Showing posts with label Toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toys. Show all posts

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Surplus of Toys


 

The importance of play has been identified as key to the early development of children's brains from 0 to age 4.  Play can strategically assist a child in an assortment of basic and advanced processing of information including physical equations, logical thought process and vital role interactions with others.

Play is commonly associated with toys, although not necessary, toys are aids in children's play so that instead of creating and designing a cardboard box as a playhouse - playhouses are designed, mass produced and recreated that have a solid history behind them.  I am a big fan of playhouses or doll houses, for me, they are a very elegant and elevated level of play; but it isn't necessary to use a dollhouse to get that same climatic feeling during play, as the imagination can provide any individual at any age a significant feeling that you want to encounter during playtime.

So why the abundance of toys and why are they consistently repeated over time? What does the general public desire the most when they want a truck ....but a different truck?  Are we a bored society that toys must be stocked locally at a gas station, and if so then what does it mean that toys have become such a cheap and disposable means of entertainment for our children?

I don't have a conclusion that an abundance of toys on our psyche is necessarily a negative one; but one could argue that it limits even handicaps the power of imagination and that acceptance of overage of toys empowers it as a vital cog in the wheel of consumerism.  We accept that when we walk into a store that we can be offered a robot in about 20 or more different varieties that will modernize its version repeatedly on perhaps a 6 to 12 month basis.  The previous versions are phased out and can become hard to find.

The toy culture has a prominent place in society globally and has matured into nostalgia and collector's items creating a new illustrious and viable contending industry.  Therefore the toy industry has become a force to be reckoned with.  There are no signs of slowing down or stop of over mass producing one toy item such as a baby doll or even Barbie dolls!

The psychology of toys is as substantial as the effects of television broadcasts comparable to the images that we are subjected too through play with mass produced toys. Children naturally seek a reflection of themselves in everything from family, to their economic disposition as this is one innate way a child finds a way to easily transition, connect and reflect as they play.

Although mass production creates a crazy amount of variety in toys it has become repetitive but in various forms - the one item mass produced does not apply to all children at play.

With this much influential toy culture has at such an early developing stage for children; what responsibilities should parents take when introducing toys?  Or is this a fabricated unfounded culture that is harmless and simple in its practice.


Sunday, February 28, 2016

Feminist Frequency:Toy Ads and Learning Gender

In the video Toy Ads and Learning Gender by Youtuber Feminist Frequency an important distinction is pointed out between the advertisements of toys marketed towards boys and those towards girls. Boys toys were often sold with action and adventure, while girls toys were full of domestic work and child rearing. While boys were being challenged, getting dirty and getting into adventures girls were left cooking, shopping and looking after the children. Even similar toys were marketed differently depending on whether they were for a boy or girl. For example two different sets of Moon Sand were advertised, one set for a boy and another for a girl, the only difference between the two commercials was that while the boy's set was more focused on building while the girl's set was all about decorating. Even the plastic toy jeeps were different for boys and girls, with the girls jeep being endorsed by barbie and the boys being tough and ready to kick up some dirt. Clearly advertisers have two different expectations for boys and girls and what they would like to play with. Even computer games and electronics had divisions, boys could become pirates and go have adventures upon the high seas, while girls could become fashion models and do their hair.
These divisions in toys marketed towards boys and girls are harmful and limiting. Boys are encouraged to build, explore and challenge themselves, while girls are left behind to care for the children, cook supper and look pretty. Girl toys are limited and hindering, they may be pink but they lack creativity and imagination.

A few countries, such a Sweden and Quebec, have taken legal measures to ban advertising aimed at younger children due to the influences that they can instill. Maybe we should look into making some legislation to protect our innocent children from the gender stereotyping of our advertisements. This video was really an eye opener to me about the real distinctions between toys meant for boys and those meant for girls. I remember being bothered by this issue as a child and the impact it had on me and my perception of gender. We should really monitor the advertisements that can have an effect upon the young and influential minds of our children.