When my (now teenaged) kids were little, every year, around holidays and birthdays, family members would ask what gifts to get them. Here’s what I told them:

NO BATTERIES.

I tried saying “wooden toys only”; I tried saying “no gifts are required”; I tried saying “presence, not presents”. I tried saying, “developmentally appropriate toys only please”.

None of that stuff worked. (And, if I’m being honest, the “no batteries” policy didn’t work 100% of the time either.)

But it was a guidepost for people. 

And if you’ve read this far, you’re now asking: 

Why no battery-operated toys? Why that line in the sand?

It’s limited.

A battery-operated toy is extremely limited. You push this button, you get that song; you turn this knob, you get that sound. (And, if you’ve got a smart cookie at your house, they know that if you push that button twice in a row in quick succession, it makes a special kind of noise).

That’s basic cause and effect; if I do X, then Y happens.

Cause and Effect is a skill that kids are learning up to and around 18 months of age. Which might make you think: “Ok, so battery operated toys are good for 18 month olds”.

Nope.

The magic of Cause and Effect is the variability of the results. Think of the child in the high chair dropping peas over the side. Which way will it roll this time? If I throw two at a time, what will happen? Will mom and dad get made every time I do this? How about sweet potato?

With batteries, there is NO VARIABILITY. There’s no novelty, once you’ve cycled through all the options. 

At best, battery operated toys become boring to your child very quickly, which makes them a waste of time and money.

At worst, they become a trap.

In many of the kids I see, battery-operated toys help them stay stuck in sameness and repetition.

They become “obsessed” with a certain light or a certain button or a certain song. (By the way, this can also sometimes happen with recorded music or videos.)

 The toy prevents them from venturing into more generative play.

(ok, Gabriele, but what does that even mean?!)

There are lots of official play terms out there, but the way I’m using “generative play” here is to refer to play that is a) novel, b) based in problem-solving and c) generated by the child.

In other words: kiddo is figuring out what to do with the object in front of them. They are deciding whether to roll, hit, throw, bang, tap, mouth, hide, stack, line up, knock over, drop, pick up, put in, take out, wear, or step on the object.

They are not pushing a button and waiting for the toy to do something.

This is a big difference. Can you see it?

But what about the learning? you might ask. Don’t electronic toys teach my kid something?

Electronic toy companies are really good at convincing us that our kids need to be taught things. Things like letters, numbers, colors, shapes, another language, etc. And although we do want kids to learn those things eventually, here are two things to think about.

1. They don’t need to learn “basic concepts” nearly as early as we tend to think.

2. Kids are learning all the time from meaningful play experiences. (not from devices talking back to them or lighting up.)

At its worst, giving certain children battery-operated toys is like giving them a green, leaf-shaped gummy and calling it a vegetable.

It won’t kill them, but it’s certainly not nourishing or necessary.

What’s been your experience with battery-operated toys at your house? Do you have a “no battery” policy at your house? Do you think you might want to implement one? Wanna talk about it? We’re here for questions.

All my best -

Gabriele