Social media influencer toys are a bad idea for children

There are a number of toy social media influencer kits on the market but Jenny Sanders has deep reservations about Christian parents allowing their children to play with them

Spring always ushers in a slew of birthdays in my diary, so the question of which is the appropriate present to buy comes around again. I think this was easier when the children were younger. There was always a toy, puzzle or game that featured on their wish list; usually something to stimulate their imagination and feed in to the all-important ingredient of child development: creative play.

In my house we had a parade of doctors, nurses, soldiers, fairies, princesses, famers, cowboys, firemen and policemen, and great fun it was! Perhaps you’re still up to your elbows in all of that.

Is the influencer kit really any different from the child’s karaoke machine, the pirate’s outfit or the spectrum of other toys on the menu of entertainment apparatus?

Recently, however, eyebrows were raised by the addition of an item in the Argos catalogue of desirables: an influencer kit designed specifically for toddlers. The £15 pouch contains a wooden tripod stand with a pretend ring light, a camera, a model tablet, smart phone and a microphone. The company insists that the kit is designed to cultivate children’s storytelling skills and creativity through career role-play’. So far, so innocuous; or is it?

The concern that’s been flagged here is that ……