by Judith Morais

Created on: May 24, 2008   Last Updated: September 05, 2008

Why does a child play with a doll? Or a miniature car? Or a plastic gun? Because the child is able through the interaction with the toy to express his or her feelings or experiences. The young girl who picks up a doll and dresses it for its little tea party is allowing her imagination to take her to a place where she has control over the scenario of a party. The little boy who sends his little sports car spinning across the room is perhaps seeing himself in his father's shoes as he drove home from work that day. Or perhaps he is reenacting that car chase he saw on television. The little boy who shoots the gun at his teddy bear seated at the corner is perhaps putting himself in that scene in which he punishes his teddy bear for its wrong doing.

Should we watch the games our children play and worry about some of the trends? I believe so because play is an extension of the child's experiences and a way for the child to explore his environment. When a child begins tearing her doll apart, I would worry about the violence she feels;the frustration she is venting against the doll. It is really not so different from the way art can offer a psychological profile of the child. When a child's dabbling in art showcases violence, we wonder if there is something in the child's experiences that is triggering that response.

Is a toy gun or sword simply a tool for imaginative play? It could be. For some well adjusted children, these are simply fun toys to run around with. The games that are played here could be no different from playing Tag. A few years ago, my young kids received a set of high tech guns with sensors that could be strapped to their bodies. When shot at with the toy gun, the sensor would light up if you got a direct hit. Certainly, my kids enjoyed the game tremendously. They ran themselves silly trying to stay alive, devised tactics to overpower their "enemy' and generally had a great deal of fun.

But I wouldn't have bought the game for them myself. I don't approve of my children yelling "I'm going to kill you!" or "You're dead!" I don't think such language is appropriate. But is it possible to play such games without the use of such language? I don't think so. The nature of such toys does not allow the child to play a game that demonstrates love and patience and cooperation - the types of values our children should be developing.
And so as they played their shooting game, I had to carefully monitor the values they portrayed. It is one thing to allow a healthy

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