Sunday, April 22, 2007

Do we still make toy trucks?

I was in the toy section the other day looking to buy a few things for the grandchildren and realized how much toys have changed. Everything “does something” any more. It’s hard to find just a plain do nothing toy anymore.
We played with dolls. Dressed them, had tea parties, and they were our friends. My brother’s trucks and tractors plowed through fields in the rugs and ran over monsters, which were my dolls. We traded comic books and read books about Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. There were 24 colors in the crayon boxes used to create masterful works of art to be hung on the refrigerator door. We used technology to create stuff like creepy crawlers, easy bake ovens cakes, and Lego cities. We used our imaginations and enjoyed our stuff.
Technology in toys today is overwhelming. I could not find a plain doll. One doll cried, another needed to eat; then it wet. No more using your imagination I thought. The trucks are not only battery powered but also radio controlled. Even books make sounds or read the story to you. Crayons still come in a box but it has over 100 colors. No wonder I’m back in school, I need to learn the new colors just to play.
My point is that sometimes I feel technology has taken the wrong path. These toys don’t encourage children to grow and learn. They encourage the child to expect everything to be done for them. I don’t pretend the baby is crying; it really is. I don’t pretend the car makes a “vroom” noise; it does.
It is great that technology allows us to create these toys, but do we need them? Is this where we should be using innovative ideas? I guess it is just one more segment of society touched by technology.

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