“The environment determines the individual,” they say. Toys and games also determine the individual…of tomorrow. They participate in the construction of the child because they play on the perception of identity. This is what explains Dr Tatiana Mbengue, sociologist-researcher at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis.
-What impact can toys have on the child’s social construction?
During primary socialization, the child acquires a social role with a view to integrating society in the face of its expectations and fully becoming a social actor. This process of internalization of norms and values that should allow the child to live in society and create social bonds at the risk of appearing as an outsider, is done through three channels: injunction, imitation ( adults including parents, friends), and interaction. And to multiply and diversify social interactions, the child can use toys/games to build his identity. Thus, the toy fully participates in this socialization. Whatever the social environment, toys play an important role in the social development of the child, from an early age.
To give you an example, with the help of board games, the child learns to manage conflicts, to respect the rules, to be patient while waiting for their turn, to become familiar with empathy, collaboration, creativity, and managing frustration in the event of defeat, etc. ; essential values that should enable the child to remain in his or her social group. In short, toys as socialization tools help children develop their social skills.
Also, childhood games can have an influence on adult life. In the game, it shows itself, the profession that the child could embrace later. By way of illustration, some children who liked to play mistress or caregiver became so as adults, thereby bringing into play TARDE’s law of imitation, reminding us that experiences in play are life lessons. of adult. This demonstrates the relevance of making toys related to the profession. The toys also respect the logic of differentiated socialization between boys and girls.
So can we say that the choice of toy/game is important?
The impact is not always positive on the child’s development if adult vigilance is not required. Seeing the child continually playing alone is not without danger, because he necessarily needs interaction with others even though certain games can be played alone. Another danger that should not be overlooked remains the type of toys that are made available, contributing to the trivialization of violence among children. In another vein, some believe that toys thus renew gender stereotypes, which could lead to the reproduction of certain social inequalities. It will therefore be a question of making an informed choice when acquiring it. The social utility of the toy is that it contributes to the assimilation of the rules of life in society because the game is fully a social activity due to the interactions noted during its progress.
This social utility has given rise to a desire for transmission among female entrepreneurs. What sociological assessment do you make of this?
It is a process of deconstruction-reconstruction that is underway. Because the toy is far from being a neutral object, there was a need for adaptation to varied cultural contexts on the part of our local designers. Beyond entertainment, there is a whole symbolic charge. Taking the case of dolls, we can highlight the phenomenon of “black dolls” or black dolls dressed in wax loincloth, with frizzy hair, which differ from “black babies” who are only black in skin color. For a little black girl, playing with a “white doll” or “domu tubab” would not fit with the construction that she could carry out through a process of identification with this object which does not resemble her. The objective stated by these designers is to enhance self-esteem in African girls, the acquisition of a spirit of openness to other non-black children, leading to respect for difference and the integration of diversity. . Driven by this wind of promoting acceptance of others and the integration of all into society, some have even gone so far as to design albino dolls.
Consequently, the reconstruction process would involve highlighting the multiplicity of beauty among little girls in the hope of freeing themselves from aesthetic codes from elsewhere and moving towards a progressive change in beauty standards. It’s a bet that has not yet been won due to the growing power of social networks.
Regarding board games, the basis of these commercial practices through the emergence of these African board games; where we learn, we have fun, we think, for example in Wolof and French, the transmission of values also remains. This should allow the child to rediscover their cultural and linguistic identity, mainly for children from the diaspora so as not to make them forget their roots, or, for other children, to maintain their identity intact. These commercial practices through the emergence of these African board games should allow the child to rediscover their cultural and linguistic identity mainly for children from the diaspora so as not to make them forget their roots, or else, for other children, maintain their identity intact. Their designers are fully aware of the existence of strong interactions between the child and the object that constitutes the toy. We always come back to the nagging question of the transmission of values such as respect for differences and tolerance thanks to the socialization tool that is the toy. The principle of identification and appropriation, of acceptance of oneself and of others would be at the heart of these initiatives which their authors would ultimately consider as a playful contribution to living together.
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