Two starting points for this presentation were, Toys should be powered by imagination and not batteries and Knowing the right toy is more than just childs play.

In an age when most people take for granted and use a lot of gadgets and machines, the tendency has been for childrens toys to follow the same pattern. Some parents appear to be more concerned that their childrens achievement in this technology race is more important than allowing their offspring to be children. The pressure is also on parents via TV advertising to provide more and more complex technological toys. These include computer-chipped, plastic toys which flash lights, play music and talk, instead of for example a simple shape-sorting toy, which develops motor control and can be a valuable opportunity for social interaction

When these are taken together with the proliferation of holding devices, such as car seats, strollers and baby swings, which all cut down on valuable floor time for young children, whole areas of essential child development opportunities are being affected.

It is well known that children with good attachment to their carers do better, but modern toys and holding devices hinder human holding, bonding and interaction. The simpler more traditional toys which offer opportunities for touching and singing as well as tummy time, rolling, learning to crawl on the floor and explore are all vital to stages in early childhood development and gross motor control.

There is also concern that young children are being given too much auditory and visual stimulation by parents mistakenly trying to do their best. There is a wealth of sound and light toys which offer maximum reinforcement for minimum effort on the part of the child. Young children focus on the noisy toys, not on people, thereby failing to pick up language. Also some children are being over-stimulated by things like Baby Mozart and Tele-tubbies videos. In some cases even special care baby units have been thought to over-stimulate. Both of these strands are doubly worrying when links have been made between early childhood over-stimulation and Hyper Attention Deficit Disorder.

Brain development is affected by touch, taste, hearing, smell, and vision, so that it is vital for there to be an appropriate variety of stimuli because at the age of ten the human brain starts to prune out those parts which are not being used.

In an ideal world the presenter advocated no TV for children of 2 and under and no computers, TV games or video games for 3 to 7 year olds. It is questionable if there is any benefit to pre-school children using computers. Indeed they can deny the need for more appropriate play and have lasting negative effects on concentration.

There are also health concerns that in many places where children cannot go out alone or play outside, the TV and computer provide an attractive alternative to parents. Unfortunately the penalty for children can be the growth of childhood obesity and diabetes as well as eye strain, tendonitis, back pain and finger numbness. Also, since the decibel level of some toys and games is above that of a chain saw, some children suffer from hearing loss.

Video games are also causes for concerns. They are thought to relate to violent behaviours in some cases. It seems that, when children play video games, chemical changes take place in the brain, which can lead to an increase in incidents of aggression immediately after playing. There are also moral concerns that children can gain points for killing in some games. Some games are so extreme as to provide similarities to army videos used during combat training to de-sensitise soldiers to killing. Children can also develop an addiction to the adrenaline rush, which can be experienced while playing. Experiential hands-on learning about the world around them would be much better for the rounded, healthy development of children and young people.

There seems to be a strong argument for the re-education of families, especially since TV has become accepted in schools as an educational tool. However the diet of 24-hour commercial TV results in passive inaction, while dealing out death to thinking for oneself. Sadly, inappropriate exposure leads to 1 in 4 children recognising a brand name as the first word they read.

Finally, there were some suggestions about what professionals can do :

1 Promote opportunities for constructive and creative play, using open ended materials.

2 Encourage physical activities to help develop fitness skills.

3 Provide better models for parents.

4 Help families to cope with peer and media pressure which encourage them to get unhelpful toys.

5 Help parents to understand that putting in time with their children by offering games outside is vital.

6 Develop our own resources, so that we too are less reliant on techno-activities.