The recent spate of recalls of toys made in China by Mattel and others in the toy business has put the industry into the full glare of the public’s ignorance of what they may inadvertently be exposing their children to. The question being asked by sensible people is why the need for so many toys for our children. In spite of all the fancy expensive toys that are abound everywhere, the best toys for most children are the pots and pans and a spoon with which to bang on them. Children do not need all these manufactured toys we are throwing at them. I believe these toys stunt the creativity of children. If on the other hand they are allowed to create their toys out of ordinary stuff at home, we are helping to grow that child’s brains. Okay, some toys may bring some joy to the child but most bore our children and if they could speak they’d tell us to get those hideous things away from them and hand them an ordinary cup to make something of that.
I remember as a child, we made houses from as little as 7 or 8, where we lived with our imaginary husbands and children. We created stuff from nothing. These days we want to spoon feed our children into brilliance which ends us making them more dull.
Toy manufacturing is big business. I urge you instead of wasting your money on useless toys to impress your friends and family put that money away to send your child to a camp or a trip around the world when he/she grows older. They would appreciate it a heck of a lot more.
A recent newspaper article explained it this way
On the list (of recalled toys) were 56 Polly Pocket sets (including a Lip Gloss Studio Playset), 11 Doggie Daycare toys, 4 Batman figures, 43 Sesame Street toys (not just Elmo Stacking Rings but Giggle Grabber Soccer Elmo and Grow Me Elmo Sprinkler), 10 Dora the Explorers and more than a score of assorted figures and cars. These are designed mostly for preschoolers; none encourage violence and many feature the cute and caring. But, a parent might ask, why 56 Polly Pocket sets? Wouldn’t a half-dozen meet the needs of any child? And why teach 4-year-olds the fine points of cosmetics?
Yet most of us are not shocked by this list. Indeed, a business model that sells endless additions to basic toys even when they have nothing to do with any recognized child-rearing ideal or even imaginative play seems natural.
Gary Cross, a professor of history at Pennsylvania State University, is the author of “Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood,” suggested that it may be the time to start censoring ads on children’s programs. I don’t think we need to go that far. There are enough laws. I think parents want the best for the children but may not know be aware of the dangers of some of these toys and what they are doing to the minds of their children.
Come on people, spare your children these mind numbing toys and help them to explore the world as they see it or can understand it at the time. Your child will be a lot smarter. Experience is the best teacher
You Are What You Eat 