By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
What’s a toy? Webster defines “TOY” as “a thing to play with, especially by children.” Yup, there are also toys for big boys and I see them every time in the highway, boldly marked “Toys for the Big Boys.”
And what is “play”? Again Webster defines “play” – to “engage in an enjoyable activity.” This means doing anything you like. So when you do gardening and you enjoy doing it then you are playing. When you enjoy cooking, then you are playing while cooking. And for those who still work for pay, if you enjoy your job, then you are playing at work. Isn’t that wonderful? You won’t be stressed and your clients and your boss will be happy. Ahh, we are forever children, after all. Our topic today, however, toys for children.
Observe children. They are forever doing something with their hands and feet and bodies- until they sleep. They are natural. They are spontaneous- you don’t tell them what to do- and they will do what they like to do…. Until we tell them not to do it. In the traditional Igorot society in rural Igorotlandia, play is the life of children. And by playing and growing in natural surroundings, they learn.
Children are the best mimics. (Come to think of it, that is how they and how we, learn.) They love to try what they see others are doing so be careful what you show to your children whether in your personal life or TV or internet or community. At certain ages they will want to eat by themselves, bath by themselves, touch soil, wade in the rice paddy, swim in the river, sweep the floor, wash the dishes, wash clothes, feed the chicken. Those are play. And because of their nature as children (and sometimes because we don’t even encourage their efforts), they will not stay long in one activity. They will look for other things to do and create their own toy or game- remember the sardine can of your childhood where you cooked leaves, sugar and whatever? Remember the bangbanga, the tat-allak? Nature is their toy and their playground… and teaching ground. These mentally and physically stimulating activities will help children build their analytical, organizational, socialization and creative skills. These life skills they will need as they grow older.
My generation and the generations before didn’t have Barbie dolls or Ken or Lego and am sure a lot of kids in remote areas today don’t have those. But I don’t think we were deprived of developing our potential. Child experts affirm that playing traditional games with other people like our tatsing, sigsigking, bakabaka, and others, would teach children more about following rules and seeing how others approach things rather than playing in the cellphone or computer. Because in traditional games, the children deal with real people and in real time, not some square-headed figures like those in Minecraft, who won’t even talk with you.
So do we really need to buy toys for our children, for our inaanak?
Aside from the possibility of physically hurting your kid, these fancy synthetic toys may be contaminated with heavy metals, most notorious are lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury. These are present in most plastic toys. And what is not plastic nowadays? Even those cuddly teddy bears are made of synthetic fiber, meaning they are plastic. These heavy metals can cause cancer, brain and kidney damage. Lead and cadmium are also developmental and reproductive toxins. Children can be poisoned by licking, swallowing, breathing in or skin contact. What’s worrisome is that these metals are not excreted but they accumulate in their bodies and later on manifest as disease. (Our bodies are designed to process for good food and clean air, not poisons.) Concerned groups in developed countries like HealthyStuff.org (google it) have caused the recall of unsafe toys. But, sorry, in the Philippines, the government doesn’t have the capability to test toys for toxicity.
Toys also communicate an adult value to the one we give it to. I don’t see any good value from a toy gun or any war toy – it just spells violence and only the factory benefits from your buying. You give a toy gun, you are saying to the kid and to the world that it is okay to shoot.
Some parents, especially women, give toys as peace offerings to the child (or bribe?) or to compensate for their absence or perceived inadequacy. The business industry capitalizes on these guilt feelings especially during Christmas. Well, if you have to give, please ask yourself these questions:
1) Is it safe? Free from toxins?
2) Is it appropriate for the child’s age?
3) What value and skill will the child learn from this toy?
4) What is its long-term effect to the environment? (this also impacts on the child’s future.)
Recommended healthy toys are wooden building blocks, appropriate books, puzzles, tools. But the best toy of all? YOU, as the parent or caregiver of the child, would be his or her best gift this Christmas. So keep healthy and play with your child. ***
“It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.” Proverbs 16:32
