Are today's girls abandoning their dolls too soon?

[Liberal_in_LA]

Are today's girls abandoning their dolls too soon?

Little girls are saying goodbye to their dollies and hello to tech gadgets and computer games. Does this mean they're missing out on imaginative play?

------------------

But these days girls are dropping dolls at ever younger ages and replacing the childhood mainstay with technology-driven activities, according to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The article reports:

According to the NPD Group, U.S. doll sales have declined by nearly 20 percent since 2005 -- and older girls are the least likely to have such toys. In 2009, 18 percent of dolls sold went to girls 9 and older, but 37 percent landed in the hands of 3- to 5-year-olds, the "sweet spot" ages.

Jeff Holtzman, third-generation head of dollmaker Goldberger Co., based in Manhattan, said his business used to make dolls for children from birth to 12. Nowadays, Goldberger focuses on children under 3.

"By the time they hit 4 or 5, they want a cell phone," Holtzman said. "We're replacing dolls sooner."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=60582#ixzz0kLmPVpQx

[Brickbat]

1. Why parents give these electric gadgets to their kids is beyond me.

Oh right, it's to keep them quiet. So sad.

ETA: Also, I object to the huge gender focus of this article; focusing on all children would make it even more valid, although I understand it's more about doll makers than the socialization and development of all children.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. good point. Boys are abandoning trucks at earlier ages also

[mzteris]

10. Back whenTeddy Ruxpin came on the market

there was another "teddy bear" - called A G Bear.

It had a "voice box" - that would make some kind of growly approximation of repeating whatever you said to it. It was very unclear what it was really saying - so you could have any conversation you wanted with it.

It was so totally great. Not a big seller, unfortunately. Most people just wanted to pop the tape into the the Teddy Ruxpin and and walk away. AG - now that was a clever conversationalist that could go on for HOURS and hours about whatever the child's heart desired.

[iris27]

103. It also did not have a mouth or eyes that moved, which meant it was much less likely to scare

the $%*! out of 5-year-old me...unlike that freaky Teddy Ruxpin. I had an A G Bear and loved it to death, but my cousin's TR could send me screaming and running from the room in tears. True story. :)

[mzteris]

105. unless you tripped over it in the middle of the night

and it growled at you.

Scared the p out of me!!!

Also true story.

[iris27]

107. LOL for real...I'm crying

over here...

[Odin2005]

64. When I was 4 (1990) my doc told my mom that video games would help my fine motor skills.

If a doctor said that now the anti-video game nuts would crucify him.

[Winterblues]

67. Boys like doll..er scratch that.. action figures also..

Boys have an imagination also..

[BamaGirl]

116. Definitely

My son (8yo) still loves those. Especially the Star Wars ones. There's been many an evil empire fought and destroyed on my living room floor lol.

[mzteris]

2. all children are giving up their TOYS

too soon.

The lack of use of imagination is severely hurting the development of intelligence.

And the loss of innocence is hurting development of relationships.


edit - oops left out a word. Senior moment,

[emmadoggy]

79. I agree with you. nt

[SoCalDem]

80. Children are being raised at daycare

They no longer have access to their own toys & the privacy of their own space.

The days of "nothing to do/no one to play with" are over. They are scheduled to within an inch of their lives. The daycares HAVE to maintain control & cannot let each child do their own thing. It continues in school.

Everyone is rushing from here to there, all the time. Imaginative play requires TIME.

[XemaSab]

99. I remember spending hours in imaginative play in day care

but you're right about imaginative play taking time.

Play with my friends took the whole afternoon, or the whole day.

[SoCalDem]

101. Some daycare is ok, but many little kids are being warehoused

or put in places with too many kids. It always makes me sad to think of how 2 yr olds get "taken" from their own homes every day, and are put into group-care, instead of just getting to evolve naturally. Once they learn something, it's impossible to "un-learn" it.

And when Mom or Dad picks them up at the end of the day, often they are too tired or too busy to spend much time with the little ones:cry:

You cannot get that time back..ever:(

[pnwmom]

3. That's sad. My daughter and her friends played with dolls until they were ten or so.

Along with all sorts of hands-on, building toys. Now she's in engineering graduate school. I wonder how the current batch of screen-watching finger tappers is going to do in the long run.

[KittyWampus]

28. I still play with dolls. I make them, research them, appreciate other's work.

:)

[Captain Hilts]

32. Card playing is also going extinct. nt

[Captain Hilts]

4. Do we worry about boys that do this?

[Cali_Democrat]

11. Most boys don't usually play with dolls. n/t

[mzteris]

15. they will if allowed to. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

20. Boys aren't banned from playing with dolls

Most just don't want to.

[Captain Hilts]

29. They do when they're called 'action figures' or 'transformers'. nt

[mzteris]

33. you'd be surprised . . .

most people don't allow their boys to "play with dolls" - unless they're an "action figure" like a GI JOE designed to kill people, or a Superhero (designed to kill people), or a "Wrestler" (wtf is up with that anyway?) The best ones were the RESCUE HEROES but I don't see them around anymore.


Left to their own devices and choices, boys will "play with dolls" for quite some time.


My younger son was banned by his preschool from playing in the "living section" of the room. Boys were supposed to play with blocks and trucks! Not play dress up, pretend to cook, and take care of the baby. I spoke with the teacher, I spoke with the director. He was "discouraged" but no longer "banned". He was "discouraged" from playing with girls in the classroom or on the playground. I removed him from the preschool.

[seabeyond]

45. when my youngest was two or three, he wanted a baby to love. bought the most real doll

and he played with it until he was done. NO ONE had a problem with him practicing his nurturing, caring, loving.

he was such a hard child. and wasnt into be comforted. this allowed him to work that out in a way we werent able to do for him

worked for us

my oldest didnt want a doll. he had his stuffed animals. they were special. he treated them special. and he still has a couple he refuse to give up though they are put away. he is 15 now

or

we can make manly men boys and refuse all this stuff cause real boys dont feel.

[seabeyond]

41. my boys have a drawer of "dolls". gi. starwars. and another, i forget.

and my youngest at 12 will still pull them out and play a bet

[Captain Hilts]

47. 'Action figures'. nt

[seabeyond]

49. actually my youngest had a doll. plain and simple. as much a doll as a doll could be. BUT

those action figures do the same thing as the dolls do.....

take care of the same needs, work the same issue, used in the same manner as a tool to resolve.

[Captain Hilts]

51. That's right. They do much the same thing. Whatever does it for a kid is what's good.

For me, it was stuffed animals.


Yeah, I still have them. They get more independent-minded when they hit 40 years old...

[seabeyond]

55. lol. in a post above that is what i touched on.

my youngest wanted the doll. a baby to love and take care of. had no interest in the stuffed animals. my oldest bonded with his stuff animals. still has them and insists i keep forever.

that is so funny.

[Captain Hilts]

62. Well, now you've been warned.

Some of mind have traveled the world without me but with my friends.

One supervised the initial post-war elections in Kuwait in 1992.

[Roon]

54. I always wanted to play with Barbie when I was a child

I hated that it wasn't acceptable to do so.

[Captain Hilts]

17. I thought this was about non-electronic toys that inspire creativity? Only girls have those?

And, yes they do, they're called 'action figures'.

[Cali_Democrat]

25. The article was referring to American girl dolls

Look at the picture in the article.

Most boys wouldn't be caught dead playing with that stuff.

[Captain Hilts]

26. Yes. But I wonder why the concern focused on girls? Just curious. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

35. Depends on what you call a 'doll'.

Ever hear of GI Joe?

[Cali_Democrat]

59. Yes I have. n/t

[JerseygirlCT]

90. Mine sure did

They will, especially if they don't get the impression from the adults in their life that there's something strange about it.

[DrCory]

112. I Did...

My Mego Star Trek "action figures" (just a masculinized form of doll) kept me company for many years. Most of them are still down on the farm somewhere, in pieces and buried. Dr McCoy is still with me, but he's looking quite haggard.

[HuckleB]

118. Yes, they do!

We just call them action figures.

[lumberjack_jeff]

39. No. We don't worry about boys at all. n/t

[seabeyond]

46. *sigh*. yu hu. i do more than most then am called a man hater.... go figure. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

48. This wasn't directed at you. n/t

[seabeyond]

52. i know. there was a pta meeting, the women talking about challenges of girls going thru puberty and

what we needed to do for them

what about boys i say. they have their emotional drama and trauma they are experiencing at this age.

actually had a couple moms challenge me that boys did not have the "emotional" highs and lows as girls

pissed me off

i hear ya

[Gwendolyn]

61. Well, to be fair, this article comes from the paper's "The Mommy Files."

There are other articles that relate to boys and men in the archives. For instance, you'll find a list of elite baby boy names, and, did you know that men make superior diaper changers? If we peruse the list of article titles we can also opt to ponder whether our babies need to go on a diet or not.

[iris27]

104. Babies on a diet.

Whoa.

Clearly this paper exhibits some high-quality journalism. :wtf:

[Gwendolyn]

113. Exactly! It's not journalism. The comments are WAY more intelligent than the stories...

so that says everything. :)

[JerseygirlCT]

89. I sure do

As the mother of boys, mine certainly had baby dolls that they loved and cared for. In fact, my oldest passed his along to his little brother. (There's quite an age difference between them).

My husband models being a father well, and it's valued in this family.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Is this really a concern? I didn't play with dolls, ever. And look how I turned out!

:hide:

[Dappleganger]

13. You're right--we should be afraid!

:rofl:

As a girl I never played w/dolls but with GI Joe's, Tonto & the Lone Ranger (their stuff was way cooler than Barbies!) and stayed up a tree. I think I turned out normal! *giggles*

[TwilightGardener]

23. I was a stuffed-animal fan, myself. I ran a farm and a vet clinic.

I was pretty important when I was five. :)

[Captain Hilts]

31. I'm impressed! If I'd known, I would have brought my stuffed animals to you for check ups.

[TwilightGardener]

85. Yes, and it would have been free, because while I was a miracle worker

in the healing department, I didn't have much of a head for the business side of things.

[Roon]

60. I used to operate on my stuffed animals when I was a kid

I would cut them at the seams and sew them back up. I forgot all about that until this thread!

[Captain Hilts]

27. Same here. My sister too. nt

[CTyankee]

92. As a strong advocate for women's rights and a doll lover as a child, I found

it difficult to deal with women who loudly proclaimed that they didn't play with dolls as if it was a badge of their early feminism. I thought this was a superficial statement. As a little girl I was fascinated by stories and drama and I recreated this with my dolls. Dolls could play any role I wanted them to! It was a very liberating and creative way for me to imagine a whole world apart from the real world. It was rich in fantasy, color, design. I loved the entire panoply.

What is so wrong with a girl who can imagine such wonderful things?

[TwilightGardener]

94. I don't think it's a badge of feminism to not want to play with dolls, just a personal

interest (or lack thereof). I certainly had a rich imagination and did all sorts of imaginary play and artwork, etc. I just didn't want to dress fashion dolls, or diaper baby dolls and take care of them. I really can't explain why, it just didn't seem like fun to me--never wanted to play mommy. Now, as an adult I ended up being interested in cute clothes, and keeping house, and I had babies--those interests just weren't apparent when I was little.

[CTyankee]

97. But playing with dolls was NOT all about diapering babies or the latest fashion design!

I had imperious dolls, wicked people dolls, even crazy types.

Why do we focus ONLY on the "mothering" aspect of dolls and disregard the creative ways dolls can be used to re-imagine one's universe. The imagination is limitless and children have it. I had it and my play with dolls reflected it.

I don't know why this is ALL reduced to "diapering baby dolls and playing mommy"?

[TwilightGardener]

98. Well, when I was little, that's how I saw dolls--that's what they were for.

Barbie leaving her Dream House or whatever for a date with Ken...baby dolls to feed and diaper... I'm not saying that that's all they are about, but that's all they were to ME as a little girl. I have no problem with girls or boys playing with dolls, for the record. Good creative play.

[CTyankee]

100. That's too bad. I grew up in a much more repressed era, tho, in the late 40s and 50s.

Somehow, I found a way...but then I was a drama type so perhaps it was just me. I had a limited number of neighborhood kids to play with so I played alone for a lot of the time in my room. In my early years there was no television so I didn't have that pervasive advertising environment. I listened to radio plays that were very interesting to my creative mind. And I recreated them with my dolls. I loved it. It was fun...

[rug]

6. I know. My daughter texted me about this during recess.

[Codeine]

12. DUzy. nt

[Arkansas Granny]

7. This is just the opinion of an old woman, but I think children of both sexes

are dropping their imagination-based toys at younger ages. It seems like every child now has hi-tech toys, but very few of them have toys that require imagination or real physical activity.

[mzteris]

14. it you get around a bunch of homeschoolers -

they seem to play imaginary games far longer than there schooled counter-parts.

I don't know if it's the homeschooling, or if it's just that they're the type of kid who winds up being homeschooled. Maybe it's the lack of peer pressure and lack of exposure to the "next thing EVERYONE has!" or some kind of combination of all of the above.

[Arkansas Granny]

18. I think that peer pressure probably has a lot to do with it.

[Dappleganger]

68. That makes sense.

When we homeschooled all the kids in the early grades they tended to play for HOURS w/their Thomas the Tank Engine set, Brio sets, American Girl dolls, Lincoln Logs and Legos, etc. They also spent quite a bit of time outside poking around w/sticks, building rock gardens and up trees. When we moved here to a small neighborhood in FL which was full of kids (and then they went to school) all of that changed.

[Captain Hilts]

21. I COMPLETELY agree!

[Hippo_Tron]

56. The two aren't mutually exclusive

I grew up in the age of video games and my friends and I played imaginary games at recess up until the 5th grade (the end of elementary school). Our imaginary games often were based on the fantasy world of a video game like Zelda or Super Mario Brothers, or something along those lines. We were also really into Star Trek so often we would pretend to be the crew of the USS Enterprise (Next Generation crew) or Deep Space Nine. I would imagine kids in the 60's and 70's probably pretended to be the crew of the original USS Enterprise from the Kirk/Spock era. I suppose before that kids pretended to be Flash Gordon or Superman or other things. But the bottom line is that kids have to draw their inspiration for a fantasy world from somewhere and certain video games IMO can be another medium for this.

The kids who weren't using their imaginations at recess were not the ones who played video games, but the ones whose parents put them into highly competitive sports programs at an early age. Recess for them was soccer every single day and it wasn't a fun friendly game. They were in it to win.

[emmadoggy]

66. Ha!

When I was a kid, we played Charlie's Angels at recess, lol! (I was Jill, the Farrah character.:))

I agree with you about the sports thing. I didn't see that so much as a kid myself - I grew up in a small rural town and we didn't have sports programs for kids available to us - but I certainly see it today. I work in a school and there is a core group of kids who, all year long, are only playing a sport of some kind at recess. As a matter of fact, I see very few kids who seem to be playing those imaginary games at recess. It's sad. And yes, those kids playing the sports are rather cutthroat about it.

[Arkansas Granny]

75. I realize that, but a quick trip down the toy aisle or to a toy store will

reveal that a majority of the toys require batteries and many of them don't require much interaction from the child. They just push a few buttons and watch the toy play. I'm sure it's possible to achieve a balance between hi-tech toys and one that exercise the imagination.

[JerseygirlCT]

91. Agree, Granny

Mine always had more of the imaginative toys. Especially art supplies, and instruments. Toy food and kitchen stuff...

Once they reached those tween years, the lure of the Gameboy became too hard to resist, I'm afraid. But until then, often paper and markers were the go-to toys.

[Dappleganger]

9. TOO many toys, not enough poking sticks in the dirt and playing w/tupperware

or banging on pots and pans.

When will parents every learn??

[texastoast]

22. My guess is

When the Industrial Revolution is over.

[frazzled]

16. Meh. I never liked dolls.

We have a funny home movie from around 1956 or 7. My grandmother had given my sister and me these large Madame Alexander dolls dressed in Gone With the Wind clothes. My older sister is smiling and proudly displaying hers. Mine is in the hands of my younger brother, who is hugging it. I'm standing there looking glum.

I turned out okay. Sort of.

[Captain Hilts]

19. Same with my sister and me. We used stuffed animals instead. nt

[redqueen]

37. Same here.

Never got the appeal at all.

[Arugula Latte]

43. I HATED dolls when I was a little girl. I still find them creepy.

My daughter was given some dolls when she was little and played with them a bit, but liked stuffed animals better.

[CTyankee]

95. My dolls were queens! They ruled and they were magnificent.

When I couldn't find clothes for them that I liked, I fashioned them myself. I invented their dialogue, I acted each part, I was evil and I was good. It was my outlet and I loved it!

[Arugula Latte]

120. That's cool

I was more of a tomboy horse-freak type of little girl.

[MineralMan]

24. I'm not really sure that adults get to decide when an interest

in dolls or other toys ends and an interest in technology begins. It seems to me that the children themselves decide.

[KittyWampus]

34. A lot of what children might "decide for themselves" is conditioned by what they see on tv.

Marketing psychologist know exactly how to push children's buttons.

Also, left to "decide for themselves" many children would eat nothing but ice cream. :)

[MineralMan]

38. That's all true. That doesn't change what I said.

I have no doubt that parents could isolate their children from those outside influences and affect their aging process and schedule of changing interests. The thing is that, once the child goes off to school, they will be exposed to technology and will naturally be interested in it.

I remember going off to first grade and having access to a far larger library than the one in my parents' home. I immediately began devouring non-fiction books instead of playing with my toy trucks and tractors and the like.

My parents wisely saw me doing that and supported my choice, which inevitably led to my career as a writer in a number of areas.

Technology is not bad in itself, nor is an interest in technology at an early age. As parents, we seek to extend the innocent age of our children. We can do that, if we prevent them from being exposed to other things, but I'm not sure that's a great idea.

I don't know. I'm just saying that exposure to technology quite naturally generates interest in it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. Do little girls play doctor too much and kitchen not enough?

What does this mean for the future of sandwich preparation?

[Dappleganger]

69. What my girls learned...

Oldest son: Will you make me a sandwich?
Oldest daughter: Make your own sandwich, will ya?!

[redqueen]

36. Dolls are the only example of imaginative play?

My kids like dragons and stuffed animals and ... well lots of other things... but not dolls.

They have video games, too, and love them. They also draw, play with clay, and make up stories.

What a very odd article.

[Captain Hilts]

40. Yes. Odd. For my sister and me it was stuffed animals and drawing. And card games. nt

[MineralMan]

42. I got a chemistry set and a microscope when I was 10.

Goodbye to playing with toy cars and stuff like that. Between the science stuff, my bicycle, and the nature all around me, all those toys were forgotten forever. Shortly after that, I got interested in radios and electronics.

My younger sister finally appropriated my microscope when she was 10, got a stethoscope and various other things. The dolls went in the closet. She ended up being the head of nursing in a large hospital. Should she have continued playing with dolls for another couple of years? I know what she'd say to that suggestion.

When was this? 1955 and 1956.

[CTyankee]

114. Dolls can exemplify characters. My dolls did. I had whole plays made up out of

my imagination. Of course, I didn't know I was doing plays. I just knew I was making believe on my own. It was a wonderful fantasy world. I loved it a lot....

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

117. +1. My "World Champonship seasons" with Matchboxes had all the intensity and drama of real F1.

In a way, they were dolls. Or rather, containers for imaginary dolls.

[Codeine]

44. Technology will influence every aspect of their lives.

Computers of various sorts will be woven into every activity a person of their generation undertakes throughout their lives. That they can already instinctively sense this should be cause for celebration.

[MineralMan]

57. Yup. Wishing it away will not change it.

I have a 10 year old second cousin, the daughter of one of my wife's cousins. She's been messing with computers for a couple of years now. I've introduced her to some simple programming tools, and she likes to fool around with graphs and plots of things, and has learned some basic geometry so she can program things that draw pictures on her screen.

I'm not sure if she still plays with dolls, since I don't see her all that often. I know, though, that she's way ahead of the mathematics curve, compared to other kids her age.

[Jennicut]

50. My 4 and 5 year daughters love their dolls. They even play with my husband's old Star Wars

figures. They just love to roleplay with stuffed animals, action figures, dolls.

[Captain Hilts]

76. They sound like kids who are not only creative, but interested in

trying different things.

You're doing something right - kudos!

[Jennicut]

115. Thanks! My husband is a musician and they love to sing and perform too.

They must get that creativity from him.
I was always too shy to do stuff like that in front of everyone. The girls love to perform for my whole family.

[HipChick]

53. I never played with dolls...

I stole the hell out of my brothers Tonka cars and GI joe's...today I have a Phd in Computer Sci..

[MineralMan]

58. Well....the very idea!

You're just weird...that's what you are! :rofl:

You definitely should quit that work right away and raise some babies. Yessir...

[HipChick]

65. LMAO!...that's not the first time that's been said to me...

of course, I'd just produce Nerdy babies...maybe I can sneak an IPad into their cots...

[MineralMan]

70. Nerds Rule!

And Nerd Girls Rule Best! That's always been my motto.

[Odin2005]

96. Nerdy women are HAWT!

:evilgrin:

[HipChick]

108. I never met a hard drive I couldn't fix....

:smoke: :rofl:

[MineralMan]

110. That they are...

[CTyankee]

81. I played with dolls til I was almost 12. Not as a mommy, tho. I put them in elaborate plays!

That predicted my future as a Fine Arts major!

[Odin2005]

63. Oh noes! Girls are becoming interested in stereotypically "male" things! THE HORROR!!!

What a bunch of sexist garbage. :eyes:

[MineralMan]

71. Well, that just about says it, doesn't it?

Good thread ender, your post. Thanks!

[Gwendolyn]

73. It's not journalism. It's an editorial by a mommy who's musing about her daughter.

Hardly anything to worry about. The Mommy Files is in the same category as similar editorials like "Banish the Winter Blues With Color... Paint Your Bedroom Yellow" or "Does Love Make You Skinny?" or "What Does His Wardrobe Say About His Personality"?

[Captain Hilts]

78. Okay, I laughed. I LOVE the other type articles you mention here. nt

[Gwendolyn]

83. Lol, you know what kind of articles they're going to be by the titles...

and which sections you'll find them. But still, I'm drawn to them like a fly is to you know what. :D

On a serious note, it's a shame the mommy concentrated her concern only on her daughter/girls in the article, but I do see where there might be a bit of hand-wringing from a generation that wasn't so completely saturated with technology. I have a baby girl now, and wonder whether I should guide her in one direction or another. Or, just throw train sets, dolls and computers into the air and let her decide.

[Captain Hilts]

87. Good luck!

[Captain Hilts]

77. Thank you!

[Odin2005]

93. You're welcome!

Just thought I was saying the obvious! :hi:

I get rather annoyed when it is implied that being a techie is only appropriate for us guys. I find it pathetic when I hear of mothers getting upset and think there is something mentally wrong with the girl, or blame themselves for being a "bad parent", because their little girl wants to grow up to have a "non-feminine" job.

[pipi_k]

111. I always envied my boy cousins when I was young

They had train sets and chemistry sets and Legos and all kinds of cool stuff I wanted.

I admit I had cool "girl" stuff but I wanted "boy" stuff too.

[kittykitty]

72. Trying to avoid sexist toys, I bought my 4 yr.old son a Barbie. He took her in the bathtub where

I found the he had pulled her head off, and was filling it with water dripping from the spigot, and sipping from her empty skull.

[Codeine]

74. Now you know how Conan's mom felt.

[iris27]

106. Eh, my sister used to bite their hands and feet off.

And I remember trying to switch Ken and Barbie's heads, and was quite disappointed that the necks were different sizes so it wouldn't work.

[damntexdem]

82. Are today's boys abandoning dolls too soon?

And today's girls abandoning toy trucks too soon?

[pipi_k]

84. God, I only WISH it were techno-gadgets....

I only just found out yesterday that one of my nieces has some scary stuff on her Facebook page.

Under relationship status on her profile, she has that she's in a relationship with (a boy's name).

Under "Interests" (where people can choose things like Business, Friendship, Networking, etc.) she has "Men"



She will turn 12 in July.

12!!!!!!!!!!



When I was 12 I was still playing with my Barbie dolls and pretty much hated boys.


Is that what's happening with kids today?



My older granddaughter, who will be 9 in July, has just gotten a cell phone. Her 6 year old sister wants one too, but Mom and Dad said "No".

I dunno...times have changed so much...

[Bluebear]

86. Children are abandoning childhood too soon, I will say that.

[JerseygirlCT]

88. Little girls AND little boys

What job could be more important than teaching future adults to be caring and nurturing?

We push them right past that into being sexualized at an early age.

[happy_liberal]

102. my kiddos have moved on to dungeons and dragons and star wars miniatures

They use the computer to make their own maps, type up their own adventures so technology is actually furthering their imaginations.

New computer technology has my kids learning Blender programming making their own 3D computer animations.

Digital cameras and blue screens have provided my kids with the oportunity to make their own movies and put themselves in whatever background of their choosing.

High tech gadgets open up a whole new world of opportunity for creativity beyond what we can even imagine right now.

But cell phones for a 4 year old? Why? That is all consumerism based on commercialism. My kids don't want crap like that because we don't watch TV. I have the feeling though, that TV is a much larger reason for the loss of imagination.

Another problem is that parents do not limit children's TV time or video game time. When you give the kids a limit(even make them earn their 40 minutes or whatever) they find other things to do with the rest of their time that are usually more creative and imaginative.

[Codeine]

109. Dungeons and Dragons helped me navigate a very difficult childhood.

Having a creative outlet like that made the real world easier to deal with in many ways.

[HuckleB]

119. My two cents. Just experience.

I work with children from birth through undergraduate work. In therapy, I must use a variety of modes, moving through development stages. In my experience, both boys and girls will play with toys in my office that they will not allow themselves to be seen playing with elsewhere.

It's pure anecdote, but I do think bizarre peer, probably directed by media, directs kids to other forms of entertainment, and away from play, at an age where they could still enjoy play.