The Not Quite Crunchy Parent: Toys in the Sandbox

"Clearly, we're in a digital age," says Claire Green, president of the Parents' Choice Foundation. "Kids are teething on remote controls. They're constantly exposed to digital media. So let's find out what makes sense. Let's find out what's age appropriate and what encourages learning, thinking, probing."

And so among the glitz and gadgets of The Annual Consumer Electronics show, producers, educators and researchers, as well as, childrens advocacy groups, gathered to review play in the digital age.

This year a number of devices were introduced specifically targeting children and teens. Despite the amazing paucity of research on the impact of technology on children’s behavior, intellect and development, game and toy manufacturers had no problem touting the educational properties of their offerings.

Some of them are worth watching for in the coming months as they show up in stores and online. Some are worth avoiding…despite the mournful pleas of kids exposed to advertisements for them in every possible venue.

Let’s take a look.

What to watch for:

Bob – the TV Timer - Though this product has been around for awhile, it picked up a lot of press at the show, which means you may find it more available and visible in stores this year. A simple, $99.00 device that plugs into your TV, computer or video game player, it allows parents to preset the amount of time up to 6 children can access the device. Great for those times when your well managed screen time schedule seems to break down.See a review from Family Safe Media.

Tutor.com - Since I’ve taught online for almost 10 years now, I’m a big fan of online education and believe that it has a place in education for middle schoolers on up. The easy, instant access and inexpensive price ($29.00 for 50 minutes) for one-to-one tutoring seems a winner, especially since it accommodates to every schedule.

Digital Blue Computer Microscope - This is one of those products that can get away from you if you’re not careful. The concept of an inexpensive ($100) microscope that projects onto a screen is intriguing but all the bells and whistles

This Microscope can capture and record images and video on most PC computers and kids an share their findings at a specially created online community

can turn it from a fun toy to yet another way for kids spend countless hours hanging out in a virtual playground.

WhatTheyPlay.com– Since The Entertainment Software Rating Board, which rates video games doesn’t necessarily give ratings that many parents find helpful…i.e. they tend to be a wee bit more lax in what is considered acceptable, a new subscription service offers detailed information about the games and lets parents decide their appropriateness.

What to watch out for…..

Jack LaLanne Redux – Our national obsession with childhood obesity and the sad decline in physical activity by youngsters has spawned a number of electronic “solutions”. Dance Revolution and Wii are joined this year by several offerings from Wild Planet Entertainment including Hyper Dash (ages 6 to 12), Hyper Jump and upcoming Animal Scramble (for preschoolers). All use voice commands and in some cases RFID chips to create clever active games for kids to play….without parental involvement or much creative thought. How ‘bout we get out and play a game of family musical chairs, Twister or hot potato instead?

Virtual worlds – As I wrote about here and here, online worlds for children are exploding. Visits to such sites went up 68% last year, according to Hitwise with Disney’s Penguin Club and Mattel’s Barbiegirls.com, as well as Webkinz some of the most popular and the least educational.

One recommendation in the report D is for Digital by the Cooney Center, which I wrote about here is that producers of these sites make a wild attempt to incorporate something educational. Meanwhile beware, this is the hot new trend and there will be a lot of marketing dollars behind it.

Barbie® iDesign – the newest product from the Barbie Tech group, uses a CD-Rom computer game, a USB-connected scanner and swipe-able fashion cards to move traditional doll dress up play onto an interactive, computer-based game. I remember this game in its non-tech version from my youth. It was fun but not as much fun as dressing up my real Barbies.

There are a number of reasons to avoid this product: If you’re Mom who bemoans the gender typing aspect of a “fashion design” or if you dislike Barbies in general you’ll probably not give this product a second look. But “Barbie-neutral” moms may be caught off guard and find Barbie dolls abandoned in lieu hours in front of a screen in the world of virtual Barbie.