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Posts: 2,203I've beem considering the demise of Merrythought Bears and the rise of the Tech toys. How do we as parents and teachers incourage children to play with toys like trains and teddy bears? I feel that Tech Toys are zapping imagination.
Posts: 8,574Whaever happened to bottle caps being fine porceline for Barbie?
I applaud the parents encouraging imgaination and also logicical thinking....
Hey, Jenn, Honey, isn't it time for an avatar, or at least your lovely face?
gollyhugs
dilu
Posts: 2,203I fially have a picture that would do for one. After I finish my Niece's Blanket its back to bears.
Posts: 119your fighting all of society trying to market their wares unfortunately. people want at all costs to make the buck and they have to be "new" and "better" kids are just getting hammered with the new world now... Its so different from even 20 years ago, no cell phones, no pagers, no laptops, no I pods, video games were in their infancy and really so were Personal computers...
somehow we need to market the truth about nostalga. Toy trains, tops, pocket watches, teddy bears, and reading bring real joy... IF you can push out all the junk and make some time for them. Somehow we need to show them enjoying a quiet night is as good as the next blockbuster special effects non-plot movie to hit big screens.
of course how? gee I guess we need million dollar marketing campains and market anaylsts and test group studies, and interviews.... pilot programs. um, sorry not much help am I?
Somehow we need to prove or remind that just because its not the new thing it still can be a very good thing. I think you are actually tapping into a much larger problem of diving moral priorities and a hedonistic culture here to be frank.
articicle
Posts: 3,540Well, when I was in school in the 70s, the teachers weren't above showing us jump rope games, or how to play four square with a rubber ball. As for the parents, Mum just gave my brother and me simple toys and then got out of the way.
But as acticle points out, we didn't have computers, or video games...our games were made up...sometimes with sticks or mud. Cell phones were not in constant use...in fact Mum at one point threatened bodily harm when my brother and I became a bit too interested in the telephone and how it worked. Ah, more to the point, we were attempting to disassemble the phone to see how it worked 
Reading was huge in our family, with my parents buying us Disney books, and reading to us. I don't really remember bedtime reading, but there was plenty of reading in the evening. It was also a big thrill for us to stagger through our first attempts at reading, with Mom or Dad at our shoulder.
Our tv was tiny originally, and in black and white, then came oooooh COLOUR tv! But even then, Mom was pretty strict over how much tv we would get to watch. We could see one favorite tv/cartoon show, and then she drop kicked us out the door to make us play. Any infringements of the rules, and the tv was first privledge to be yanked...and it was a privledge, not a part of life.
One of my all time favorite catalogs for children's games and toys is Hearthsong. I think they've got an internet catalog. I've bought from them for years, and they have all sorts of lovely, long lasting, engaging toys.
Back Road BearsMy friend's husband has a bumper sticker on his truck that says it best:
SHOOT YOUR TV!
I watched ZOOM, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo and Sesame Street when I was a kid. All learning, educational programs. That's all there was except for Saturday morning cartoons which I only watched if I was home sick. I played outside in all kinds of weather with the neighborhood kids. We played marbles, climbed trees, rode bikes, played with dolls and stuffed animals in tents we made. Oh yeah, we HAD to use our imagination. Jenn is right.. this technical age is killing kids. Literally! Their health is in jepordy with all the sitting in front of computers and TV that they do and all the crap they eat now-a-days. Many are latch key kids so have no one around to set an example or set limits.
The other problem, in my opinion, is that "they" have taken God out of schools, society has taken God out of our social lives and many have in turn taken God out of their personal lives. Take God out, the Devil moves in. Morals and values go down the drain. Focus on nuturing healthy, respectful relationships is traded in for singles websites and My Space. Family time is traded in for TV time. Yes, life is different today... more stressful, more 'stuff', just more everything. Parents can't deal, no one can deal. But who is in charge? It seems government and society have taken over. Wait, aren't "WE" society? I'm a member of society..... I may not be able to change the world but I can change my little corner. If we all did that perhaps things would be a little different??
Sorry, but this touches on a very hot issue with me and I don't even have kids!
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsHmmm. As a Mommy of two young boys who are the primary target market age for video and computer games, I feel that like anything else that can become obsessive the key word is MODERATION. They are not all evil. I personally don't care for video games at all, never did. When I was growing up in the late 70s, our TV was broken for three years and we didn't care. My Mom, my brother, and I (my parents were divorced and my other two brothers lived with my dad) were happy to draw, paint, sew, and play with our toys or play outside. I still just have to shrug in social situations where people are talking about TV shows. I really don't watch it, (unless I'm watching SpongeBob with my kids 
) so I never know what anyone is talking about.
BUT, my kids love their video games. So as a parent I have to provide limits. They also Love legos, wooden blocks, stuffed animals, knights and castles, and playing outside. Even so, if I let them, they would probably play video games all day. But I don't let them.
Many are latch key kids so have no one around to set an example or set limits.
Daphne, I think you hit it right on with this one! This is where the problem lies.
Posts: 1,836The only way marketing is going to hit a child is if they are exposed to it. It comes down to parenting and what you expose your kids to....I'm talking very little kids who are either with you or in school/care. If you don't want your kids to be exposed you limit to programing that does not contain advertising specifically geared to making a child "want". I know folks will say "it's hard", but that's parenting.
I think it's pretty simple in the beginning..if you want your child/baby to have blocks, you buy blocks..trains and bears..you buy trains and bears. Most little ones today see an object with circles and shapes and instinctively push and push harder on the shapes waiting for "something" (noise, action, effect) to happen. By the time a baby is 12 months old nowadays it knows that toys will make noise and are supposed to "do something" for them. When it should be the other way around..the child should be doing something with the toy via thought and imagination.
It's parenting. I know that's not a popular opinion now-a-days and the hot button for way too many Good Morning America shows, but parents today need to step up to the plate already and BE parents. Stop relying on these goofball games and shows already. Why do "books" now read to children? Why is a speak and spell sounding computer voice in a box teaching a child to sound out words and learn colors? Why do minivans need game hook ups??? On Christmas Eve (no lie here) a mini van pulled up at a light next to me and my husband..every single child in the 2 back rows had a headset on and a screen to watch. WHAT?! Christmas Eve and you can't talk to you family and children on a car ride to grandmas??? Good grief! 
:hug:
~Chrissi
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsThe only way marketing is going to hit a child is if they are exposed to it. It comes down to parenting and what you expose your kids to....I'm talking very little kids who are either with you or in school/care. If you don't want your kids to be exposed you limit to programing that does not contain advertising specifically geared to making a child "want". :wacko:
I wasn't trying to to say that I let my kids play video games because of the marketing, I was just pointing out that my kids are in the age group most video games are made for. But it's not just marketing that exposes kids to video games, it's all of their friends playing with these things, and in my case it is the boys' father too (the video game Madden '07 --football--was at the top of his wish list this year! ) What I am saying is that video games are not something nasty to be avoided completely ( although there are certain individual video games which fit that bill). They are not the ruination of our society. They are not the cause of obesity in children anymore than McDonald's is. The cause is parents not setting limits. I do think that video games can be addictive (much like hanging out on teddy chat groups), but I think kids can still enjoy video/computer games if they are balanced with other activities that stimulate the mind and exercise the body, much like you can enjoy a McDonalds hamburger every now and then, if you eat healthy otherwise. But children need to be taught how to balance these things and that should come from mom and dad.
Posts: 1,836Hi Tami, I wasn't responding to you directly just the idea of marketing that was mentioned in several of the posts. 
:hug:
But to respond to the video game piece I personally do think that they have created a sedate, complacency that too many overworked and overstressed parents ignore. The rise in violence, aggressive behaviors, lack of attention span, and other factors are being linked back to these games. You're a hands on parent believing in moderation, sadly too many parents aren't anymore; not even realising the content of the games they're purchasing. And it's not just the games ..tv, movies, books..parents and their kids seem too detached anymore.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Posts: 2,203As a teacher I do not allow my prechool kids to view a lot of television but as soon as one says' I want that" it goes off.
Posts: 1,836This is one of my favorite catalogs I get in the mail...the pages are filled with awesome toys, games, science kits, etc.. a few require batteries but most are just plain old fun and brain power- powered.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Posts: 3,540They also love books...particularly the pop up books as well as dollhouses - I should take out stock in Fisher Price. My 2 year old's favorite toy this Christmas was a Steiff AKC Golden Retriever puppy I picked up on sale (er, I mean Santa thought she would like). She carries him everywhere and really, really loves him. The other twin likes her blocks and puzzles and my 3 year old prefers the books. Santa brought each girl 3 "main" toys for Christmas - a Fisher Price Sweet Street Dollhouse (they each got a different one), a Terrie Lee Doll, and a Steiff puppy and then the rest were books, puzzles, crayons, magna doodles, etc. The bill for each child was around $55.00. I learned my buying "habits" from both my mom and by watching my older sister spoil her kids rotten with all the "high tech" stuff that was just so exciting for about a month and then they lost interest in it and wanted the next new thing that was coming out. I also have to be EXTREMELY thrifty because I'm a stay at home mom and we live on my husband's salary so I don't think I could afford the high tech toys!
Admit it~ you love playing with the toys as much as your youngsters!!!! :crackup: I know my older brother 'fessed up finally... 
And yes, Thank Heavens for Fisher Price!!! :pray: I've used it for various young animals over the years....my coati being first and foremost of the 'gorilla squad'...and Thank Goodness I had something that would hold up!
As for God in the schoolsystems..... Yes and NO!!! There IS a reason for separation of Church and State, and I do thank our founding forefathers that they had the sense to separate the two. My own belief system is intact, entirely unique, and does not center upon a 'God' per se. This makes things awkward socially at times as everyone in Missouri seems to be very God based. I have nothing against someone's religion....I do have everything against someone telling me how my very own belief system should be structured however. Hence the very critical and crucial separation of State and Church.
You are VERY correct however, Daphne, that the youngsters need to have a deeper faith based system. Everyone in their very own unique way needs to create/discover their very own version of God/Goddess. A feeling of connectedness is crucial...however, I do feel it amiss to have such a critical sensitive subject be created or fosted upon younsters by a State/Government institution. By the same respects, what may seem very comforting to you in a 'God being' fosted upon students, would be highly alienating if not threatening to others. Can you really want to thrust something hostile on top of those wanting nothing but education? It is a difficult position to be shoved into. Ultimately it is something that the parents and close family must attempt to establish at an early age....and regardless of the youngsters explorations in various religions, I do feel this connectedness should be encourage, whether it encompass the god based religions or wicca/heathen based religions or even others.
I've always respected the most those who found their own centers, and kept to them without shoving it down others throats.
Posts: 3,540:crackup: I"m sooooo with you on that!! 
