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THINKPIECE

Toy makers gunning for young macho kids

Tony Watkins reflects on the ethos projected by contemporary toymakers at Christmas

"Dear Santa,
For Christmas I'd like a Power Rangers Warrior figure, an evil Dr X Action Man and a Max Steel Psycho with spinning cannon arm ..."

Across the country, little boys are gazing longingly at the whirl of ads during children's TV, and poring over catalogues with pages and pages of toys. Girls probably do the same – but as parents of small boys we're rather too familiar with the almost daily cry of 'Oh, wow!'

Gender stereotyping is blatant: 'toys for girls' are presented against pastel backgrounds; the pages of boys' toys are generally much darker with strong colours.

And there's a vast difference in the kinds of toys. Toys revolving around relationships or personal appearance are pitched at girls. Our eldest, Charlie, was not yet four when he dismissed Barbie's new VW Beetle as 'just for girls'. He'd already learned to read the language of advertising.

And with toy manufacturers nurturing a macho male culture, the ads are teaching him that boys play violent games with violent toys. This isn't the way a five-year-old should think about his world.

There may be some truth in the argument that this is a reflection of innate male aggression. Generations of kids have played with toy guns and soldiers. Was that really any different from today's violent toys?

I think so. Until the late Sixties almost all British parents had lived through – or been born during – a major war. But while that led to an easy acceptance of toy guns, there wasn't the same culture of violence for boys.

Kids weren't surrounded by huge numbers of flashy, often gruesome, violent toys. They weren't bombarded by violent images in adverts and television programmes. And real guns and real violence were not part of society in the same way.

We don't want our boys taking on board this ethos of violence. We do everything we can to discourage it, but now Charlie's at school we can't insulate him from it. He knows how we feel, but we must help him begin thinking about the issues for himself.

We need to help him discover that there's more satisfaction in non-violent toys because they're more creative, more rounded and better for relationships.

Meanwhile, I'm itching for the day when the boys are old enough for their first train set.

Do you agree? Give us your slant on the Christmas toy sale melee on the bulletin board (right) or by clicking the Mail Us button

Tony Watkins is project director for The Damaris Trust

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		THINKPIECE Toy makers gunning for young macho kids Tony Watkins reflects on the ethos projected by contemporary toymakers at Christmas "Dear Santa, For Christmas I'd like a Power Rangers Warrior figure, an evil Dr X Action Man and a Max Steel Psycho with spinning cannon arm ..." Across the country, little boys are gazing longingly at the whirl of ads during children's TV, and poring over catalogues with pages and pages of toys. Girls probably do the same – but as parents of small boys we're rather too familiar with the almost daily cry of 'Oh, wow!' Gender stereotyping is blatant: 'toys for girls' are presented against pastel backgrounds; the pages of boys' toys are generally much darker with strong colours. And there's a vast difference in the kinds of toys. Toys revolving around relationships or personal appearance are pitched at girls. Our eldest, Charlie, was not yet four when he dismissed Barbie's new VW Beetle as 'just for girls'. He'd already learned to read the language of advertising. And with toy manufacturers nurturing a macho male culture, the ads are teaching him that boys play violent games with violent toys. This isn't the way a five-year-old should think about his world. There may be some truth in the argument that this is a reflection of innate male aggression. Generations of kids have played with toy guns and soldiers. Was that really any different from today's violent toys? I think so. Until the late Sixties almost all British parents had lived through – or been born during – a major war. But while that led to an easy acceptance of toy guns, there wasn't the same culture of violence for boys. Kids weren't surrounded by huge numbers of flashy, often gruesome, violent toys. They weren't bombarded by violent images in adverts and television programmes. And real guns and real violence were not part of society in the same way. We don't want our boys taking on board this ethos of violence. We do everything we can to discourage it, but now Charlie's at school we can't insulate him from it. He knows how we feel, but we must help him begin thinking about the issues for himself. We need to help him discover that there's more satisfaction in non-violent toys because they're more creative, more rounded and better for relationships. Meanwhile, I'm itching for the day when the boys are old enough for their first train set. Do you agree? Give us your slant on the Christmas toy sale melee on the bulletin board (right) or by clicking the Mail Us button Tony Watkins is project director for The Damaris Trust © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.