Washington DC- Journeys through space to the
far reaches of the galaxy and travels in a time machine are just tow of the
many adventures children's imaginations can create with ALEX Toys' Robot
Tabletop Puppet Theater, one of the toys making this year's Top Twenty List
of non-violent, recommended toys for this holiday season. The annual Top
Twenty and the Dirty Dozen list of harmful, violent toys are being released
today by the Lion & Lamb Project, a national grassroots parents'
organization working to stop the marketing of violence to children.
As the
busiest shopping days of the year approach, parents’ buying decisions should
incorporate toys that encourage fun and imaginative play and avoid
violence. The Orb Factory’s giant floor puzzle, Bug Tumble, and Cranium’s
uniquely designed board game, Cariboo, are two of the Top Twenty toys that
promote such positive entertainment
Video games are also included in this year’s
Dirty Dozen list for their increasingly violent themes. Pushing the envelope
is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a Playstation 2 game that is rated for
Mature audiences but will be much sought after by children this year. This
game allows players to hijack police cars, gun down pedestrians, kill
policemen, and pick up prostitutes in order to get “health points.”
“The holiday season is a peaceful time of good
will toward all,” said Daphne White, Executive Director of The Lion & Lamb
Project. “This spirit is in stark contrast with the violent toys that are
promoted during the season. We give kids difficult, mixed messages when we
tell them that violence is bad but then give them a toy machine gun.”
“As a society, we continue to push violent and
mature material down to younger and younger children,” says Dr. Susan
Villani, a child psychiatrist who authored a research review article in the
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “By
marketing violent toys and video games to young children, we are beginning an insidious process that only
accelerates and becomes more extreme as they grow older,” said Dr. Villani.
“The research continues to support concerns about the effects of violent
media on aggressive play,” adds Dr. Villani, Assistant Professor of
Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, and Medical Director of School
Programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
White created The Lion & Lamb Project out of a
concern for the growing fascination with violence and its effects on
children’s increasingly aggressive behavior. Lion & Lamb helps parents,
industries, and government officials recognize that violence is not child’s
play and galvanizes concerned adults to take action.
