Influence of toys - Consider presents carefully

AS THE toy manufactures’ months and months of Christmas plotting moves ever closer towards fruition it might not be any harm to give a few moments’ thought to the influence toys are having on our children.

As days are swamped with ads for every sort of toy and electronic gadget we should consider too how this intense pressure can take the decision making process out of parents’ hands. Sometimes, because of pressure from — and on — children, influences are brought into the family circle that are not always welcome.

Elsewhere today we discuss gender stereotyping in how toys are promoted — an iron for Mary, guns for Johnny — and how this can create an environment where equality between the sexes is not as apparent as some might wish.