Toys have and are changing a lot over the past decades. Technology is becoming a big part of toys and they are more and more interactive.
Kids also seem more interested in interactive toys and tech. So, does all of this means that the days of regular toys, simple stuffed animals and analogue are numbered?
Are interactive toys really better than regular toys? Not really. They are simply different, but not exactly better.
Interactive toys can provide more fun. And can seem a bit more interesting. But only for a while. When they do end up doing the same thing over an over, they can even feel a little limited.
A regular toy, for example a stuffed animal, on the other hand, is only limited by the imagination. And that’s one of the great things about toys – they inspire imagination and creativity.
Of course, kids can also use their imagination and creativity to apply the interactive feature of toys in new ways. But generally, interactive toys could have less “creative” freedom. That depends on the type of interactiveness they offer.
If they simply have sounds and moving parts, then you can apply them for various games and scenarios. If the features are more specific, then they may be a bit of a limitation for some scenarios. But then again, the creativity may find a way around that or a way to incorporate the toy in the play anyway.
So, interactive toys aren’t really better or worse than regular toys. They are simply toys. And it all comes down to how they are played with.
