Constructive vs Destructive Toys
March 2nd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Living in a male dominated culture, where the symbol of peace includes a woman under a roof, boys in Taipei are inclined to learn the strong masculine traits.
Boys are given a wide range of space to act out their dreams and desires. Grandparents can keep pictures of their grandson’s all over the house, while their granddaughter’s picture is nowhere to be found. This is a place where a man is a doctor and a woman a nurse. I get giggles from boys and girls when I inform them that boys can be nurses too.
Naturally, boys are the creators and destroyers of their societies. And what does this have to do with toys? Well, we teach these thwarted behaviors to kids through toys. Unfortunately, the little destroyers learn about destruction from toys and cartoons. Construction and building are briefly emphasized.
I made that mistake when I exposed my son to battling. We would build swords from plastic tubes and used them to duel. It’s harmless fun I thought. My wife was patient enough to let me discover what I was doing.
Then after some time, everything became battling. His animals battled, he wanted to play kung fu. To add to the drama, he incorporated magic to his kung fu stance. With animals, it was hunt or be hunted. Anything he came up with had to do something associated with violence.
Our Lego toys were not immuned to this eternal conflict. On Christmas, he received a castle set with battling knights. I was so excited when we opened the box. It took us two hours to build together. Then I began to tell him of stories where knights fought bravely to defend their kingdom. I didn’t realize that through my innocent excitement, my boy was getting the hunger for violence and aggression.
That’s when your loving wife asks you politely why a four-year old needs to learn about sword fighting and violence that’s recommended for a seven-year old. My mind tried to find any rational excuse to her reply. It went something like this in my head:
- They’re just Legos.
- Legos are a form of innocent play.
- What’s the big deal? It’s only a phase.
I had even started to imprint the new Ninjago legos with their spinning attacks. Ninjas battling skeletons, how cool is that!
I ignored the seven-year old recommended age and was ready to collect the whole set. At the Lego shop my wife advised me to get him something related to construction, but I wasn’t listening. I wanted the legos, they’re mine! As I looked at the awesome ninja set I opened my eyes to the little human being in front of me. I saw a boy who is being influenced by the people he loves to commit and learn about violence. I don’t want my son to grow up with his only memories are of killing and being killed.
That day I had a change of self. We didn’t buy the ninja lego set, instead we bought some racers we could build together. Practicing non – violence with toys can be as difficult as becoming a vegetarian. The meat is everywhere! I mean violence is everywhere in toys.
I enjoy the Lego toys were we build and explore. He is starting to see that there is more to life than destroying things. I hope that we can continue and move toward constructive toys.
