Turn on the television to any children’s channel, and within an hour, you’ll be inundated with at least 20 advertisements for the latest and greatest toys. According to some independent surveys, most children have at least 50 different toys in their rooms by the time they’re 3 years old. On average, a U.S. child receives at least 5 new toys every Christmas. This doesn’t even include the toys parents purchase throughout the year, which add up to over 21.8 BILLION dollars in sales worldwide. Suffice it to say, there is no shortage of toys.
But have children forgotten how to play with all of these toys?
The International Council of Toy Industries makes this statement on their website:
“Play is a child’s ‘work,’ and toys are the tools children use in play. Toys do more than entertain and keep children occupied. Properly chosen, they should aid a child’s physical, mental, social, and emotional development. Play is universally recognized as a vital part of learning and growing, and because toys are such an important ingredient of play, they are invaluable to a child’s development into a mature, confident adult.”
Obviously, this statement is directed towards parents, and it works because it gets into the heads of moms and dads everywhere. They feel the need to provide an abundance of toys in order to give their child the advantage they need to get ahead in life. Think about it: when the Baby Einstein phenomenon (now partly extinct) was unveiled, the mom-run company could barely manufacture enough CDs and props from the movies to fulfill their orders. However, the research behind the CDs was slim and discounted by many reputable child development agencies. Still, most parents believed, and still do, that these video productions were the keys to creative play, imagination, and future scholarly success.
The sad part is that, in today’s society of overstimulation through toys that make noise and require very little cognitive or creative play, children are forgetting some of the most basic and fundamental elements of childhood—like how to play.
Case in point: how often does your child tell you that they’re bored? How long does your child really play with one toy before tossing it aside and quickly moving to another? In a world where ADD has become the norm, it stands to reason that we, as a society and as parents, are creating these distractions for our own children.
Additionally, ask your grandparents how often they engaged in floor play with their toddlers, or think back to your own childhood. Chances are, you were kicked out of the house, sequestered to your room, and forced to rely on your own imagination to pass the time. You built block towers, created characters of your own, and improvised when needed—truly spending time in play.
Even television shows today can barely hold a child’s attention. And when they do, children seem to be comfortable watching the same episode over and over again. Is this really more fun or more developmentally beneficial than building block cities or bouncing balls against the wall? Is that truly a better option than drawing, playing in the bathtub, or allowing your child to discover the world around them?
Another interesting aspect of play is that it is NOT something your child needs to learn. It’s not something that doctors, teachers, or even parents need to teach. Play comes naturally. And natural play requires few props to be effective. The truth is, today’s child is so overwhelmed with colors, noise, characters, and toys that they have lost the ability to play on their own for hours, keep themselves busy, and paint the world they live in with their imagination.
The first toy was not advertised on television until 1955. Even then, parents did not correlate play with toys. Instead, play was simply a verb, an activity. According to the dictionary, it still is. However, most people today believe that in order for a child to play, they need toys to do so.
As a result, children today are unable to experience much of the freewheeling, imaginative play that is particularly beneficial for cognitive development. It is this play that helps children understand the world around them, resolve conflicts, practice speech, and become resourceful, self-reliant human beings. Studies have backed these statements over the years. Children today, even those considered gifted or imaginative, are much less able to satisfy their internal inklings and find proper outlets for their energy. Why? Too many toys.
Take this challenge: remove all the loud, obnoxious, marketed, and redundant toys from your child’s room. Leave in blocks, crayons, paper, and other toys that require them to be imaginative. Or open up your kitchen cabinets and give them plastic utensils and plates. When left alone, children will emerge into their powerful worlds of make-believe that keep them entertained for hours (without television) and engage in the true ACTIVITY of play. You’ll find that the more they do this, the less ‘bored’ they will be. Resist the urge to be the ‘perfect parent’ and allow your child to play as they wish, unrestrained by your expectations. This will help them develop confidence and resourcefulness that would otherwise be absent.
