The need to explore over shadows impending dangers and pitfalls. We learn at an early age that freedom comes with certain restraints. The young mind says “please let me play with the shiny kitchen knives or the fresh smelling toilet cleanser”. It is difficult to reason with an eighteen month old concerning access to the TV remote control or the need to practice their keyboarding skills on dad’s laptop computer.
Thanks to companies like Fisher-Price children have their own stuff to play with. I am convinced that these new toys with “bells & whistles” aren’t designed for education of the child. They are truthfully only a diversion to draw children’s attention away from our adult toys. A conspiracy is stirring between toy makers and young children that are undermining our efforts to differentiate adult stuff from kid stuff. The toy makers came up with the bright idea of creating toy lookalikes for everything from cell phones to power tools. The problem is some of the toys can and are mistaken for the real thing by kids and adults alike.
Image the embarrassment of mistakenly picking up your child’s toy cell phone, taking it in an important meeting and then trying to make a vital business call in front of your peers. This problem is trivial compared to your surprise when you get your next cell phone bill. You discover over two dozen long distance calls to some guy in Hong Kong in which your two year old has discussed-in length-their latest adventures in potty training. What on earth happened to kids being content with Silly Putty, Lincoln Logs or Tinker Toys?
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