Our third entry for chapter 2 was written by Ashley. I think you'll appreciate her personal perspectives and examples related to imaginary play. Enjoy.
Chapter two was a huge eye-opener for me because of how much we expect from children, and how different they are today compared to the 1990’s or earlier. There are different expectations placed on children now than when I was a child. My biggest concern as a child was who was coming over, what homework I had, or what sport I had that day. Now some children have every minute planned out, from music lessons to sports, and don’t have free time to explore how the world works, or to have an imaginary friend. My sister is in the fourth grade and she is already working on long division, something I didn’t learn until fifth or six grade. There is no time for a child to play dress up or to play fantasy games, which according to Elkind, is depriving the child of what he or she should be doing.
Children nowadays are too wrapped up in having too many toys and having the toy that is popular. Manufacturers now try to get the child’s attention through commercials because so many children watch television. The manufacturers want the kids to pester their parents until the parents give up and buy the toy. When I was younger, we got toys on special occasions like birthdays, Easter, or Christmas. I would count down the days until my birthday because I knew the day was all about me. Now children just expect gifts all year. If you don’t have the cool new toy then you get laughed at. The children in elementary school just want to fit in with the other kids.
When I was at work, the owner’s 2 1/2-year-old grandson was playing with just a regular box. It was so cute to see a child entertained by something so simple. He would hide in it and pop out like a jack-in-the-box. He also said that he was a present to his mom. We put holes in the side and he wore it around work for a couple hours. That was something we would have done when I was younger. He used his imagination and fantasy skills to make a simple box into a present. Later that day he popped bubbles with his karate chop. It was great; he was learning karate and using it to pop bubbles. My brother and I spent hours playing with chalk and bubbles outside, and these are fond memories for me.
When I was younger we used so much imagination by dressing up like princesses, or Barbies, or even mermaids in the pool because my favorite Disney movie was "The Little Mermaid." Children need to explore their imagination. Society gets children so wrapped up in computerized and microchip games that the children don’t have many options to use their thinking skills that involve dramatic play. Kids mostly want to play videogames or sit in front of the television. The only computer games I played were educational ones like "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" or "Freddy the Fish." Most of the time kids should be running around outside or playing with neighborhood kids, like we used to do. Obesity is also becoming a bigger issue for younger kids because it is a lot easier to get fast food than home cooking for our American fast paced lives.
Another trait I learned as a kid that all kids should have is sharing and compromising with other kids. My brother and I are three years apart and so we would trade off playing each other’s games. Most children who have siblings have many separate toys. This doesn’t teach children to learn to share or to compromise on games to play.
These are just some of my thoughts about how toys influence children. This is my reflection and I hope you all enjoy it and can relate to my thoughts. Chapter two, for me, was an awesome chapter and can mean a lot when you think about it.
Ashley –
ReplyDeleteI too had my eyes opened while reading this chapter with regards to the commercialization of toys nowadays. It makes complete sense for companies to target children and specifically design jingles/advertisements to draw children to their product at a young age, but it had never clicked in my mind before! I liked the way you phrased the fact that “manufacturers want the kids to pester their parents until the parents give up and buy the toy,” because this is so true! Manufacturers do aim commercials and advertisements at children for the sole reason that the children will pester their parents. It is then a sad reality when parents give in to the pestering and buy the toy, without any consideration of the item.
Just like you, I grew up in a family which only saw the need for a new toy at Christmas, Birthdays, and Easter. My two older brothers and I then had to take the initiative to plan the fun ourselves and be creative. Whether our fun consisted of playing ninjas, experimenting with snails after a rain, building forts, or making home videos of our crazy adventures, we had the most fun imaginable because (in my humble opinion) our activities came from our imagination and we were able to be free spirits. We were not tied down to imagining with excessive amounts of character toys and keeping the play within the boundaries of that toy, but instead were free to explore and create whatever our little hearts desired.
You also spoke of how sharing and compromising are highly necessary traits for all ages of children; children need to know and understand why “my turn-your turn” is so important! My childhood consisted of taking turns with my brothers’ and my games- one day we would play Barbies, and the next sumo-wrestling.
I could not agree more with you (as well as with Elkind) that toys nowadays have greatly surpassed and overdone their initial intensions to build skills and educate in a fun and creative way. Even with the world around us changing, it is a comfort to know that there will be parents like myself who will encourage their child to play pretend instead of giving in and buying them every new toy.
-Katie Carmichael
Reading your entry, I thought about my childhood years when I did imaginary play. I too didn't get toys 'til my birthday or Christmas, so every time I played, I played with anything I found such as pots and pans. For example, I wasn't allowed to use the pots and pans in the kitchen, but there were old ones in the backyard that I was allowed to use. I would gather grass and leaves to put in the pot. I would get a stick to stir the grass and leaves in the pot as if cooking food. These days, there may be children that still do imaginary play such as cooking, but they don't use old pots and pans anymore. With so many toys that are developed, there are even toy pots and pans for parents to purchase for their children to play. Parents don’t just let their children explore to find something to play with anymore. -Chai Lee
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you about how overbooked kids are today. I think some kids aren't even allowed to play on weekdays because they have every hour of their evening booked with activities and then sometimes stay up way too late because they haven't finished their homework. When I was a child, I also remember not having any worries or plans besides which neighbor's door was I going to knock on first to see if they could play. The two school- aged children that I used to babysit, were examples of those children that have every hour of their evening booked. I remember thinking how sorry I felt for them because by the time they got home from after-school music lessons, softball practice and drama, they were so exhausted that all they wanted to do was go to bed. Instead of being able to get a good night's rest, they had to stay up late doing homework, unless they wanted to wake up early in the morning to do it. I think this is terrible for two huge reasons. Not only does it rob kids from free play and time to socialize with friends, but it wears them so thin that as young children that should have an abundance of energy, they are exhausted.
- Mallory Melnar