High-tech toys spoil children

By Jessica Pickens
pickensj@mytjnow.com

While sitting in Chick-Fil-A shortly after Christmas, I heard a trophy-wife mom asking a child what favorite Christmas present was.

“A DS,” he said. Another child at Chick-Fil-A listed a gift equally as high tech.

I sat and tried to remember what my favorite Christmas gifts were when I was younger: a Felicity American

Girl doll, a large Cinderella Polly Pocket or any sort of Barbie with a cool outfit.

Children today are spoiled by technology and the high-profile entertainment items it produces.

The children I babysit own Wii’s and mini DVD players they watch while they eat dinner.

When I was growing up, my family never bought Gameboys, Xboxes or PlayStations. We only played computer games, such as Storybook Weaver or Oregon Trails, and at least those were semi-educational.

But other than that, our entertainment items incorporated something kids are losing today - imagination.
PS3 driving games give cool 3D images that make you feel as if you are on the drag strip with dozens of other cars. But what happened to the days when kids rode their bikes and imagined they were race car drivers on the Indy 500?

When I was in second grade, I didn’t need a giant baby doll that needed to be used as a Wii controller to pretend I was a mom or a babysitter. My sisters and I were perfectly capable of pretending our rooms were our homes, kitchens or restaurants.

Though children today are experiencing technology none of us ever could have comprehended when we were seven, I think it’s a hindrance affecting not only social skills, but with just being a kid.

When I drive through neighborhoods, I don’t see as many kids playing outside. They are all stuck inside with their noses in their Kindle books or their DS games.

I often wonder if these kids will ever find the enjoyment my sisters and I did through playing Olympics on the swing set and pretending we were Dominique Dawes or Shannon Miller.  

It’s really sad to watch children today, especially because their high-profile gifts are already turning them into needy, spoiled brats.