Walking through any toys department or toy section of a superstore, and the one thing which is blindingly obvious is just how important technology has become as far as the popularity of toys is concerned. Shelves upon shelves of computer games scream out for attention, offering children worlds of possibilities, exciting game play, full throttle interaction, total immersion in fantasy worlds and other experiences which seem almost too good to be true. Even taking a step away from these purely computer driven games, it seems that almost every other toy contains a microchip, for fun filled fully interactive entertainment. But do our children really need to be entertained? Or do children have not only a natural desire to entertain themselves, but actually have such a need? It’s tempting to think, looking at the array of toys on offer, that computer games and technology driven toys are likely to take over a child’s life, and replace their play time with entertainment time. Replacing play with entertainment is not, of course, the same thing, and creates a particular issue.

Although children enjoy playing computer games, generally this is a social thing, with them inviting friends round to play with them, as most games are multiplayer. The game then becomes not the focus, but the medium through which they play and compete. The amount of time they spend on each game is, in the vast majority of cases, actually quite limited. Even looking at the clever technological toys, such as the ones that sing, dance, tell stories and react. When the batteries are dead, the toy is often still played with, in the more traditional sense. My daughter will happily play tea time with her teddy bears and have a couple of all singing all dancing dolls sitting alongside them, remaining switched, entirely mute and enjoyed every bit as much as if they were active. Children write the rules, and although the technology and toy industry can throw technology into the mix, it’s the children who ultimately make their choices about not only what to play with, but how. Clever toys might produce an excited reaction, and receive much attention during the life of the first set of batteries, but when the batteries have dies, and the initial novelty has worn off, there will always be building blocks and crayons, which never run out, either of possibilities, or power. Powered by children’s imaginations, rather than batteries, these toys are set to last forever.

Ten years ago, the top few toys on the market that children were asking for were toys like the Furby, the Tickle Me Elmo, the Tamagotchi, Beanie Babies and the Teletubbies. There was nothing too technological about these types of toys, and all parents understood them, and how they worked. (Except for the Tamagotchi…some parents may have had some trouble understanding what the point of an electronic pet was!) After that year, the next fads in toys were toys such as, the Baby Furby and, believe it or not, the Yo Yo! The Yo Yo came back on the scene after being completely redone and presented as the new and improved ProYo. Baby Furby was just as big a hit as the Furby of the year before, and toy stores made a good profit off of this interactive toy.

After these toy trends were over, the TV show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” hit the airwaves, and of course, the board game came out before Christmas and was asked for by many kids that year. Along with this popular game came some toys that were a lot more technologically advanced than the toys of Christmas past. One example of this type of toy is the robotic pet. This toy was very popular with both parents and kids, because it provided a type of surrogate for a real pet, without being smelly, dirty or noisy. The robotic pet did a lot of real, pet like things without the hassle of having to care for a real pet. It was also a great idea for families with pet allergies. After the robotic pet, technology basically took over the toy industry, and now there are toys like, more advanced robotic toys, video games, X Box, Guitar Hero, Nintendo Wii and all of the plug and play games. There are actually toys that allow kids to exercise without even stepping outside! There are still toys in the stores that are like the ones we had years ago, such as doll, cars, train sets, and the like, but kids these days are asking more for the technological toys. Toys have almost become a popularity contest – kids want what their friends have, and if they don’t own certain toy, they are not “cool” to their classmates.