toys are a window for children to explore the world, and also reflect the economic level, children's culture, aesthetic orientation and technological progress of a certain era. Discussing the changes in children's toys can better understand the value of toys to children's development, so as to better improve children's toys and better nourish childhood.
1
The types of children's toys change with the ages
The close relationship between childhood and toys determines that childhood memories of different ages are imprinted with different toy memories.
In the childhood memories of Chinese people today, in the 1950s and 1960s, material shortages were in the process of solving food and clothing. There are few toys on the market, and most of the toys for children are homemade. Among them, wooden toys are the most common, such as wooden pistols, tops, tricycles and slingshots, as well as common mud animal toys and sound toys. In addition, hoop rolling, shuttlecock kicking, and bouncing glass balls were also popular among children at that time.
In the 1970s, tin toys became popular, and wooden toys gradually became less. Tin frogs, tin trains, tin pistols and tin robots were the most representative toys of the time. The 1980s was the most popular era for Transformers, and game consoles began to appear.
At that time, there were no mobile phones or computers. Some were Transformers, Rubik's Cubes, building blocks, foreign paintings, Barbie dolls, electronic pets, four-wheel drive vehicles, etc., which gradually replaced tin toys. The popular Xiaobawang game console has also begun to enter the lives of children.
The 90s of the last century can be called the era occupied by cartoon characters and toys. A large number of foreign animations have entered the Chinese people's field of vision, and the baby toy market is quickly occupied by animation character toys. Special forces, Toy Story, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Doraemon, etc. became the mainstream toys for children in that era. In the more than ten years since the 21st century, with the rapid popularization of electronic technology, iPad, 3DS, PSP game consoles, remote control toys, smart toys, etc. have become children's favorites. At the same time, foreign animation-related peripheral toy products have also ushered in a heyday. Since the second half of the last century, the historical changes of childhood toys in different years in our country have truly demonstrated the changes in childhood culture for more than half a century.
2
The quality of children's toys changes with technology
From the historical changes of children's toys since the founding of New China, it can be found that modern children's toys have also achieved their own transformation with the development of technology.
is first of all finished product and commercialization. Most of the traditional children's toys are made from the natural materials in the surrounding environment and the discarded products in life. To a large extent, they rely on the toy community formed by adults and children to make them by hand. Modern children's toys are mass-produced based on industrialized mold design and mechanized technology. They tend to be standardized and unified in structure and function, and are supplied on a large scale in the form of market-oriented commodities. In the context of fast-paced modern life, direct purchase has become a convenient channel for obtaining toys.
is followed by electronic and intelligent. Based on the rapid development and promotion of digital technology, the design and research and development of modern children's toys are increasingly incorporating electronic technology and showing the characteristics of intelligence. Compared with the simplicity, nature and simplicity of traditional toys, the novel charm of modern children's toys presented simultaneously with sound, light and shadow stimulates and attracts children's senses. Today, children can be seen everywhere sitting squatting and holding an electronic screen attentively playing. The intelligence of electronic games reflects the increasingly widespread use of high-tech in the development of children's toys, and it has played a profound role in promoting and penetrating the development of children's toys.
is followed by fashion and westernization. Compared with the inheritance of local culture and national customs in the production of traditional toys, today's children's toys show more respect for cartoon images and Western culture. At the same time, with the popularity and promotion of children's animation works, various cartoon children's toys are constantly being introduced. All this shows that the market and consumption of modern children's toys follow the fast-food orientation of fashion culture. For example, it is precisely because of the popularity of foreign cartoons "Beyblade" and "Big Hero 6" that gave birth to the baby toys "Beyblade" and "Dabai (a health care robot)" that became popular for a while.
3
children’s toys have turned in value.
. Among the great progress of modern children’s toys, there are also some hidden children’s hairDevelopment is closely related to changes in value.
First, focus on functional value and light on emotional value. The popularization of modern commercialized finished toys and electronic toys has dispelled the parent-child interaction and companion relationship established by traditional self-made toys. Children's interest in exploring electronic images and virtual world functions replaces the need and desire for interpersonal relationships and emotions in reality. At the same time, because there is no need to use natural materials for hands-on production, coupled with the indoorization of video games in space, it reduces the opportunities for children to get close to outdoor nature and the countryside, and is indifferent to the sense of homeland that children can only germinate in this kind of closeness. Feelings with homeland.
Second, focus on intelligence and light on intelligence. The intelligence of modern children's toys is only the intelligence carried by the toy itself, and it does not mean that it can give the user of the toy intelligent enlightenment. On the contrary, the more intelligent the toy, the more "dumb" use method and experience are given to children, and with its digital precision technology and program coding, the children can only passively get stuck in the predetermined mode operation. In the face of ready-made, preset programmed functions, children are mechanical and passive, lacking choice and creativity. It is precisely in the thrill of "passing the game" in the video game that children's minds step by step fall into the trap of high-tech presets.
Third, focus on modern technology and neglect cultural heritage. Traditional handmade toys carry long national culture and historical traditions. However, as modern high-tech toys and electronic games have gradually become the new favorites of children's entertainment, traditional toys and natural games are gradually fading out of the vision of modern children's life. The introduction and penetration of foreign film and television animations and related toy images not only bring the novelty and fashion experience of foreign culture to children, but also break the bond between children's spiritual growth and local culture.
4
Where should modern children’s toys go
Based on the important role of toys in the development of children and the value of today’s children’s toys, returning to the value of children’s toys to nourish childhood is an important requirement of preschool education.
First, reconstruct the toy community. The modern toy assembly line machine production and the mass production of its supply have eliminated the toy community formed by children, adults and their companions in the traditional society. In kindergartens and family education, it is necessary to build a toy community composed of children, teachers, parents, and children’s companions in the process of creating play environments and toy materials as the ecological background of interpersonal relationships. Form a toy-centered, and participate in toy making and games together to form emotional interactions between teacher and child relationships, parent-child relationships, and peer relationships, and feel the joy and success of joint planning, discussion, exploration, cooperation and sharing.
Secondly, establish a toy screening mechanism . To fully protect the physical and mental health and development of young children, a screening mechanism for the toy market should be established. Generally speaking, choosing toys for young children needs to grasp several aspects. In terms of function, it is necessary to puzzle and support operation and encourage creativity, which can stimulate children to use their brains and hands, encourage creativity and change, satisfy their desire for exploration and performance, and enable them to obtain useful knowledge and activity experience. In terms of gameplay, it must be playable and fun. In terms of playing methods and skill requirements, it should be suitable for the age characteristics and level of children. In terms of material, it must be safe and durable. The construction materials of toys should be safe and environmentally friendly, and ensure that there are no sharp corners, no odor, no pollution, no radiation, and it is best to be easy to clean and reusable. In terms of styling, it is necessary to have a vivid appearance, bright colors, and artistic taste, which meet the requirements of healthy aesthetics, and give children a pleasant aesthetic experience.
Next, explore the naturalization of toys . Toddlers are addicted to modern high-tech toys and electronic games, occupying opportunities for outdoor games and sports, and stripping away their sense of closeness to the natural environment. The development of nursery education in kindergartens, in particular, needs to ensure that children have time arrangements and institutional guarantees for outdoor activities and exploring the natural environment. The open outdoor space can better support and encourage young children to exercise and explore boldly. In the natural environment, a flower, a grass, a stone and a tree can become toys in the hands of children at any time, and with their diverse play methods and open functions, they stimulate children's interest in exploration and creation.
Finally, tap the national character of toys. Advocating and digging out traditional national toys and their cultural and educational functions is the most appropriate embodiment of "traditional culture on campus" in the preschool education stage. Kindergartens need to fully rely on and use community resources, mobilize parents to participate, and strengthen folk gamesThe construction of resources, the collection, sorting, and selection of traditional folk handmade toys, and integrating them into garden-based curriculum practice and exploration, using traditional toys as the carrier, allows excellent national culture to be inherited and carried forward in modern children's lives and games.
·Ding Haidong·
Fujian Normal University School of EducationProfessor and master's supervisor
