzon’s highly acclaimed book Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety.
Find out more about Robert Gerzon’s Counseling and Coaching Services.
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