Introduction
Human beings are not born with their character traits and life preferences as both these factors are formed in the process of socialization and education of every particular individual. In the light of the numerous theories of learning and cognitive process in human beings that include Social Learning Theory, Behavioral Theories, etc. it is rather important to understand the role that is played in the formation of a personality by toys of different kinds (Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, and Sommers, 2009). This paper addresses these issues and considers them from three different perspectives. First, the possible social issues caused by the use of certain toys are examined. Second, the paper considers the possibility of developing any emotional issues associated with toys. Finally, other related issues are considered including physical and mental health aspects.
Children’s Toys (logos, ethos, pathos)
Background
Thus, beginning the consideration of toy impacts upon the development of social, emotional, and other issues, it is necessary to realize the role of toys for children’s development and socialization. According to the opinion by Oravec (2000), toys and play have a crucial role in the development of a child as far as toys are “learning instruments, i. e. objects that stimulate children’s imaginations and help them develop socially and intellectually” (Oravec, 2000, p. 95). Modern society, apart from traditional wooden or plastic toys, offers a wide range of interactive and computerized, violent, and military-oriented toys, whose impact has long been of substantial interest for scholars.
On the whole, the ideas by Evans (2009), Oravec (2000), Rowlands (2007), and Scouts (2009) on the topic of toys in the process of personality formation range from the ones stressing the ultimate danger of various, especially military-oriented, toys for the children’s development to the ideas that toys actually do not play any significant role in the individual development of a child. In any case, it is necessary to find out whether toys can cause social, emotional, and other issues to children, and if they can what toys exactly are the most dangerous in this respect and what consequences they can have.
Social Issues Caused
First of all, scholars like Oravec (2000) and Rowlands (2007) argue about the considerable social threat that toys, of various kinds, might have for children, especially at a younger age. For example, Oravec (2000) develops the topic of the harm that the so-called interactive toys might bring to the children’s socialization and relationships development processes (p. 95). The major point about the danger of interactive toys for the future social life of children is in the possibility of confusion that toys equipped with special devices that enable them to reproduce human speech and imitate the simplest actions might cause to children of a younger age (Oravec, 2000, p. 95). In other words, a child at the age of 3 to 5 years only forms his or her impressions and ideas about the surrounding reality, and the presence of an interactive toy displaying some signs of a human being might prevent this child from distinguishing the actual human relationships from the relations this child has, or had, with the toy. As a result, the process of socialization becomes problematic, if not completely impossible.
Another important social issue caused by toys is depicted by Rowlands (2007) who argues that violent and military-oriented toys are rather dangerous for society as they have the potential for developing anti-social behavior in children. However, the point that distinguishes the work by Rowlands (2007) and adds credibility to it is that the author understands the primary role of parents in educating their children about social and anti-social behavior and showing how the former is acceptable and the latter is unacceptable (Rowlands, 2007). In other words, getting a toy gun a child explores its destination and often finds out from media that using a gun can bring him or her closer to achieving a goal; here the role of parents is prominent is educating the child about the fact that using violence for achieving goals is unacceptable in the society. If such parents’ guidance is absent, violent toys, according to Rowlands (2007), might be causes of serious social problems.
Emotional Issues Associated with Toys
Needless to say, various toys have different impacts on the emotional state of the child and can affect this child’s further emotional development either into a confident and stable personality or into an individual with some nervous issues, hidden violent ideas, etc. For example, the Scouts resource (2009) stresses the point of view that emotional influence upon children is executed in at least three major ways. First, violent toys are eagerly given to children by their parents. Second, video and computer games that many children might play also contain violent episodes or have killed and destroyed as their major focuses. Third, the modern media are available to children to the same extent as to adults, which means that children obtain information about the violence that their yet not formed identities can misinterpret and misuse (Scouts, 2009).
In more detail, it might not even seem to a child that his or her actions are socially unacceptable or dangerous in the case when he or she uses a real weapon because since childhood this person got used to violence observed in the media, video games, and even in his or her toys. Thus, perceiving this as a norm of life, a child often becomes a victim of misunderstanding and lack of parental attention and reluctance to take time and explain the difference between playing and real-life to the child (Scouts, 2009; Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, and Sommers, 2009). Again, in the ideas expressed by scholars the dual nature of the issues can be observed because stating that some toys are actually dangerous in the social and emotional senses, authors like Rowlands (2007), Scouts (2009), Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, and Sommers (2009) stress the important role of parents’ attention as the factor able to reduce or eliminate the potential negative influence of toys on children and multiply the positive, i. e. educational, impact.
Other Issues
However, there is a problem with toys that parents also cannot directly affect. This is the danger of toys for the physical health of a child. According to Evans (2009), the increased levels of lead in the human organism often become the reasons for anti-social, violent, and even criminal behaviors. The major sources of the excessive lead that children might perceive, according to Evans (2009), are children’s toys, i.e. objects with which children contact for the bulk of their time during the day. To protect children from this influence of their toys, there are two basic ways, none of which however is perfectly effective.
The first way is to ensure, at the legislative level, that the toys dangerous for health because of their excessive lead levels, or any other reason, are not delivered in the country (Evans, 2009; Rowlands, 2007). The second way is for parents to ensure that they buy only safe toys for their children. Both these solutions cannot guarantee 100% of safety as at first import or production of toys is not controlled by parents as well as there are no actual means of checking the safety of a toy when it is bought (Rowlands, 2007). Therefore, speaking about the impact of toys on the physical health of children one should also avoid generalizations but admit the existing danger.
Concluding Remarks
Concluding this paper, it is necessary to restate that learning and socialization are the processes that enable a human being to live within the society and act according to its accepted norms and standards. For children, toys execute the role of the educational objects that develop their first communicational skills and allow better adjust to life in the community of other people. However, scholars stress the potentially dangerous effects of toys on the social, emotional, and health conditions of children. Irrespective of the fact that these dangers are relative and dependent on such factors as parents’ care and the environment in which a child is brought up, the implications of the scholarly findings on threats that toys might have for children should be taken attentively and responsibly by adults charged with children’s care.
Works Cited
Comley, Nancy R., Hamilton, David, Klaus, Carl H., Scholes, Robert, and Nancy Sommers. Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Evans, K. CDC Lead Levels Cause Learning and Social Problems. Natural News, 2009. Web.
Oravec, Jo Ann. “Interactive Toys and Children’s Education.” Journal of Childhood Education 70 (2000): 95. Print.
Rowlands, Philippa. Toy Guns, Violence, and Parents. Suite 101, 2007. Web.
Scouts. War Toys. Creating a Better World, 2009. Web.