Recently I came across an article for the new digital barbie. This got me thinking about how many digital toys there are on the market and the impact that they have on kids. It should really come as no surprise that kids toys have continued to evolve over the years. Living in a time when you see children as young as four using digital devices to entertain themselves. So what are the pros, and cons of these digital toys? Keep reading to see both sides of the topic.
The Pros
Of course not all digital toys are bad. There are several benefits to kids having toys that can be plugged in, or turned on. To start with you will find that these types of toys have an educational value to them. There have been some studies on how technology has helped with learning. Many electronic toys help your kids to learn things such as the alphabet, to counting their numbers. Many of these toys are advertised as a fun way for your child to learn.
It is also important since computers fit into just about every career you can imagine. Electronic toys can help your child learn to work with computers which is a much needed skill. Even books are now becoming digital.
The Cons
As you can probably tell during the course of my research I was not able to create a large list of pros when it came to digital toys. Instead my research turned up a larger list of cons as to why digital toys may not be the best things for our children.
The first con is lack of imagination that can result from too much technology. One of the wonderful things that kids learn is to turn a simple object into an amazing toy. For example how many of us can remember our kids making a cardboard box and turning it into a fun toy. With the use of digital toys kids no longer have to be creative. The toy does all of the creating for them.
Lack of activity in kids is the next con. You will find that kids who are glued to digital toys don’t move around as much. Those cardboard boxes mentioned earlier encourage a lot of activity. Your child will probably end up running all through the house with their cardboard box. A digital toy only causes them to move their fingers.
Skill development is very important for young children. If they are not able to use their imagination they will not be able to put their skills to work. In some kids this can cause a delay in their development, which may only be noticed when they start school.