Toys, Toys, Toys!

So, just a warning this is going to be a superfluous analysis on the subject of toys-but over thinking things is what I do best! Haha, actually no, I think toys are very important because I think play is very important, to children and adults! And since Christmas is just around the corner, I have been thinking about what to get baby girl for her "big gift" from Santa. We went pretty simple for her first birthday, a babydoll and two books, mostly because I knew that she was going to be getting a lot of toys from everyone else. But I want Christmas to be a little more extravagant (because I'm such a lover of Christmas). I think I will save her gifts for another post because she is going to be getting quite a bit.

When it comes to picking out toys I have mixed feelings. I think play is infinitely important for children's development and I generally prefer the toys that inspire open ended play. For example, blocks and play dough inspire creativity and imagination because they allow you to make anything your mind can think up, and then you get to play with it. One day you make a plane, another you make a town. It's like the toy that keeps on giving. An example of a NON open-ended toy popular this year is "Imanginarium Elmo" who literally tells you how to play with him. Oh the irony. I've read a lot of articles that bash electronic toys as completely evil because they contribute to landfills and create mindless children. Personally, I feel there is a continuum, where some like Imaginarium Elmo do, in a way, offer a prompt for kids to imagine off of (but a non talking Elmo would be better), and some are just plain old useless. For young babies, the electronic toys just seem to entertain them rather then inspire exploration. Again, I don't think these toys are poison, I just think they make a good toy for the car, when sometimes you need them to be entertained ;). To encourage the kind of play that I want my daughter to be partaking in (at least most of the time) I will be looking for the open-ended toys. The links below have been the best toy guides I have found so far and baby girl has a lot of things from these lists that have proved to be both of our favorites for play time: 

http://www.aota.org/-/media/Corporate/Files/Practice/Children/Browse/Play/Toys%20tip%20sheet.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/toys

I will admit there are a few toys that I really, really hate. Some people say that commercialism is evil and we shouldn't get our kids anything commercialized like Disney or Sesame Street. Eh, I get it the criticism, and consumerism is definitely not one of my favorite aspects of American culture, but to be honest I don't loose sleep over it. Of course I would prefer that my child doesn't want EVERYTHING EVER related to one show/movie. The Frozen phenomenon does concern me a bit, but I don't think a seven year going through an Elsa and Anna phase can't later learn to navigate more conservatively through our consumer world. To me I guess it again comes down to the show or character and product in question. There are worse things than Elmo, or Minnie Mouse. Like Bratz and MostersHigh. Please God, please do not let her be entranced by their slutty babydollness. I'm sorry if you like them, but these toys are awful. Toys against humanity if you will. And I apologize early to any friends and family members who ever read this in the future and who might have gotten her one of the toys, but you can be sure it was promptly put in the basement never to see the light of day. If you are interested in other awful toys (in some peoples opinions) see the TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children) awards: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/campaign/toady-awards It is pretty interesting.