If you're around my age, even a little older, you remember going to the toy store "Toys 'R' Us" as a kid. Whether it was a reward for doing good on your math test, or making good marks on your report card, or even a birthday shopping spree... Toys 'R' Us was a place where my childhood was rooted.
I remember being about four or five and having a playdate with one of my friends. She had so many My Little Ponies, and I didn't have any, so I got to borrow some for a few days. When the time arrived to give them back, my mom told me she'd take me to Toys 'R' Us to get one or two My Little Ponies of my own.
Well, that trip to the toy store turned into me picking out a good 10 My Little Ponies, accessories for all of them and a house to put them all in.
Toys 'R' Us was such an important piece of my childhood because toys were such an important part of my childhood. Nothing was more exciting than stepping into the toy store knowing I could pick out whatever toy I wanted. It was a way I spent time with my parents. They had to make time to take me to the toy store. This time I spent with them made me feel special because even in their busy days, they set aside time just for me.
With the closing of Toys 'R' Us, my childhood and all the memories I have also closed. The exciting, fascinating, magical chapter of my life where I was worried about monsters in my closet and trying to catch the tooth fairy, it is finally a closed chapter.
Something I have contemplated lately is the alarming fact that children in this day and age never got to experience this. There were no fun days spent taking a trip to the toy store with their mom and dad, and lately, everyone is too busy and caught up in their job. There are no more trips to the toy store because it is easier to order a toy online. The fun trips with your parents and having a sense of importance because they took time out of their day just for you, that rarely exists anymore.
And the even scarier thing is that kids do not play with toys as much as they use to. I was thirteen years old when I got my first iPhone. My older sister was fifteen when she got hers and my younger sister was ten. These days, kids get electronics at such a young age. Girls aren't worried about the way their Barbies' hair looks or the outfits they are wearing, and boys aren't worried about their dinosaurs and toy cars. Kids are concerned with what level in Candy Crush they can get to or how well they do in the video game Fortnite.
Many things can be said with the closing of the toy store Toys 'R' Us, whether the cause was because people don't actually go to the toy store anymore because it is easier to shop online, or maybe because kids are not interested in toys anymore. It's all just iPads and iPhones. Whatever the cause, it is a truly tragic event.
While I can only speak for myself, I believe this switch in the way children are brought up is very alarming. How many parents have you seen give their toddler their iPhone or iPad to watch a television show or play a game to quiet them down and appease them? Parents don't give time-outs to kids anymore; instead, when they start getting noisy, they pick the easy solution and hand them a device.
This model of parenting has taught kids from a young age the importance and fun of electronics.
If we want to see a change in the way kids are always on their devices, let's get to the root of the problem.
Adults always say that teenagers and kids are glued to their phones or video games. If kids have only been exposed to electronics since their infant years, they will have no interest in picking up a toy when they are a toddler and as they continue to grow up. Their obsession and need for electronics grow with their age.
The only way to stop this continuing cycle is to decide as a parent not to give your iPad to your two-year-old. Instead, give them a toy.
When your eight-year-old son or daughter asks for an iPhone for their birthday, say no and instead teach them about the fun of toys.
Because before they know it, the magical time of toys and monsters and tooth fairies will be gone, and so will any chance of them getting an actual childhood.
