War Toys: What Are They Good For? Absolutely Nothing!

ANN ARBOR - What are our children leaming from the toys that they play with? What do Barbie dolls, Nintendo, GI Joe, Transformers, Captain Power, Rambo, and children's cartoons all have in common? These questions were addressed by psychiatrist Lawrence Probes in the talk "Life-Affirming Toys for Bringing Out the Best in Kids" at the Nov. 12 meeting of Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament.

War toys in particular are "the kinds of toys that teach aggression and violence, toys that are used to solve conflict or gain power with the use of violence or force, and their aim is to wound or kill," said Probes, director of Kent Oaks Medical Facility in Grand Rapids and MSU assistant clinical professor. The fact that "their sales have increased over 800% over the past few years" particularly disturbs him.

"Just in the last two weeks," said Probes, 'Time magazine reported a study by the National Center for Health Statistics with appalling figures. In 1987, over 3,300 children ages 1 to 19 were killed in homicides, suicides, and accidents with guns, making up 1 1% of all deaths in that age group. The most frequent victims in this group are Blacks, aged 15 to 19, and their rate of being killed this way is 10 times that of whites. No nation in the world comes close to our nation in this statistic - not a single teenage male was the victim of homicidal use of a gun in England or Sweden in 1985."

Probes, who is chairman of Physicians for Social Responsibility in Grand Rapids and delegate to the Ninth Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War held in Hiroshima in Oct., pointed to the precipitous rise in sales of toy guns- 19 million in 1986, 33 million in 1987- to demonstrate the romanticism of guns in the U.S. " You can't tell them 10 feet away from the real thing and it's to the point where police departments have taken notice. In 1987 the New York City Police reported confiscating 1,416 toy guns in criminal incidents, an 80% jump since 1983. There have been some incidents of children shot because they brandished a gun and scared a policeman who just shot in 'self-defense.'"

In addition to promoting violence and aggression, Probes said war toys and children's cartoons promote militarism and racism, while war toys and passive girls' toys strongly reinforce sexual stereotypes. "The growth of aggressive toys for males has been paralleled by the growth of passive girls' toys. War toys are marketed as boys' toys, in dark or camouflaged colors. Girls are more often portrayed with dolls, cooking sets, teapots, and aprons. Most girls' toys are pink, lavender, and pastel."

Barbie dolls, in particular, portray women as "sexy, with large breasts, very small waists, and even smaller minds," offered Probes. In addition, he said, they condition young girls to believe that their major role in life is consumerism and that their role in society is as service providers - limiting the use of their minds and bodies. He added that this fashion-conscious, physical-attractiveness mentality promotes exercise for fashion or style rather than health. "It is particularly disturbing because of eating disorders. There is a real epidemic out there of bulimia and anorexia nervosa," he said.

Cartoons further reinforce these stereotyped roles. Most have few girls or women in them. Those that do, Probes said, portray females as dumb, young, vain, dependent, grandmothers, evil spirits or unadventuresome. Blacks, Hispanics, and foreigners do not fare much better. Probes indicated that a study of more than 1,000 cartoon characters done at Boston University found that only 22% were female, 3.7% were Black, and 3.1% were Hispanic. Asians were treated similarly. There was only one Native American. The "good guys" were white, often blue-eyed and blond. The "bad guys" were often dark-skinned, and often from the Third World.

How the "good guys" deal with these "bad guys" is symptomatic of the "disease of militarism," said Probes. "Killing and conquering are glorified as the only way to deal with the enemy who is dehumanized and portrayed as ignorant and not trustworthy. 'Good guys' don't die. There are no consequences for violence. There is no room for negotiation, cooperative problem-solving, or dealing with others in any way except with fists and their extensions in war."

The amount of violence in these cartoons and on television, in general, is well-documented. Probes said the American Academy of Pediatrics studies "show that the average children's program has from 20 to 50 acts of violence per hour," while some newer cartoons portray from 10 to 100 violent acts per hour. He added that the average child sees "some 12,000 acts of televised violence per year."

"The violence in these cartoons," said Probes, "is often related to war toys. In fact, there's a real intentional marketing effort going on here. They use them to sell these toys." The vast majority of studies of televised violence and its effects on children, said Probes, show increased anti-social and aggressive behavior immediately after these programs are viewed - shoving, kicking, pushing, name-calling, hitting, holding other kids down, more selfishness, not sharing as much, lowering of grades and an increase in anxiety. Although not every child was affected in this way, enough were to merit serious concern in Probe's opinion. Quoting Dr. Charles Turner, of the Univ. of Utah, Probes said: "Playing with violent toys increases the risk that children are going to use aggression in real life at a later time. The violent toys serve as the way of rehearsing behavior seen on television. They increase the likelihood that the effects of cartoon violence will carry over onto the playground, and on into everyday life."

Why haven't parents revolted against war toys and violent toons given these findings and statistics? We can look to war toy myths, Probes explained, for the answers - myths that lead parents to believe war toys are harmless or benign. One of those myths, he said, is that kids in the past who grew up with them are okay. He countered that war toys today are much more sophisticated than in the past - with arsenals of realistic weapons, vehicles, and scenarios - and they are much more reinforced by television than ever before. In addition, he said kids tend toward health, in spite of disadvantages, if there are plenty of other good things like loving and supportive parents who set a good example.

Another myth that has been disproven in studies, said Probes, is that war toys help children discharge their anger. The catharsis experiments that social learning theorists have performed as part of studies on aggression, he said, have shown that venting anger tends to inflame rather than discharge anger.

Another myth, he said, is that a parent should provide war toys because kids will pretend to have them anyway. Children are attracted to war toys, said Probes, because they are easy and do all of the work for the child; there is no skill to learn or disciplined practice, like in piano, to deal with. The only exception to this, he said, is the challenge of some video games. Probes said he endorses wholeheartedly a child's interaction with computers, but strongly objects to the killing, zapping, and destroying imagery of Nintendo games and the like.

"Children probably will pretend to have guns," says Probes, "but the key is not to endorse it and not to make a big issue of it." He suggested redirection as an alternative. To get involved in The Campaign Against Violent Toys or for further information contact Washtenaw County WAND (Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament), P.O. Box 1815, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1815, 761-1718.

Shopping Checklist

Buying toys for children? Here are some questions Psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Probes says you should ask yourself when making a purchase:

Is this toy safe for my child's age? 

Will my child be interested long enough to play with it over and over again?

Does this toy stimulate my child's imagination?

Will it help my child to learn about different cultures and lands, nature or about how things work?

Is this toy free of race and gender stereotypes?

Does it encourage cooperation?

Does it nurture non-violent conflict resolution skills? 

Is it appropriate for my value system?  Is it worth the price?

Is the packaging truthful and not excessive?

Is there a more non-commercial alternative?