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Lincoln Logs or Logging On?
Do Toddlers Need High-Tech Toys? By Johnathon Allen
ly best suited for children older than 3. Ally isn't like the talking dolls we grew up with, where you have to pull a string to make her talk. Alley's high capacity central processing unit and 32 megabits of internal voice memory help her to tell stories, play games, think and remember things (like holidays, and your child's birthday). Ally is fully expandable, of course, and can be upgraded with more intelligence, memory, stories and adventures with Playmate's AdventureWare packets.
It's easy for a parent to feel overwhelmed when faced with this armada of digitized toys. There are also questions like, "Do I want my child to form a meaningful relationship with a miniature android?" and, "Do 'smart toys' actually make smarter kids?"
Some child psychologists suggest that electronic toys minimize the variety of stimulus children receive, and reduce their play to a simplistic set of push-button responses. Others believe that it is important to help kids orient themselves to life in the electronic age.
Dr. Erik Strommen, head of R&D in Microsoft's Interactive Toy Group, argues that "Children's lives are now highly mediated by electronics. For kids to feel confident in the modern high-tech world, their toys need to reflect the complexity of that world. Really, kids want to be active, and technology is an active thing."
One thing that most experts seem to agree on is that while electronic toys can help provide fun educational play, the important thing is that parents are involved in their child's playtime.
Dr. Seymour Papert, the LEGO Professor of Learning Research at MIT's Media Lab, suggests that parents ask themselves some questions when choosing toys:
* Does it allow my child to be engaged in a long-term project where he/she takes control of constructing something?
* Can I get involved with my child in what's being done?
Whether you choose to help your kids build a house with Lincoln Logs or help them to log-on, be careful you aren't choosing toys that are more fun for you than for your child