please explain the "no plastic toys/no batteries" school of thought
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Anonymous
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I'm honestly wondering what the thought process is behind it. Is it because a lot of plastic is produced in China, and you're worried about contamination? Is it because it could shorten their attention span? Are batteries considered bad for their health?
I'm abso nuts about some things (no tv if possible, sleep, organic, etc), but this isn't one of them...I'm wondering if perhaps I'm just missing something big here. DD plays with plastic, light-up toys all the time, and shows a preference for them (although she does love her blocks!). Why do you prevent the plastic toys? |
Anonymous
| it limits their creativity |
Anonymous
citation? |
Anonymous
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Top reason: the lights and sounds irritate me.
Second reason: when my DS plays with them he does more looking than touching. I don't like that. He's mesmerized by the sounds and lights. I'd rather he be mesmerized by his own creativity and imagination. |
Anonymous
Not OP, but wondering the same thing. I understand that for batteries toys, but how does plastic limit their creativity. Magnatiles, play food, legos, markers, etc. There are lots of plastic toys that seem to me to encourage creativitiy. |
Anonymous
i'm talking about personal experience here. coming to DCUM for peer reviewed material is stupid. if you want this kind of validation you should sign up for a medical journal, not a neighborhood website. |
Anonymous
| I'm not anti plastic toys or anti battery operated toys but I prefer open ended toys (which often rules out many battery operated toys). I think that may be part of the reasoning for some people. |
Anonymous
no, i'm asking because your response was a one-liner w/o any details, and honestly, I find it ridiculous that so many parents jump on a bandwagon without good reasons. how do you know it limits creativity? as a pp stated, many "creative" toys are made with plastic-legos for one. many, many people often have good articles on hot-button issues like this; i wanted to know if you did. you didn't. ok. |
Anonymous
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We prefer wooden toys partly for aesthetic reasons. They are not so garish! Seems right for kids to have early tactile experiences with more natural materials, like wood, wool, and cotton. There are environmental reasons to choose toys make from sustainable materials, instead of petro chemicals. And surrounding your baby and young child with tried and true traditional things (like wooden blocks) is probably safer in terms of chemical exposure than giving them lots of plastic to chew on. But my kids do have plenty of plastic toys.
The battery issue is that lots of parents and early childhood educators feel that kids learn best when they have to use their imaginations and creativity. Magda Gerber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magda_Gerber) says: Passive toys encourage active kids Active toys (like battery powered ones) encourage passive kids |
Anonymous
honestly I don't need an article. we never bought them but DD got plenty from well intended friends, for example that stupid gumball machine that you put the balls in and press the button so the balls can run down the machine. she was stuffing everything in there. she got frustrated and hated it. she clearly needed more than what the toy was offering. she did much better with a paper bag and her blocks. she stuffed whatever she wanted in it and went her merry way around the house for the entire day for several days in a row. it's not the material the toy is made off but mostly the kind of toy. if it limits what the child can do, if it has specifics to how it works it's not good for us. if your kiddo likes it, good for you. i don't care. we have the bilibo since she was 9 months old and she still plays with it every single day. it depends on the child's personality and being a good parent is learning to watch your child and finding what works for them. |
Anonymous
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For starters I am not downing plastic - toy food, doll babies all great BUT
Battery operated toys with all the bells and whistles are frowned on because the toy tends to be active while the child is passive. Think of the Fisher Price farm from when we were kids, the child "mooed" for the cow and "vroomed" the truck now they just touch it and the sound happens. It is less active parrticipation from the child. It narrows by more defining the use. The idea when you go to buy a Dora doll (if that is the favored character) is to buy the plain doll, the one that does nothing. When you buy the one that grows hair, that is all the child does with it and the play is narrowed. There is also some concern that all these batteries are "gateway toys" for lack of better term that they are going in the way of earlier technology introduction whcih as much as many parents push for is against the better judgement of the research and early education folks. |
Anonymous
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I'm anti-plastic, at least those made in Asia: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/preventive-care/china-lead-poisoning.htm
It's not so much the types of toys (unless it's for safely reason as described above), it's the number of toys. Less toys means a more creative mind: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/2010/04/14/why-fewer-toys-will-actually-benefit-your-kids/ |
Anonymous
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We have some plastic and battery-operated toys but try not to have too many. First of all, I like the "active toys, passive kids; passive toys active kids" phrase I've heard. I think that's true--you want your kids to develop creativity and be able to entertain themselves rather than toys constantly leading them. Toy companies want us to think that their "educational" toys will make our kids smarter and better but I think it's largely the opposite. A friend of mine has bought so many "educational" toys for her kids and delights in their "pretend play". They have every kind of toy food imaginable and a large toy kitchen complete with sounds and lights. It's pretend play in that yes, the kids know the food and kitchen are fake--but they need all those fancy props to play. I'll be impressed when they make their own play stove from a cardboard box and imagine all kinds of things about it. Her kids are awful in restaurants, planes, cars--they constantly need toys or videos to entertain them. They are not able to entertain themselves like kids their age whose play isn't driven by very specific toys.
As for plastic, again we have some so I know my kids are exposed, but plastics contain all kinds of chemicals we know are endocrine disrupters, etc. |
Anonymous
Oh boy. Just wait until your special snowflake hits school and playdate ages - that child is gonna be begging for a Wii! |
Anonymous
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I do not let DD play with anything plastic or anything with batteries. I am sort of an "old soul" and believe in calm play (no flashing lights, loud noises, distracting movements). I think it leads to ADD and other attention issues. I also hate the annoying sounds of battery operated toys myself. I also think it stunts the imagination.
As far as plastic, it's all made in china and I don't trust it. SOme of it has BPA, phlalates, and other toxins that leach out when your child is eating the toy or even just holding it. I also limit plastic in my own life for environment for environmental and aesthetic reasons. I hate the way big plastic toys look and feel. They look junky, trashy and fill up our land fills with crap. All in all, i just enjoy a simpler way of life. That being said, I an not against technology like computers. I like to quote Steve Jobs by saying I like my life to be a cross of "humanities and technology". |