Guadalupe Rivero
08/13/2021 6:01 AM
Clarín.com
Families
Updated 08/13/2021 6:01 AM
Children's Day 2021 once again brings to the fore
what kind of gifts are chosen
for boys and girls and rekindles the debate about the opposition between the desire of fathers and mothers and that of the true protagonists, boys and girls.
What about weapons, tanks, soldiers and other war toys?
Many are the adults who do not allow their sons and daughters to choose this type of game, but even if these objects do not enter the home, suddenly a stick becomes a sword or two fingers form a pistol.
Toys of this type are no longer produced in Argentina.
"In the country replicas of firearms are not manufactured because they are prohibited by different provincial provisions with the aim of
discouraging the use
of this type of toys and, therefore, not encouraging violence,"
Emmanuel Poletto
, president
, told
Clarín
of the
Argentine Chamber of the Toy Industry
.
The war toys found in the local market are imported.
Photo illustration Shutterstock.
The head of the CAIJ added that “the war toys that are on the market are imported and are of very poor quality.
Some of them do not pass security tests ”.
Fighting game, a natural activity
“Violence and aggressiveness are components present in the human being.
The problem does not lie in their existence, but in the use we make of them.
The essence of the game is that it is an 'as if' ”, clarified
Ivana Raschkovan
, psychologist and researcher specializing in parenting and early bonds (on Instagram, @ivanaraschkovan).
“It is natural and expected that they ask us for war toys.
Does that mean we should buy them?
Not necessarily.
Boys and girls know how to make their toys and they will manage what they have at hand.
As long as the child is clear that it is a game,
playing fight or war will not make it more violent
.
Rather I would say that it is the opposite, "he added.
Playing fight or war does not cause violence in children.
Photo illustration Shutterstock.
For
Cintia Molina
, a graduate in occupational therapy specialist in early childhood development oriented to respectful parenting (on Instagram, @cinmolina_desarrolloinfantil), “we cannot take for granted that war toys generate acts of violence”, but rather that this “will depend on the journey of each boy or girl ”.
“Like any game, it will generate different behaviors and emotions.
In turn, it will be traversed by the uniqueness of that boy or girl and by the characteristics of the family in which that child is immersed.
There are always ingredients of that nature, including cultural and social ", he assured.
Boys naturally
simulate confrontations, wars or attacks
and this should not alert adults.
The occupational therapist explained that "part of the playful repertoire is fighting games where there is aggressiveness."
The key, he maintained, is
that there is no aggression
.
"The issue is when that limit is crossed and the real blow appears, that's where the game ends," he said.
Behind these fake fights, boys and girls put their strength, their power and their reach to the test, Raschkovan said: “Since the game allows us to do and say things without consequences in the real world, we can play to do things that in the we really wouldn't.
That is why it is not bad for boys and girls to play fighting, war or thief and policeman ”.
With the war toys boys and girls put their strength, their power and their reach to the test.
Photo illustration Shutterstock.
Guns yes or guns no, that's the question
Taking into account that war toys are not responsible for possible acts of violence against children, what should mothers and fathers do? Do we agree to their desire to buy this type of accessories or not?
Molina explained that "rather than avoiding giving them this, we have to observe that boy or that girl, what their wishes, motivations and tastes are."
On the other hand, he maintained that "it is also essential in the case of interested boys or girls the accompaniment that is done in this type of games and the messages that we are giving during the play."
Raschkovan, meanwhile, considered that they are
dispensable toys
"if our intention is to educate for peace": "If we want a world with fewer weapons and wars, let's start by
raising childhoods that denature
physical
violence
."
Boys and girls can create their own toy weapons from whatever they find nearby.
Photo illustration Shutterstock.
However, the psychologist clarified that "in any case they will continue to make their own toy weapons with whatever they find nearby: a broomstick, a tree branch or a wooden ladle."
"I have a toy tank", a book that invites you to reflect on war toys
I have a toy tank
(Akiara), by
Martí I Bertran
, is a short narrative poem that, through its verses - accompanied by illustrations by
Núria Tomàs Mayolas
- addresses the relationship of a child with his war toys, before and after to know the war outside the world of fantasy.
I have a toy tank, by Martí I Bertran (Akiara).
Photo: courtesy Akiara.
The book, which is distributed by Waldhuter in Argentina, reflects on the impact that the images of
war conflicts
seen on television had on that boy.
After that, the protagonist stops emulating attacks and transforms his war toys into other types of creations.
In the story, the boy turns his war toys into other types of games.
Photo illustration Shutterstock.
The soldiers, for example, became peasants and the tank, a wheelbarrow.
"This small gesture, apparently insignificant, may not change the world, but it will change him internally and help him feel better about himself and those around him, to be more
empathic with the pain of others
and with the planet" , they assure from the publisher.
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