Allow me to make an argument:
I think it's weird that some toys say "I love you".
- There's a certain humanity to the phrase that can't be explained by a toy.
- It's important for children to hear the phrase, yes, but it's more important to hear it in correct context, otherwise it might affect how they think about the concept of love.
- "I love you" can be comforting or calming to hear, so sometimes you'll hear it from bedtime toys.
- But having a toy say this sort of emphasizes the comfort part of the important phrase, and takes away from the true meaning of it, which I think involves two living parties.
- I could totally get behind you recording your voice into a toy, when the kid recognizes it's you, and when you truly do love said kid.
- Even if the toy manages to elicit some loving feelings from the kid, toys break.
- It's dangerous to have a toy, which can be lost, broken, or taken, be entrusted with the emotions of a kid.
- I've heard stories about kids who have been through hard times and develop close feelings to their teddy bears and stuff; that's a bit better, because they are imbuing the toy with this magic, as opposed to the toy saying "I love you," which I'd say is trying to get the same feelings from the kid.
It's understandable if you disagree, because it's a strange thing to think about, but these are a few reasons why I think it's weird for toys to say "I love you".
There was a time of my life, after the huge confidence boost of high school, when I believed that my writing could do no wrong, and that the best way to write was to just speak my mind, and let it go. As a result, college was a lot harder than it should have been, because I'd forgotten how to rightly make my point.
So it was during my last week of teaching before leaving to become a stay-at-home dad, when I taught stoplight paragraphs, and it all just fell into place for me. It was a simple way to stay on track, and bring everything back to the main idea.
Now, you might ask yourself, "What does this have to do with anything?" Not much. It was on my mind, and I wanted to write something! And now I have.
Here's pictures of my kids!
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| The boy loves slides! |
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| DanPar actually shared his toys with a stranger! The other kid's secret? Lead off with "Hey, can I show you something cool with that shovel?" |
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| DanPar demanded to push around his own cart. |
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| After this day, his poo was literally purple. |
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| Purple with red splotches. |
