When Aubrey Freedman?s son Mason was born, it wasn?t long before friends and family members started gifting them toys that made sounds or lit up at the press of a button. ?It just didn?t sit well with us,? says Freedman. ?It looked like he was zoning out. He was becoming so enamoured with all the excitement of the flashing lights, and I decided there was no need to rush that exposure. The slower and simpler I could keep his childhood, the better.?
Freedman and her husband resolved to put a stop to it. They let their families know they didn?t want battery-powered toys, got rid of the noisy, flashing toys they already had, and as time went on, returned or re-gifted the powered toys they still got anyway. To this day, Mason, now seven, and his younger brother, four-year-old Abel, don?t have any electronic toys, save for one light-up lightsaber each. Instead, Mason and Abel play with wooden blocks, trains, cars, toy swords, capes and classic board games like chess and Connect Four. They also enjoy colouring, and when they are not playing with each other, Freedman does science experiments with them. ?They have both become very imaginative and creative. They come up with their own games.?
It?s hard to avoid the onslaught of electronic toys, though. Walk down the toy aisles of most department stores, and you?re likely to find a lineup of playthings that sing, move, light up or synch with a tablet. ?I?ve seen potties with iPad docks on them,? says Freedman.
The toys in my own home ...