I have noticed in the last few years that the advancement of computers has been taking away from the more traditional toys such as board games, bikes, and even old fashioned building blocks. I, like many out there, did not notice this till my 9 year old son received a sunburn last summer. Most of my family are not prone to getting burned, so I proceeded to find out the cause. It turns out that he was spending all of his free time inside on his computer and his video consoles instead of outside playing with active toys.

I did not even notice he was not playing with toys outside. I never realized about how much computers have taken over from more active toys, and parents, for the most part, have not even realized this. After some investigation, I found that there have been a lot of studies into today’s toys. One such study about children, toys, and playing habits was done by a student at the University of Sydney for his senior thesis. He found that over 75 percent of children are now using computer games more than physical toys.

Stores all over the Sydney area have reported a major decrease in the amount of physical toys sold and huge jump in computer games and components. PeeDee Toy Store reported the sale of traditional toys in the last quarter alone has decreased 25 percent. With the increase of computer games, children are starting to place toys on the side.

It is time we see these dropping sale in toys for what it is. We need to encourage our children to be more active by buying more toys that have them spending time outside and not inside by the computer screen. A lot of companies have been promoting more electronic games than active toys. But, at the same time, there are companies out there that have been giving at least equal attention to both of these.

Another thing that comes out of the outside toys is that our children stay healthier. I am not saying that any of my children are over weight. Most of them go outside and play with toys fairly often. It is part of the reason that I was not aware that anything was wrong with my son’s lack of playing with his toys. But there is more to health than just looking like they are in good health. We have to have active toys to exercise our bodies on the inside. Even simple toys such as a jump rope, skate board, or powered vehicles can lead to interaction with the toys. The interaction with these toys keep the hearts pumping and the muscles moving. And this is not just good for the children. We as adults need to stay outside more and be more active, even without toys. We should be out walking daily, getting some of the healthy rays from the sun, and better yet, spending time with our children play with their toys. We need to buy more toys that keep our children active and fewer toys that have them sitting inside all the time.