The Sociological Benefits Of Toys In Children

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When you grow up and have kids of your own, would you rather have them delve into an unlimited playground of their imaginations or restricted in a nine by six box of images coming from strangers? In this essay, I will present why I believe that a technology-free childhood is a lot more beneficial in terms of one’s character, rather than immersing them in an Apple themed environment.

For my first argument, I would like to present that having toys as a source of recreation reaps greater benefits in terms of intelligence. According to Marion Diamond (1964), a neuroscientist that held an experiment where he put one group of rats in a dull environment and the other in a toy-filled environment, a child who is surrounded with toys grows …show more content…

Toys as a source of recreation, gives a child more opportunities to interact with his environment and the people around him. Edward Fisher (1999) published a study which found that Sociodramatic play, or the make-believe world kids create amongst themselves, prompt higher cognitive-linguistic and social skills. Play time and toys allow a child to invite as much children as he wants to play with him, unlike a multi-player application that usually only reaches until 2 players. This seeds a skill set of interaction and communication in a child. It also provides a limitless space for a child to create a kingdom, a spaceship, or even a simple playground with the space given to …show more content…

Toys reap more benefits for a child’s EQ or emotional quotient because it instills values like discipline, self-control, practicality, determination and many more. As Lillard (2013) has stated in his studies, two kids cannot play with each other unless they both agree on the make-believe kingdom they are setting up for themselves to play in. This study shows that play time gives a child the ability to empathize and be sensitive with the people around him and more importantly follow a set of “rules” that conforms to both their standards. This advocates discipline in a young one’s personality. Because toys and playgrounds are not as compact and accessible as Ipads, this keeps a proper regulation to play time, which advocates self-control in a child. Pretend play also gives a child a sense of practicality, allowing one to glimpse the reality of the world and in turn distinguish reality from fantasy (Sutherland & Friedman, 2013). This, along with a toy-influenced-child’s ability to solve problems divergently, prepares him to understand what the real world might be like and thus learn early on how to creatively and divergently approach

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