By Staff
Listening to commentators speak about the annual big toy fair a week or so ago in New York made me wonder what the toys will be like 10 or 20 years from now.
The owner of a toy company was talking about their new products which all seem to have sound, lights and are interactive with the child.
"When my children get a stuffed animal, they look to see where to turn it on," he said.
If the dolls all burp, cry and even mess their pants, as one new one mentioned does, where does pretending come in?
Software for computers has continually improved and more continues to be developed for children. What is changing is the age of the child to which the materials are aimed.
I heard one man say what a 3-year-old was capable of understanding a year or two ago, a 2-year-old can now manage.
Two-year-old? Well let's see, when Clay was 2 he was very curious and I did call the poison control number about him three times in one week.
The thought of a 2-year-old looking at a computer screen basically scares me.
The company said it has had many inquiries about baby software – baby!
Don't get me wrong, I believe children should be exposed to technology very early on.
What worries me is that so much else might be neglected which could benefit the child's whole growth.
I never liked the idea of using a television as a babysitter.
Kids should be exploring, using their imaginations and learning new things.
Too many people I know let their little ones watch the same video over and over. Being read the same bedtime story helped my children learn to read. There is the interaction of being snuggled together, or my Shane's favorite, in a rocking chair.
But a video, in a room often apart from others, I just can't see it.
Video games which repeat the same sequence over and over until mastered I can't help but think will stagnate the child.
When I play slots, or a video game, I am zoning out – forgetting that the bathroom needs to be cleaned again, or that I need to write three stories before morning.
But does a child really need to "zone out" for hours?
I coaxed our Dowagiac editor to go home the other day to make a snowman with his son.
I told him he would be surprised how quickly time passes and his children would be gone from the house.
Dragging him away from playing video games, the dad learned his son really didn't know how to make a snowman.
Then I realized I had only seen two snowmen together in a yard this whole season.
If my generation is overweight from lack of exercise, what is going to happen to the video game players of this generation?
They don't have to get up to change a channel, or even answer a phone (it's in their pocket or purse).
I don't see kids out making money shoveling or having a paper route.
Volunteers have been working for weeks to make a skating rink at Eastside Park in Niles.
Will their be any takers willing to be outside and turn the games off for awhile?