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.

Today’s Toys​—What Do They Teach Our Children?

CHILDREN have a natural urge to play. According to the book Choosing Toys for Children, healthy children “spontaneously create their own worlds of exploration and fantasy.” This was true even in ancient times. Back then it was common to see children ‘playing in the public squares.’ (Zechariah 8:5) Such play often involved creative, imaginative games.​—Compare Matthew 11:16, 17.

Appropriately, then, play has been called a child’s work, and if that is true, then toys can be said to be a child’s tools. Says Parents magazine: “Play is the way children learn about the world. . . . Playing with toys reduces the world to child-​size proportions, a world that a child can handle and control. Play develops muscles and coordination, fosters socialization, tests the barriers between reality and fantasy, and helps children learn to communicate with one another, to take turns, to share. Play stimulates the imagination and gives experience in problem-​solving skills.”

Toys were also important to children in Bible times. Excavations in Israel have unearthed a small treasure trove of children’s toys, such as rattles, whistles, and miniature pots and chariots. The World Book Encyclopedia states: “In ancient Africa, children enjoyed balls, toy animals, and pull toys. Children of ancient Greece and Rome had fun with boats, carts, hoops, and tops. During the Middle Ages in Europe, popular toys included clay marbles, rattles, and puppets.”

Toys that are stimulating, interesting, and educational still play an important role today.