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It's not child's play
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Toys can thrill and teach at the same time.
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TOY STORY: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy Photo: K.Ramesh Babu.
DIMPLED LITTLE fingers waving a rattle in the crib soon grow up to swing the bat and wield the joystick. At every stage, they grow children have different kinds of toys to play with. But how far are toys important in the upbringing of a child? Are they just implements used by parents to keep them engaged or do they act as comforters for guilty engaged parents hard pressed to spend time with their kids.
Development
Whatever be the reason toys play an extremely important role in the development of a child.
Says Nuzi Naser of Jungle Book, a playschool in the city, " Toys are immensely supportive in the growth of a child. Some toys help in the development of the imagination. Things like building blocks and puzzles facilitate in hand and eye coordination. Clay activities are good for small muscle movement. Board games, balls, mind games, paintings etc. are good for older children. These teach proficiency."
Safety
Many of the things that the children use for toys are everyday objects like plastic cups, spoons, books etc. The kids can amuse themselves for hours with these make shift toys. They learn to manipulate and discover legerdemain and creativity. "Children love to experiment thus the attraction for toys with buttons, lights, and levers. So when we buy toys we should first ensure safety. They should not be possessive of sharp edges or inbuilt with glasses, or rough materials. Even the colours used should be edible as children have the propensity to put all objects into their mouth, " says Aarthi, a housewife.
Variety
There is no dearth of toys in the market and pester power works wonders when it comes to buying them.
" Children get carried away by the lure of the advertisers, who do an exceedingly well job through the media. When the parents have the money power, they rather relent, as convincing the children is time and energy consuming. You had better say `yes' as the children will make you feel that it's the elixir of life and that they can't live without it. They will promise the moon, better results and obedience. It's a constant pledge for that one last toy on the shelf," says Ashok, father of two little boys.
And George P.X., Executive branch in- charge of Pai and Company will tell you what's in and what's out in toys,
"The demand for action heroes like Spiderman has increased. Figure toys like Pokemon, Barbie, Bob the builder; Popey, etc are very popular. Due to the influence of action movies, guns, tanks, assembling kits are loved by children but frowned upon by parents. Demand for caroms, chess, monopoly, bank, kitchen sets has diminished. But demand for CDs and cartridges has increased."
Personal Computers and Play Station seems to be a compulsory item for kids now. There is a constant demand for PS1 and PS2. (Play Station)
Chinese invasion
"There is a great market for Chinese battery operated toys. The local brands find it really difficult to compete with the Chinese counterparts in terms of money as well as variety.
And there is no guarantee," elaborates Mr. George P.X.
Psychology at play
The colourful world of toys can lead to petty jealousies and fights.
Children have an inclination to possess the toys of their friends.
They make demands for every toy in the shop as well as what is in the neighbour's kitty. But it is not advisable to entertain every caprice of the child. " Promote sharing of toys among children," says Ms. Nuzi Naser. If he plays with a kid who has more toys than him then he develops an inferiority complex. And if he plays with someone having lesser toys than him then he picks a superiority attitude. Parents should monitor this psychological offshoot in their child.
Toy-less couch potatoes
THE MAIN reason why children play less with toys these days is because of the overpowering influence of the idiot box. Children today spend a frightening number of hours viewing programmes on the TV. Physical activity is almost zero for these couch potatoes.
Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Pogo channels are the hot favourites for younger kids, while the older ones are stuck to unintelligent and make believe world of soaps. "My son controls the TV remote control at home," says a worried parent. As many children cannot differentiate between actuality and fantasy, unmonitored watching of TV is never recommended. "What they see on the small screen leaves a mark on their minds. They try out everything they watch. My sons enacts WWF characters. Recently we saw in the papers that many children attempted hanging, after Dhananjoy was hanged to death. They just follow what catches their fancy. Because of the influx of TV and PC the outdoor activities have been limited. It's best for children to go and play outdoors, as this is both a mental as well as physical exercise, " says Ashok. " We think that children should have toys that help them in all over development. But they have their own views of the toys they desire. It's always a conflict."
J.A
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