Let Kids Make Their Own Fun

Are you interested in raising your children to be creative, engaged, curious and self-assured?  The toys you buy them may be at odds with your objectives.    

With so many of today’s popular electronic toys, it is the product (not the child) that supplies the entertainment.  The child’s role is mostly that of an observer.  Since there is nothing for their imaginations to do, children with too many electronic games and toys tend to be bored and passive. The game or toy takes care of everything. Creativity atrophies.    

Does that mean we should we pull the plug on all the electronic devices in an effort to pique our children’s interest in more interactive and creative play?   Is “no electronic play” the only way to foster in our kids a love for the earth?     

Not necessarily; as with everything, moderation is key.  But I do think that the concept of moderation has given way to the luxury of convenience.  Convenience, however immediately gratifying it may be for us, is short-changing our kids.  Kids want to be challenged.  They want to be creative.  But some of the toys we give them deprive them of that opportunity, and reinforce that what we want from them is to be passive.     

Forced Fun?

   Take the Zhu Zhu pets for example. Seriously, people waited in line for hours to get their hands on these little self-propelled mechanical hamsters.  I happened on them one day at the store and impulse-bought two for my youngest son and daughter for Christmas.  After the initial pleasure at opening the package, how long do you think they played with them?  Long enough to see what they could do, which was about 3 minutes.  I haven’t seen them since.     

Cute but boring?

 It is not a child’s natural tendency to be passive and just watch a toy do something.  It deflates their self esteem because they lose the sense that they are in control of their own fun.  Nothing threatens a child’s self esteem like feeling that they have to depend on other people or things for entertainment     

Will there be resistance if electronic toy time is reduced in exchange for active, outside or creative play time?  You bet.  Is this another one of those uncomfortable “attitude adjustments” that we as parents have to make ourselves in order to bring up caring, conscious and creative children?  Yes again.      

Will you make the effort?    

PS? Another Good Reason to Ease Up on the Electroinc Toys