StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Unnecessary Need for Toys - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "The Unnecessary Need for Toys" states that toys would influence our future because they gender type through mimicking adult behaviours, do not build imagination, and are made of synthetic materials. These toys of the plastic form may challenge their ability to adapt in a world of change…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.5% of users find it useful
The Unnecessary Need for Toys
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Unnecessary Need for Toys"

Immediate gratification took away the pain many suffered as a result. Our future offspring and what tasks were needed to survive in the 1950s as a functional model of society became the main focus. The start of this revolution wasn’t intended to create failures in society; it was to teach our young the importance of societal rules and what is expected of them as adults.

The first ‘mini mom’ model of a kitchen and vacuum cleaner came to the market. The idea was new to most households and families wanting to beat the Jones’ at being the first to have the finest toys possible. Society says it is acceptable and expected to mimic our parents and the roles they play. This is good training, Right? Barthes says, “French toys are based on imitation, they were meant to produce children who are users, not creators” (Barthes, pg. 55). Social acceptance of gender-based toys was positive and this increase in popularity enticed engineers to create even more plastic, gender-based toys forgetting the roots of what society was made from. Girls cooking on plastic miniature stoves, setting the table for the family, or ironing their husband’s clothes before he heads off to work – these roles they play are socially obligated and expected in the future. This tells the girls of our future – it’s not our place to engineer or design the tallest building in the world. We must leave it up to the men in our society to construct and design. When I was in high school, I was told not to apply to college. I was to be a housewife and mother; there was no need for me to waste my parent’s money by attending college. We are to accept our ‘place’ in society as shown to us by our parents.

These “French Toys” (Barthes, pg. 53) restrict children and condition them for failure. Children look up to their parents for guidance. If they say we should play with these toys they are bringing home, why are we to question their motives? Barthes implies the use of simple wooden blocks as a “demiurge” (Barthes, p. 54) rather than just a user of the objects. The Builder creates the foundation of all buildings, bridges, homes, schools, and more. Creating the largest building of the physical universe with only the limitations of his/her imagination is a great accomplishment as a child. A little girl smiles wildly, “Mom, look what I built!” just as her brother ploughs through them. “Mom, Now I have to start all over!” The success of a masterpiece or the destruction from your brother as he swooshes his arms through your newly constructed bridge builds your knowledge base and your foundation in understanding what it takes to make things stand on their own. Barthes refers to the Vosges Mountain range (Barthes, pg 55) to bring a personal relationship to the wooden blocks. It’s harder to dismiss an object if it has a name. These skills and knowledge are needed for future development to start and complete tasks.

The value in learning how to manage a project from start to finish is imperative whether it is building a house out of blankets throughout the living room or building a skyscraper out of blocks. There is no feeling of accomplishment when playing with pre-made toys. The user is simply the user (Barthes, pg 54) going through the motions of imitation. As the user of “French Toys” (Barthes, pg 53), the overstimulation will cause the need for a continued supply of new objects to keep their attention. The lost art of using the imagination and the overstimulation necessary to keep kids’ attention will create the need for more pre-planned toys. This keeps the toy manufacturers happy, but what about the growing minds of our children?

We can reconnect with ‘yesteryears’ toys. We can bring back the imagination, the drive to succeed, and excitement at completing tasks. Today, we see a constant supply of video games, kitchen designs, and Barbie dolls with so much detail they mimic live situations and events, good and bad. The challenge will be to recreate imagination by bringing back the basics. We need to allow our children to play with simple toys, for instance: a big empty refrigerator box, a pile of wooden blocks, or several blankets to make a house. Let us bring back the intellectually challenging thought that provokes a whole day’s worth of play.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Toys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1522316-toys
(Toys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1522316-toys.
“Toys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1522316-toys.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Unnecessary Need for Toys

Mattel and Toy Safety

There are certain potential hazards which can cause harm to the kids such as ingestion of the magnetic toys, the presence of small parts of the toy, sharp parts of the toy and use of the chemical substance.... Until the time of 2007, 80 percent of the toys coming to the US were manufactured in China.... Mattel produced 65 percent toys in China.... Mattel's Social Responsibility and Ethicalness towards the Safety of Its toys Mattel has been recognized as one of the most ethical along with socially responsible organizations but in relation to the issue of product recall it violated the child safety norms thus, it can be termed guilty and socially irresponsible....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Hexin Toy Co. Ltd

Being the leading toy and games maker has allowed Hexin to introduce a diverse selection of toys and games.... Such as understanding customer's need, target market, profitability and above all integrated.... Such as understanding customer's need, target market, profitability and above all integrated....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

Worlds Largest Toy Company

Wal-Mart Stores, Target corporations and toys for us were the retailer outlets through which most of the revenue the company had in 2000.... He turned the company around by focusing on brand names with staying power such as Barbie and hot wheels and by making a selective investment in the making of new toys.... In 1993 Mattel acquired Fishers Price, the world's leading maker of toys for infants and preschoolers, further cementing its unrivaled position in the toy industry....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

Toy Selection and Gender Roles

Specifically, I shall become a participant/observant in the whole process and take part in noting the behaviors of the children with reference to the toys they own.... A co-nomination type of monitoring is applied while singling out every child in terms of the various types of toys owned by the children.... By summarizing how many social interactions and the rate of acceptance of each child to their peersThere is an already built up assumption that children tend to associate more with specific toys and may become afflicted with specific types of toys....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Gender Biased Toys

From the paper "Gender Biased toys" it is clear that of late, the trend has changed to the extent that toys have been modeled to suit specific genders among the kid population.... toys mean different things to the kids and as such play a big part in modeling their thinking.... toys are present in children's lives from the early through teenage years, and they have a huge impact and play an important role in their development....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Toys and Games Industrys Response to Globalazation

In the paper 'The toys and Games Industry's Response to Globalazation' the author analyzes the paradigm shift in the toys and Games industry, which leads to the digitized mode of operation has caused major changes in industrialization.... Moreover, the management in the toys and Games industry has learnt new management strategies through the recent access to large volumes of data.... For instance, the access to bid data has enabled the toys and Games industry to gather crucial information with regard to global performance trends in various sectors and product lines....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Evaluation of Market Segment

Being the leading toy and games maker has allowed Hexin to introduce a diverse selection of toys and games.... In this paper, the author describes how the leading toy and games maker Hexin review its marketing plan and increase its sales its gross profit margin.... Also, the author discusses five philosophies of marketing such as production concept, selling the concept, product concept, and others....
9 Pages (2250 words) Term Paper

Play and Its Importance for Children Lives

This paper aims to discuss various aspects of children play, it's functioning in children lives and different theories that discuss and explain the significance of play for children development.... The author states that during a child's preschool years, long periods of time are devoted to playing....
14 Pages (3500 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us