Find out more about this survey published in the December 2012 issue of « Ça m’intéresse » magazine.

Toys have more than one trick up their sleeve: they boost creativity, forge the imagination and develop intelligence. But above all, they teach children to live in society.

Beyblades spinning tops, Monster High mannequin dolls, Spiderman fluid launchers: these toy stars are likely to top the list of letters to Santa this year. And Santa is likely to be generous. In fact, the toy market is not in the doldrums: 243 million toys were sold in 2011, 3% more than in 2010, representing 242 euros per child. Pampered tots? The expansion of the world of toys is considerable, » says Gilles Brougère, professor of education at Paris XIII University and author of Jouets et compagnie (Stock, 2003). Toys don’t necessarily play a more important role than they used to. But they are part of a society in which consumption itself has increased.

Reflecting an elitist society, toys also claim to be increasingly educational. More than just a leisure activity, toys embody the omnipresence of school in the family. Give a toy… to please or to educate? It all depends on the family, » explains Sandrine Vincent, sociologist and author of Le jouet et usages sociaux (La Dispute, 2002). In working-class families, the toy is an object of pressure that either gratifies or punishes, motivating the child to get involved at school. It’s an authoritarian means of making them understand their obligation to work and achieve results. In higher socio-professional categories, by offering toys, parents demonstrate their intention to build an environment conducive to stimulating intellectual learning. Toys bring pleasure while masking the intention that they will contribute to reinforcing fundamental school acquisitions (reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.) ». This is why parents sometimes leave the task of giving toys to grandparents, contrary to their educational guidelines. They don’t want to deprive their child, but they don’t want to be the ones to initiate it… « We display the educational benefits on our boxes, because these arguments appeal to parents, » confirms Sylvie Bannelier, Vtech’s Product Development Director for Europe. Educational remains a magic word… ».

The educational value of a toy depends on how the child uses it

An effective marketing term indeed, but what about the reality? Do toys really make children more creative, more sociable, more intelligent? « The educational value of a toy is not systematic. It depends on the child’s age, but above all on how he or she uses it, » says Gilles Brougère. In 2007, two Swedish researchers set out to find out whether Lego Dacta (a type of Lego Teknik) can give children a head for maths. For a year, pupils at a secondary school built robots, which they animated via a computer interface. However, at the end of the experiment, their results were no better than those of those who had not played. Only the children who were weak or average at the start improved. « Generally speaking, games encourage active involvement in learning, which makes it easier to assimilate, » explains Célia Hodent, PhD in psychology at Paris Descartes University.

From age 6, marbles or hopscotch reveal the desire to compete…

Most specialists agree on the virtues of play in general. « It places children in situations of discovery and problem-solving that are more complex than those of everyday life, » sums up Célia Hodent, PhD in psychology at Paris Descartes University. Psychologist and biologist Jean Piaget distinguished three stages: up to the age of two, toys (rattles, musical toys, mirrors) stimulate the child’s senses and motor skills. Then, dolls, dinettes, disguises and construction games support the development of imagination, memory and impulse management. From the age of 6, with marbles, hopscotch or skipping rope, the child submits to complex instructions and experiences the desire to compete. In short, they learn to persist, surpass themselves and lose, » adds Célia Hodent. But it’s hard to prove the precise benefits of toys… Other activities (going for a walk, interacting with others…) undoubtedly help develop the same aptitudes.

Which begs the question: are toys indispensable? In a 1973 study, American researchers let 3-4-year-olds play with 4 common objects: paper towels, screwdrivers, pieces of wood and paper clips. In another group, the toddlers watched an adult use the objects. When the scientists asked the children what they could be used for, the former imagined three times as many possible uses as the latter. Conclusion: not only does playing stimulate creativity, but it doesn’t necessarily have to involve a high-tech toy.

A virtual cube cannot replace a wooden cube that a child can touch

American psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek also encourages the manipulation of toys or loosely structured objects (a ball, a cardboard box…) that children can invest in freely. In her view, it’s not the toys that command the child, but the child who commands the toys. Célia Hodent adds: « For children, playing means experimenting with the world around them to better assimilate it. This is the case with babies, who learn motor coordination by playing catch with their feet. Some experts go even further: they regret that time devoted to free play (pretending to be a doctor, an archaeologist…) is being supplanted by overly structured games. The latter are fun and develop group cohesion, » writes Anthony Pellegrini, an educational psychologist at the University of Minnesota, in The New York Times. But playing without rules sharpens creativity, sociability and the ability to compromise. For example, children can’t always play the role of queen or prince. They have to adapt.

While fantasy games and hits like Lego and Barbie are always popular with children, they’re now also flocking to tablets. Parents are ecstatic at their toddler’s prowess in taming the family IPad. But are virtual blocks as good as the wooden ones a child shakes, puts in his mouth and throws? No, according to psychiatrist Serge Tisseron, who is on a crusade against tablets before the age of 3. « Young children need spatial and temporal reference points. Nothing helps build them better than traditional toys and picture books, » he writes on his personal website. Once these points of reference have been established, they will be able to take advantage of the speed of screens to increase their psychic plasticity (the ability to adapt to the unexpected, editor’s note). But if this is not the case (…), the child runs the risk of failing to build organized, logical thought ».

The world of play remains highly stereotyped: adventure for boys; maternity for girls.

Toys not only support children’s development, they also transmit societal values. That’s why some associations and parents are wary of increasingly gendered toys. The world of play remains highly stereotyped. For boys, it’s all about adventure, violence, combat and speed, as a way of discovering the world and surpassing one’s limits! For girls, maternity, aesthetics, dreams and social relationships. Toys themselves are not gendered, » notes Mona Zegai, a doctoral student in sociology at the Université Paris VIII Vincennes-Saint-Denis. It’s the distinctive peripheral features, such as the color, photos, shapes and style of writing on the boxes, that stereotype them ». For example, the researcher studied the images on masquerade costume packaging. « For boys, the postures – front-on, legs apart, fists on hips – indicate stability, virility and fighting spirit. For girls, they emphasize the fragility of the body, grace, coquetry and elegance (delicately spread fingers, fluid gestures, reverence). These representations contribute to the dissemination of stereotyped images of male and female bodies », she analyzes. This distinction is marked in stores and catalogs, where gendered headings cover 36% of pages… Manufacturers argue that they are responding to public demand. « Our role is to accompany societal values, not precede them, » stresses Franck Mathais, Director of Sales and Customer Relations at La Grande Récré France. When society evolves, so does public demand, and so does the retailer’s offer. For example, we’ve seen an increase in unisex household imitation toys since fathers have become more involved. For example, the Tim et Lou brand offers vacuum cleaners, washing machines and kitchen utensils adapted to both sexes ».

But according to Mona Zegai, by choosing to represent only gendered roles or professions (firefighter, pilot, cashier, mom), toy manufacturers are creating a microcosm that’s even more stereotyped than reality. Does this sexualization of toys, more visible than in the 80s, condition children? Opinions differ. « The Mix-Cité association argues: « Arrowed displays prevent children from choosing toys according to their character and desires, and force them to conform to stereotyped gender roles, which are at the root of most gender discrimination. It’s important for children to discover and experience their own gender identity, » adds Célia Hodent. Stereotyped toys enable them to explore it ». The identity of a toy is secondary, because it doesn’t say anything about its actual use, » adds Gilles Brougère. What matters is the way in which parents invest the role of man and woman. Gender differentiation is largely induced by the family environment ».

In short, there are no good or bad toys… It’s also thanks to their commercial, sexual and media dimensions that children learn to decipher the codes of the world in which they live. In this way, they can appropriate them, internalize adult roles and, ultimately, learn to live in society.