The Sociological Benefits Of Toys In Children

1028 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Are toys socializing our children

When you grow up and have kids of your own, would you rather have them delve into an unlimited playground of their imaginations or restricted in a nine by six box of images coming from strangers? In this essay, I will present why I believe that a technology-free childhood is a lot more beneficial in terms of one’s character, rather than immersing them in an Apple themed environment.

For my first argument, I would like to present that having toys as a source of recreation reaps greater benefits in terms of intelligence. According to Marion Diamond (1964), a neuroscientist that held an experiment where he put one group of rats in a dull environment and the other in a toy-filled environment, a child who is surrounded with toys grows …show more content…

Toys as a source of recreation, gives a child more opportunities to interact with his environment and the people around him. Edward Fisher (1999) published a study which found that Sociodramatic play, or the make-believe world kids create amongst themselves, prompt higher cognitive-linguistic and social skills. Play time and toys allow a child to invite as much children as he wants to play with him, unlike a multi-player application that usually only reaches until 2 players. This seeds a skill set of interaction and communication in a child. It also provides a limitless space for a child to create a kingdom, a spaceship, or even a simple playground with the space given to …show more content…

Toys reap more benefits for a child’s EQ or emotional quotient because it instills values like discipline, self-control, practicality, determination and many more. As Lillard (2013) has stated in his studies, two kids cannot play with each other unless they both agree on the make-believe kingdom they are setting up for themselves to play in. This study shows that play time gives a child the ability to empathize and be sensitive with the people around him and more importantly follow a set of “rules” that conforms to both their standards. This advocates discipline in a young one’s personality. Because toys and playgrounds are not as compact and accessible as Ipads, this keeps a proper regulation to play time, which advocates self-control in a child. Pretend play also gives a child a sense of practicality, allowing one to glimpse the reality of the world and in turn distinguish reality from fantasy (Sutherland & Friedman, 2013). This, along with a toy-influenced-child’s ability to solve problems divergently, prepares him to understand what the real world might be like and thus learn early on how to creatively and divergently approach

Show More
Related

  • Chapter Analysis: The Power Of Play By David Elkind

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Chapter 2 Toys Aren’t Us Elkind explains how most children have too much and can not focus on what is important. “All of these changes have impacted the personal, and social skills, attitudes, and values children acquire from toy play” (Elkind, 15). When Elkind mentions changes he means how toys

    Read More

  • Can You Hear Me Now?

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Turkle argues that technology has fundamentally changed how people view themselves and their lives (271). She reports that, “BlackBerry users describe that sense of encroachment of the device on their time. One says, ‘I don’t have enough time alone with my mind’; another, ‘I artificially make time to think…’” (274). Her point is that people have to make a deliberate choice to disconnect, to exist in their own mind rather than the virtual world (Turkle 274). Another point Turkle brings up is that in this technologic age children are not learning to be self- reliant. Without having the experience of being truly alone and making their own decisions, children are not developing the skills they once did (Turkle 274). As Turkle reports, “There used to be a moment in the life of an urban child, usually between 12 and 14, when there was a first time to navigate the city alone. It was a rite of passage that communicated, ‘you are on your own and responsible.

    Read More

  • Toy Evaluation

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    Additional environmental cartoon stimulus may foster enhanced development temporarily. Paiget’s cognitive-developmental theory may be useful in the child’s adaptation of how he or she plays. The child may also be able to maneuver the toy, but may not be able to understand the concept or story of the Transformer. The child is able to understand the symbols that label what toys are and may also be able to better process the parent’s teachings with symbolic knowledge. Works Cited Bee, Helen, & Boyd, Denise (2010).

    Read More

  • Effects Of Gender Toys

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through her findings, she points out that there are many cognitive benefits to playing with toys (for instance, playing with blocks develops spatial reasoning and creativity skills). Her coding differed from the other research about the topic, focusing on sociability, competition, aggressiveness, manipulability, nurturance and attractiveness (Miller, 1987). I find that this very specific word choice better reflects the experience and teachings that come from toys, though I think it would have been better executed if the words were more clearly defined. The focus on social-play and manipulability adds something new to the discussion on the effects of play, particularly gendered-play, as toys that rank high in that category directly teach children how they should act when in social settings and how much of the world they can have an effect

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Play On Child Development

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    A major question that is continuously being researched and observed is whether children’s play is beneficial to children’s development. While many scientists have proved that play is, in fact, helpful in the development of children, I want to research how the different types of play affect children’s development, specifically children that are transitioning from late infancy to toddlerhood. The four different types of play that I will focus on observing is exploratory and manipulative play, functional or relational play, social play routines and pretend play. Furthermore, I would observe the children’s agency during their play and the social structures that can prevent children from playing, thus, resulting in lack of development.

    Read More

  • Pretend Play, Creativity, and Emotion Regulation In Children

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Pearson product-moment correlation was conducted to test whether a correlation existed among pretend play, creativity, emotion regulation, and executive functioning. The results indicated that pretend play is correlated with creativity (Hoffman & Russ, 2012). The researchers found that the children who were more imaginative during play and had more organized stories were better divergent thinkers. Furthermore, they found that those who were rated...

    Read More

  • Kids Toys and Socialization

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    Toy stores are perfect places for a sociologist to use their sociological imagination. Gendering and racism is thought to be something that is socially constructed as opposed to biologically constructed. Gendering starts during infancy, and around 2 years old children start to internalize these gender differences. I argue that children’s toys help socialize children into gender specific roles. Toy stores, like Target and Toys R Us help us understand what types of toys help to gender children. I will explain how the toys in the toy aisles differ and compare. Not all toys are either male or female, some toys are gender neutral.

    Read More

  • Background Television On The Toy Play Behavior

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    The authors of “The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children,” were seeking proof that adult television is a disruptive influence on very young children. The experiment consisted of fifty 12, 24 and 36 month olds playing with various toys for one hour. One half of the hour the television remained off while the children played with their toys and for the other half of the hour the children attempted to play while the television remained turned on. According to the article, prior studies show background television interferes with a child’s attention span while playing with toys. Playing is to create and promote healthy cognitive and social development (Piaget, 1962), but studies have proven that if television is on whilst playing, a child will fail to learn cognitive and social developmental skills essential to day-to-day life.

    Read More

  • The End of Make Believe

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a culture saturated in high tech toys that explode with dynamite sounds and whirling lights, children spend countless hours watching television and playing video games and less time engaging in creative and imaginative play. In Claudia Kalb’s article “The End of Make Believe,” she introduces the Knott family from Cleveland, Ohio. Kris Knott and her husband, parents of three active children, are striving to get back to the basics of play by increasing family time and decreasing their children’s television and video game usage. During the summer months, it would not be uncommon to find the entire family outside enjoying a pleasant evening together. Mrs. Knott states that “entertainment is not play” and children need carefree, less structured time to use their imaginations (Kalb, par.1). While the Knott’s children have plenty of organized activities such as after school sports, their parents recognize the importance of using imagination and creativity as a source of play (Kalb, par.1). In the same manner, parents must limit children’s time engaging in technology by creating quality family time and encouraging more creative and imaginative play for intellectual, emotional, and social skills to develop.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Super Sparkles

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    Based on Imagination, Playfulness, and Creativity in Children’s Play with Different Toys by Signe Juhl Møller “In observing the children’s play, I found the concepts of communication and the production of the object-meaning relation essential to fostering the development of imagination and creative activities in children’s play.” In developing toys for children, it helps increase verbal skill and imagination when children play with toys together. This collection of dolls help develops children’s imagination not only through physical play but also through a virtual app. By buying the collection, children will obtain access code that allows them to play with other children online by using their imagination skills. By using the app, it will also intrigue children to obtain the toy for the reason of virtual play access and physical play.

    Read More

  • Toys Case Study

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    The socialization of children is greatly affected by the toys they are exposed to while growing up. Looking through magazines and walking down the aisles of toy stores it is clear that toy companies are supportive of cultural gender roles biases. Toys designed for girls are commonly found in pink boxes; typically these toys involve housework or taking care of children, for example, dolls and easy bake ovens. On the other hand, “boy” toys are found in blue and black boxes, and a lot of them involve construction and cars.

    Read More

  • Toys and Child Development

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lowry, Ruth. "Gadgets Affect Child Development." The British Psychological Society, 18 July 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.S

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact Of Technology On Children

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    As disclosed in the article, The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child, Chris Rowan acknowledges, “Rather than hugging, playing, rough housing, and conversing with children, parents are increasingly resorting to providing their children with more TV, video games, and the latest iPads and cell phone devices, creating a deep and irreversible chasm between parent and child” (par. 7). In the parent’s perspective, technology has become a substitute for a babysitter and is becoming more convenient little by little. It is necessary for a growing child to have multiple hours of play and exposure to the outside world each day. However, the number of kids who would rather spend their days inside watching tv, playing video games, or texting is drastically increasing. Children are not necessarily the ones to be blamed for their lack of interest in the world around them, but their parents for allowing their sons and daughters to indulge in their relationship with technology so powerfully. Kids today consider technology a necessity to life, because their parents opted for an easier way to keep their children entertained. Thus resulting in the younger generations believing that technology is a stipulation rather than a

    Read More

  • Negative Effects of Technology

    2086 Words  | 5 Pages

    Technology is one of life’s most impressive and incredible phenomena’s. The main reason being the shockingly high degree to which our society uses technology in our everyday lives. It occupies every single realm, affecting people both positively and negatively. There are so many different forms of technology but the two most often used are cell phones, and the internet/computers in general. Today’s younger generation was raised alongside technological development. Kids now a days learn how to operate computers and cell phones at a very early age, whether it be through their own technological possessions, a friend’s, or their parents. They grow up knowing how easily accessible technology is, and the endless amount of ways in which it can be used. This paper will be largely focused on the effects of technology on the younger generation because your childhood is when these effects have the largest impact. I am very aware of the subject because I am the younger generation. Aside from major effects on study and communication skills, there also exist the media’s effects on teen’s self-esteem and mental health. Maybe more importantly, there is our world’s growing problem of over priced and unnecessary consumerism. Over time, our society has created a very unhealthy form of reliance and dependency on technology as a whole. People essentially live through their devices. Cell phones are always with people making it nearly impossible to not be able to reach someone at anytime, day or night. In 2011, there were 2.4 trillion text messages sent, and 28,641 cell phone towers were added across the US. 1 We use our phones and Internet for directions, communication, information, self-diagnosis, games, movies, music, schoolwork, work, photos, shoppi...

    Read More

  • Playing Computer Games Is Beneficial to Children

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    Playing games on hand-held can be beneficial as it can be enjoyable but self-motivated way for children to learn and play “play is intrinsic to children’s quality of life, it is how they enjoy themselves. It is also a key component of a healthy lifestyle”. Children’s games on hand held devices such as iPad, iPhone and tablets give children access to a vast wealth of information which can develop children mind and knowledge surrounding a broad spectrum of subjects. Educational video games that are age appropriate have an inventive way of simulating a young child mind and sustaining a young child’s attention, while they are engaging in the practice of learning and problem-solving; for example a literacy letter game expands a young child’s language and literacy skill in a visual character and audio sounds as way of simulating the mind help the child retain the information in certain part of their brain. Then if games ask questions to challenge the child understanding further such as find the right letter?

    Read More

More about The Sociological Benefits Of Toys In Children

Open Document