Hello from Mrs Bunyip. I have been thinking a lot about the way children play these days and I want to talk to you about it.
As a child I used to love making up my own stories and adventures as I played. Together with my friends and whatever toys or objects were handy, I would fly to the moon, explore Africa and meet fierce lions or become a train driver for an afternoon. We didn’t need anything to tell us how to play or what stories to create. We just leapt into our imaginations and took off.
image by Sarah DeVries
Not all of today’s children have that same freedom of play.
TV, advertising and branded toys have changed the way kids play. It is as though their imaginations have been channelled down specific paths chosen for them by the marketers. In itself, that isn’t a bad thing. It only becomes an issue when that’s the only play experience children have.
Take Barbie as an example. When I was a child Barbie would have been a cowgirl or an astronaut, no matter what she was wearing. We put her into the role we wanted her to play and somehow she began to look like the cowgirl or astronaut in our story.
Today, Barbie is a personality who lives and breathes through the TV and computer screens. She is not someone who could easily be shaped by a child’s imagination. I’ve heard children say, “Barbie doesn’t do that. She likes to shop.”
Can you see what I mean? Our children’s thoughts are pre-shaped.
It is not Barbie’s fault. She’s lovely and will be a timeless favourite for many girls.
When you give a child a toy that isn’t branded and doesn’t take its life story from somewhere else, you give them the chance to build their own tales. You set their imagination free to soar anywhere it wants to go.
And the best thing about that? You don’t forget it. Ever.
If you can prise your kids away from the computer or TV and give them toys without labels, you will be giving them a skill they will use for the rest of their lives – a vivid and unlimited imagination.
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