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I have to admit that I am fascinated by the array and variety of toys that are available to our grandchildren. One of the pleasures of being grandparents is buying gifts for them and it’s tempting to go for the “educational” toys. Although I have to admit I’ve often wondered if these toys really deliver on their promise of making babies smarter. Parents today are pressured to buy these toys in the same way that I felt pressured by the media to send our child to preschool. It was a new concept when I was a young mother and the media hype was very strong: not to do so would, they said, deprive your toddler of the stimulation and social environment essential to long-term brain development and social skills. I never told my children that they missed all this essential stuff and somehow they seemed to do just fine! The baby business is a huge and growing industry and toys account for more than $3 billion in sales. The industry’s success has been based on knowing how parents think and playing on their emotions and finding new ways to get products in front of babies. A flood of media reports on the long-term importance of brain development among those 3 and under has helped fuel the belief that children should be stimulated to learn from birth. It seems that we sometimes loose sight of the fact that parent/baby interaction can be the best learning tool there is. TV has also become an acceptable and legitimate educational tool for babies. So do these toys deliver? Not according to Education Sector, a nonprofit education-policy think tank who said, in no uncertain terms that companies where misusing scientific findings on the development of a baby’s brain. I imagine that the toy companies have held onto the smallest indication that their toys were indeed teaching tools to add validity to their claims. The value of TV seems to be undecided although I suspect that for the very young TV is for amusement only and should be allowed in small doses only. The definition of a toy is “an object used in play“… nothing there about increasing brain cells. If it gives pleasure and is played with play with over and over than surely it has succeeded in its prime objective. No one can doubt the longevity and timeless pleasure that things like balls, bicycles, Barbie’s, bats and boxes of dress up clothes have provided over the years The definition of television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V.; sometimes called , telly or the tube, bloob tube or boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance…no mention there either of educating tiny minds. That’s not to say that they don’t have a place in those little folk’s lives but don’t take the hype too seriously either! Comments1 Comment so far |
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