Tradition says that “the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world,” conveying the idea that those with the most influence on children are those with the most long-term and widespread influence on the world in general. Everybody intuitively recognizes the rough truth of this idea. That is one reason why public schools become the focus of so many political battles.
What about other influences? If “play is the work of children” then surely toys are their tools. The toys and entertainments we give our children profoundly influence the adults they will someday become. Battles over Barbie dolls and toy weapons reflect an awareness of this. Toys and childhood entertainments are powerful vehicles of culture. Just as the mother unconsciously passes on her cultural traits to the children she raises, so does the toy maker.
The production of toys and children’s entertainment is also a marker for cultural dominance. From the early industrial era through WWII, the principal makers of toys were in Europe. Most fairy tales and nursery rhymes were of European origin. In the post-WWII era, American toys and stories swept over the entire non-communist world. Children everywhere played with Barbies and G.I. Joes, and they watched American-produced movies and cartoons. American values spread with the toys. Whereas European toys reflected values of communalism, tranquility and social hierarchy, America’s toys reflected its values of individualism, dynamism and social equality.
So in this, the season of toys, it behooves us to ask: who makes our toys and tells our children stories today?