Tiny Bison

The technology that is in today’s toys is nothing less than impressive. When RoboSapien hit the shelves it made a dent in many pocket books and was great fun for lots of children. But at what point does technology get in the way of your child’s imagination?

For instance, Mattels new toy called Pixel Chix is becoming quite popular among young girls. This toy is a house with a screen on the front with a little LCD girl on it that you can interact with (ie feed her, dress her, play with her). Sound familier? That’s probably because it is essentially just a small doll house and doll. Only this one can only do pre-programmed activities.

At $29.95 it might be a “cool” toy for your little girl to have, but a normal dollhouse would be better. Even better still, create your own dollhouse together out of cardboard boxes.

Why go low-tech? Your childs mind is capable of creating fantastic play settings. With some toys, like the Pixel Chix house, everything is done for your child. Their imagination is not needed and not used. Your daughter pushing a button to feed a digital image just doesn’t have the same creative quality as sitting down and having tea with her “best friend in the whole world”.

This isn’t to say that technology is bad in toys, just that you as a parent need to be mindful of the toys your child plays with. Think about the impact it may have on your child, not just whether the price is right.