Nancy, the lady I nanny for, gave me a new Little People Schoolhouse toy this week, as a gift for me and for her children to enjoy while at my house. On Monday, I brought it into the house and had Dan take it out of the box. While Dan was taking it out of the box, he also removed the batteries (since everything on the toy, also served as a button that made some sort of annoying noise.) Yep, I'm one of those. I have the "no toys with noise" rule in our house. There is something that makes my nerves cringe every time I hear a fake sounding "vroom" coming from truck, rather than a child. I hate listening to the alphabet song-you know the one. A-B-C-D. A-B. A-A-A-A-A. I don't think I have ever heard the song all the way through, since the children keep pressing the button repeatedly. (perhaps, that's just one reason why I hate toys that make noise!) Nancy tells me that she believes that the toys educate the children. My response is threefold. Yes. It does educate them. At pressing buttons. (not really, what I think she was going for). Secondly, isn't that my job to educate them as their nanny? And perhaps her job as their mother? Thirdly, my personal observation. Nancy's house is full of toys with noise. When we are at their house, all I hear is the toys making noise. The children aren't talking. While at my silent toyed house, I hear the children. They are talking, and using their imagination to tell stories and make the noises that animals/cars etc. make.
It's just a personal choice. If others choose to have a household full of toys that make noise, then so be it. I have no qualms about that. But personally, I prefer that batteries are never included. Okay, that's not entirely true. There are a "few" toys that make noise that I wouldn't mind owning in the future (such as the word whammer or the fridge phonics from Leapfrog, and perhaps a nice ocean wonders aquarium that sings the baby to sleep) But I guess my biggest "rule" is that I don't the toy to make a noise that the child should be able to make (like a truck that goes vroom). I don't really want the toy to interfere with the child's imaginative play.
I was talking with some other people my age that grew up without noisy toys. The one mentioned that her parents finally broke down and bought her a baby doll that 'drank milk and peed.' She said it was fun for a while, but then that doll got tossed aside because it didn't fit in with her imaginative play. She couldn't make the baby do what she wanted it to, because it was only useful for one thing (okay two: drinking and peeing).
Most of us grew up in the age where toys didn't include batteries or made noise of any sort. And I do believe that most of us turned out fine. I hope to raise my children in an atmosphere where toys don't need to make noise to be fun. Or need batteries. Do you know how hard it is to find toys like that? Dan and I went looking for a car for a seven year old boy (his brother) that didn't require a remote control. We found one. Just one. (this may have something to do with the fact that Abbotsford seems to lack toy stores and the fact that almost every toy requires batteries). It was rather disappointing. Perhaps a good baby shower gift would be a large pack of batteries in varying sizes.
I may be "one of those." But I'm proud of that. And I love the children's voices as they use their imagination to make up stories as they play. Perhaps that's why Nancy is taking back her gift and exchanging it for one that doesn't make any noise. For that, I am extremely grateful.
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