The Increasing Role of Electronic Toys in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers: should we be concerned?
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Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, Volume 2, Number 2, 2001
COLLOQUIUM
The Increasing Role of
Electronic Toys in the
Lives of Infants and Toddlers:
should we be concerned?[1]
DIANE E. LEVIN & BARBARA ROSENQUEST
Wheelock College, Boston, USA
ABSTRACT In recent years, thre has been a rapid increase in the number of
electronic toys and toys linked to electronic media that are being marketed for
infants and toddlers. This article explores what this latest trend might mean for
the development, behaviour and play of very young children. It concludes that
these toys can be harmful in both the short and long term and recommends
strategies for counter-acting the potential problems.
Two-year-old Maurice throws a balloon-like ball and hits a tall wicker basket.
He laughs at his grandma and points to the ball. She responds, ‘It hit the
basket.’ He gets the ball. This time he throws it in and cheers. So does she. He
hands her the ball saying, ‘You do it.’ Over the next 10 minutes they go
through several variations in their give-and-take play with each other and the
ball. They try to knock the basket over with the ball, throw the ball high in the
air to get it into the basket, and play a simple game of catch – always
commenting on what happens as they go.
Then Maurice spots his new electronic ‘Rock-n-Roll Ernie’ toy – a stuffed
version of Ernie from the television show Sesame Street, who is wearing
sunglasses and a simulated black leather jacket and holding a guitar. Maurice
pushes a button on the guitar and Ernie begins to bounce and sing, ‘Rock
Around the Clock Tonight.’ Maurice bounces up and down a few times and
asks his grandma to ‘dance’ too. When Ernie stops, Maurice repeats the button
pushing, dance cycle two more times. Then he returns to the ball and resumes
the game of catch with his grandma.
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Toys Influence Play
Toys can have a big influence on how children play and we see this influence
at work in Maurice’s play with his grandmother. The ball and basket seem to
give Maurice the opportunity to engage in play of his own creation, play that
evolves and changes as he finds new challenges. It is play that is unique to him,
play that his grandmother can share in and support – ball play that is probably
not exactly like that of any other child and adult.
When Maurice uses Rock-n-Roll Ernie, on the other hand, his play and
interactions seem limited and repetitive – push a button and bounce to the
music; he and his grandma have a hard time figuring out anything else to do.
Most young children we have seen ‘play’ with a ‘toy’ like Rock-n-Roll Ernie
have used it in a similar way and quickly became bored with it, as Maurice did.
Because what and how children play influences how they develop and
what they learn (Caruso, 1988; Levin, 1996), we would predict that the
different kinds of play that we have outlined would lead to different kinds of
learning. And because we have seen an increasing number of toys of the
‘Ernie’ type on children’s toy shelves, we have begun to explore electronic
toys for infants and toddlers more closely. What we have found has left us
worried, worried enough to conclude that all those involved with promoting
the healthy play and development of very young children need to take heed
and develop strategies for counteracting the problems that may arise.
Changes in Toys
A walk down the aisle of a mass-market toy store will demonstrate how classic
toys for children have given way to an abundance of high-tech toys. There are
rattles that move on their own and play music, crib toys that say the alphabet
and project television characters onto the ceiling, soft toys that do everything
from making animal and baby sounds to teaching about ‘stranger danger’ – all
with the help of batteries and microchips. Many of the new electronic toys are
already familiar to families, and even to infants, because they are emblazoned
with logos or are replicas of characters from television, movies or videos.
Not long ago, most of the toys on toy store shelves for very young
children were generic rattles, dolls, trucks and blocks that helped toddlers be
the creators and controllers of their play and helped parents play in
imaginative, give-and-take ways with their infants and toddlers. As we saw in
Maurice’s play with ‘Rock-n-Roll Ernie,’ individualized, open-ended
opportunities for creating play can be greatly hampered by the programmed
response of mobile phones, scripts embedded in talking dolls, and the musical
score that is a push-button away in an electronic busy-box.
The Importance of Play
Research has already established the importance of the play and exploration of
infants and toddlers (Caruso, 1988). Play and exploration is one of the most
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powerful ways very young children learn about how the world works. It helps
them work out how to control their bodies and how to interact with people. It
helps them learn about the impact their actions can have on objects and people
in their environment and about how to produce the desired effect.
What happens in the environment of infants and toddlers influences the
quality of their play. For instance, play with constant adults contributes to the
attachment process, and the level of attachment between infants and adults is
positively correlated with quality of play. This effect is attributed in part to the
level of responsive feedback to their actions that babies get from their
environment. There is also a positive relationship between the amount of
quality play – often characterized in the literature as ‘mature play,’ where
children are working near the ceiling of their level of development – and later
abilities at such skills as problem-solving.
Endangered Play, Endangered Development
Just as the nature of interactions with adults influences the quality of play and
what children learn, we can conjecture that the nature of children’s
interactions with toys also influences play and development. We need look no
further than Maurice’s play with the ball and ‘Rock-n-Roll Ernie’ to see the
difference that a toy can make in a child’s play.
No one toy determines the course of a child’s play history. But when
children become used to toys that channel them into acting in a certain way,
they begin to expect all toys to tell them what to do and toys that are open-
ended can seem boring and uninteresting. This can have a long-term effect on
how children play and the kind of learners they become. And while any toy
can be used for quality, individualized play, more open-ended and generic toys
are more conducive in promoting this kind of play than highly structured and
programmed toys (Bronson, 1995).
This is why the rapid influx of electronic toys into homes and childcare
centers in the last couple of years presents us with new questions and concerns
about how these toys are influencing infant and toddler play and development
both now and in the long run.
High Tech Toys Are Very Seductive
We are in the process of analyzing the results of a survey of infant/toddler
parents about their attitudes toward and experiences with today’s toys
(Rosenquest & Levin, in preparation). Families list educational value at or near
the top of every list of important qualities for purchasing toys.
High-tech toys can be very seductive. They are marketed in ways that
exploit adults’ desire to choose toys that will enhance their children’s learning.
They grab adults’ and babies’ attention with movements, sounds, and lights.
They do exciting and magical things that only the designers understand. And,
they promise to teach skills and prepare children for the future with such
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phrases as ‘early learning activities designed to develop minds,’ ‘friendly voice
introduces six vocabulary words,’ ‘musical and light responses teach concept
of cause-and-effect,’ and ‘bright colors and flashing lights create visual interest.’
Many of these kinds of toys are made by familiar and trusted toy
companies (such as Fisher Price), or are branded with familiar cartoon figures
(from public television shows like Sesame Street or Disney movies like Winnie
the Pooh). This fact further contributes to an image of developmental
appropriateness and the lure to buy.
But when we end up spending money on these usually very expensive
toys, are family and school resources being put to good use? Should parents
feel that if they cannot afford to buy these toys, then they will be depriving
their babies of the best start possible? By buying these toys, are we exposing
children to the world of technology that we are promised will promote their
well-being and define their future? Or, when we buy them, are we limiting
children’s horizons by substituting lights and sounds for parental voices and
interaction, creativity and imagination, active play and learning?
What Can We Do?
As a first step in deciding how to respond, educators need to recognize the
saturation of the infant/toddler toy market with electronic toys and the
serious limitations these kinds of toys can have for very young children. Then
we can begin to develop strategies for stemming the tide as these toys flood
homes and classrooms (Levin, 1998, 1999). There follow some general
guidelines for how to begin.
Create classrooms that help children become good players and engage in quality play.
We can do this by doing such things as valuing play and providing time for it;
choosing toys that are rich in constructive play possibilities and taking an
active role in facilitating individual children’s play with these toys; creating an
environment where children feel safe to explore and become involved in play.
Help families learn more about the importance of play and the role of toys in promoting
quality play. Discerning the limitations a toy can have on a child’s play often
means disregarding the initial lure of a toy or the symbols and promises made
by manufacturers about its value. It is difficult to discourage parents and
grandparents from buying what appear to be ultramodern toys as gifts or as
contributions to an innovative nursery. Making good choices requires a
greater understanding of the importance of infant/toddler play and the role of
toys in promoting quality play than adults needed in the past. One
constructive way to do this is to spend time with families discussing the
significance of play for very young children, inviting them to observe their
children’s play in group settings, and demonstrating, by example, how play
can be facilitated.
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Help families choose toys and play materials that support quality play and
development and build on the individual interests and abilities of their particular
children. The materials that we provide in group settings can play a key role in
modeling for adults the kinds of toys we know are best for children. At
birthdays and other gift-giving times, we can help parents make effective gift
choices and learn how to communicate this information to other family
members who may be buying gifts. There are now simple guides available that
can be distributed to parents to assist with this process. For instance, the
National Association for the Education of Young Children in Washington, DC
publishes a small booklet called ‘Toys: tools for learning.’ Teachers Resisting
Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment (TRUCE) has its annual ‘Toy Action
Guide.’[2]
Work to change how things are. As early childhood educators, we are the people
trained to understand and promote the well-being of young children. In this
role, we have a responsibility to work to make things better in whatever ways
we feel we can – for instance, through work with colleagues in our own school
communities and in professional organizations, and by writing letters voicing
our concern to newspapers, toy manufacturers, and toy retailers.
Correspondence
Diane E. Levin, Wheelock College, 200 the Riverway, Boston,
MA 02215-4176, USA (dlevin@wheelock.edu).
Notes
[1] This article is adapted from a presentation by the authors entitled, ‘The
Invasion of the Teletubbies: the impact of media-linked and electronic toys on
infants and toddlers,’ at the Annual Conference of the National Association for
the Education of Young Children in Atlanta, Georgia, November 2000.
[2] This guide can be downloaded from www.truceteachers.org
References
Bronson, M.B. (1995) The Right Stuff for Children Birth to Eight: selecting play materials to
support development. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of
Young Children.
Caruso, D.A. (1988) Play and Learning in Infancy: research and implications, Young
Children, 43(5), pp. 63-70.
Levin, D.E. (1996) Endangered Play, Endangered Development: a constructivist view
of the role of play in development and learning, in A. Philips (Ed.) Playing for
Keeps, pp. 73-88 & 168-171. St Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Levin, D.E. (1998) Remote Control Childhood? Combating the Hazards of Media Culture.
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
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Levin, D.E. (1999) Rethinking Children’s Play: changing times, changing needs,
changing responses, Our Children: National PTA Magazine, November, pp. 8-11.
Rosenquest, B. & Levin D.E. (in preparation) Parents’ and Teachers’ Attitudes about
Choosing and Using Infant and Toddler Toys. Boston, MA: Wheelock College.
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