Annotation by Jane Prince, associate professor in psychology at the University of Glamorgan, Wales.
The economical problems for the toy vendors are the consequence of a disturbing childhood development. There is less need for toys, because most of the children do not know how to play anymore.
Instead of the traditional toy world, that has earlier been filled with toy soldiers, ball games, cars and dolls, children now surround themselves with electronic games and impression in pictures and sound from television.
Children, even toddlers, have lost the ability to invent a play world for themselves.
Several factors have grown to within the last 20 years. Firstly, there is the way children now get affected in the kindergarten or preschool classes: they get evaluated all the time, even on the playground. Secondly, there has also come more pressure from the parents. They are starting to buy educational toys. They forget, that kids can learn through play with toys, which apparently are without any educational purpose. Many parents think, that kids have to be capable users of computers from an early moment in their lives. They have to navigate between the icons on the screen and develop coordination between eye and hand.
But ball games have always done the last thing, and while there are advantages with coming to grips with computers, there are many advantages for kids by playing with toys. Furthermore, television decides what toys kids would like to have.
Parents have always told their kids, that they invented new games. Today children have seen something on the television and then they are starting to imitate what they have seen. It is like children have forgotten what toys are meant for.
Finally children are rarely allowed to play without supervision or to play on the street today. This freedom to too much control
