Monday, November 12, 2007
Growing Up
In class we talk about how the industry is offering children miniature version of adult items such as thongs and cell phone. This then forces children to grow up faster. In a catalogue I got they advertised a piggy bank. It was not your normal animal with a hole in it to place money it was an ATM. It has a screen on it that displays your name and how much money is in it. You also withdraw money from it the same way you do with a real ATM. Fisher Price also makes laptops and digital cameras for five year olds. I know that the world is becoming more technically advance but what happened to kids being kids. When I grew up we did not have these and there were very few toys that talked. This is not allowing children to use their imagination they it way we did growing up. I think the industry should make fewer items that talk and are mini version of adult’s items and allow kids to be kids.
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5 comments:
I agree. I think our society is confused. We stay that our children are growing up too fast...well, who's fault is that? Is the parents or our society? I say both. It is the parent who allows their 3 or 4 year old to play with such things as that piggy bank that you spoke of...I mean, they are the ones who buy their toys...
I definetly agree with this. Yes our society is becoming more technically advanced, but a lot of these things are for adults. Why make children's toys for things they can't even do. To me children need to be able to use there imagination, play outside, or play board games. Not sit in front of a TV playing video games or withdrawing their allowances from a small version of an ATM.
In some ways I agree children are growing up too fast and yes it is because society is pushing for it. I mean look at these brats dolls that are dressed like adults and driving cars, when the dolls look like pre-teens. If your going to complain about the mini-ATM and the laptops; then what about the toy cars and the children's play houses. These are items sold to children all the time that are smaller versions of the real thing. Also, a kid can pretend with the ATM toy just like they pretend with everything else.
I guess it was last fall in an English class of mine, where I read that in France they have always made small versions of adult objects into toys for children. The reasoning behind this miniaturization was to help the children model themselves after the adults, also so they could have a better understanding of the adult world.
Yes, society is creating products for children that mimick the technological advances commonly available for adults. But that does not mean that parents have to buy into the products and give them to their children, causing them to "grow up" faster. AS our society continues to evolve, so do the ways that we entertain and educate ourselves. Yes, I agree that some toys marketed for children today and excessive, but there are so many other fantastic products for children to play and also learn from. Parents must use their discretion when purchasing these items. A lot of parents purchase toys that will benefit their child's development in multiple ways. There are children who only learn about certain aspects of life through the items they play with because they are not taught at home. Take the ATM bank for example. Yes, as a child, I had a "standard" piggy bank. But I see the way that my girls use their ATM to understand about the banking process and how it is smart for them to start saving their money at the ages of 6 and 8. It's not as much what society is making for our children but what and how the parents and guardians of these children are presenting the items to them.
I think that the toy companies are taking away what was fun about the games. I remember playing monopoly when i was little and everyone wanted to the the banker. But now its electronic and you dont even need the play money anymore.
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